My paternal grandfather, Howard Lowe, had a brief life on this earth.  He was born on April 20, 1898, in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco to John Aquilla Lowe (1858-1925) and Minnie Curry (1866-1903), a loyalist descendant.

Howard married Bessie Caroline Curry (1903-1967) on March 3, 1924. Bessie is the daughter of Thomas WESLEY Curry (another loyalist descendant) and Lilla Carleton. Fifteen months later they became the proud parents of a baby boy John Wesley Lowe, my Dad.

Howard was a seaman which most likely necessitated his need for a British passport – the only tangible item that my Dad possessed from his father.  Howard was twenty-one at the time his passport was issued but most importantly, the photograph captured inside this formality document would become our family’s reflection of this gentle servant.

The passport denotes “given at Government House, Nassau, in the Colony of the Bahamas, the 15th day of September 1919.”   The Description of Bearer provides us with his physical features.  Howard was five feet seven inches tall.  The passport notes blue eyes, dark brown hair, a sharp nose, a prominent chin, and a ‘tear on left cheek.’  Two government stamps provide clues of his travels.  Trips to Miami, Florida for work as a fisherman are indicated in September 1919 and also in May 1920.

In March 1914, a month prior to his sixteenth birthday, Howard joined the Green Turtle Cay Church of God assembly.  This church was organized in July 1913 by missionary Carl M. Padgett.  Howard’s father, John Aquilla Lowe, was appointed as the first pastor.  In 1915, Howard was appointed Clerk of the church and continued in that role until his death in 1927.

In May 2013, the church celebrated its 100 anniversary and has the distinction of being the oldest Church of God assembly outside the United States.  My wife and I had the privilege to attend this anniversary service where my grandfather, Howard, was honored for his years of service as Clerk of the church.

My Dad reflected

Howard Lowe, my father, the youngest son of John Aquilla Lowe and Minnie Curry, grew up on the small island of Green Turtle Cay, Abaco in the Bahamas.  As a young man, he enlisted with Hartley Roberts, his brother-in-law, working as the first mate on the mail boat, Priscilla.

I have no recollection on my father.  His journey on this earth was brief. Five months prior to his thirtieth birthday, he was called to his heavenly home.  His cause of death remains somewhat a mystery.  An infected knee, perhaps an injury on the mail boat, could have played a role.  At his funeral, two British pennies were placed on his eyes to keep them closed.

Pastor W.A. Barelis notes in the minutes of the church noted the following on November 11, 1927…

Brother Howard Lowe, Clerk of the Church of God at Green Turtle Cay, fell asleep in Jesus.  He left a bright and glorious testimony saying it was well with my soul.  He leaves a loving wife and one little son to mourn his departure.

According to the Bahamas Death Register on November 11, 1927, he died at the age of 29 of chronic rheumatism. 

A formal tombstone was also commissioned by the Church of God for the 100th anniversary celebration.  My cousin’s blog post  (Green Turtle Cay’s Historic Cemetery – Little House by the Ferry) gives a fantastic, picturesque synopsis of this historic cemetery, where many of our mutual ancestors are laid to rest.