One of the prominent educators of Tennessee is Claude Lowry, superintendent of schools of Gallatin and principal of the Central high school. He was born in Warren county, this state, on the 12th of May, 1870, a son of F. C. and Sarah Ann (Randolph) Lowry. His great-grandfather on the paternal side was Major William Lowry, of Scotch-Irish extraction, whose birth occurred in North Carolina, May 15, 1798, and who came to Tennessee in 1815, locating first in Greeneville. About 1840 he took up his abode among the pioneer residents of Warren county, this state, where he made his home until called to his final rest on the 9th of May, 1877. On the 24th of April, 1817, In Grainger county, Tennessee, he wedded Miss Abenida Sigler, of Dutch descent. During the War of 1812 he enlisted in the American army at Guilford, North Carolina, becoming a private in Captain McQuentin's company, Atkinson's regiment. He was major of militia in Warren county and enjoyed the personal friendship of Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson. John J. Lowry, teacher and farmer, son of Major William Lowry and grandfather of Claude Lowry, was born in 1820 and passed away at Troy, Texas, in 1900. At the time of the Civil war he entered the Confederate army as a lieutenant. He was prominent in public affairs of Warren county, which be represented in the state legislature, 1883, and he served as circuit court clerk for several terms. On leaving Tennessee he took up his abode in Bell county, Texas, where he was elected county treasurer.

       F. C. Lowry, the father of Claude Lowry, was born in Warren county, this state, December 3, 1842, and devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career. He is now living in honorable retirement on his farm at the age of eighty years. His wife is also living and Is a woman of superior mind and high character. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he put all personal Interests aside and enlisted as a private in the Confederate army in Colonel Ben F. Hill's regiment, but subsequently was transferred to Morgan's cavalry and went with him on his famous raid through Indiana and Ohio. When Morgan's command surrendered he was captured at Bufilngton's Island and then spent eighteen months as a prisoner of war at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois, being finally released at Nashville, Tennessee, May 19, 1865. He returned to Warren county and resumed his farming operations, in which he met with a most gratifying measure of success.

            On the 17th of December, 1868, near McMinnville, Tennessee, occurred the marriage of F. C. Lowry and Miss Sarah Ann Randolph, daughter of W. C. Randolph, who was a son of Henry Randolph and represented a family of English and Welsh extraction. The Randolphs originally resided in Virginia, from which state Henry and Isham Randolph came to Tennessee, establishing their residence among the pioneer settlers in the vicinity of McMinnville about 1809. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Lowry five children were born four sons and one daughter, all living, of whom Claude, whose name introduces this review, is the eldest. The others are as follows: Walter, who wedded Fannie Snodgrass and now makes his home in Temple, Texas; Clara Lee, the widow of George W. Smith, who died in Temple, Texas, in 1922; Frank, who wedded Nolle Taylor of Dekalb county, Tennessee; and F. C., Jr., who married Margaret Gillespie of Chattanooga and is administrative secretary of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

       Claude Lowry received his early education in the country schools of Warren county and in the high school at McMinnville. He continued his studies in Terrell College at Decherd, which institution he attended for one term, after which he matriculated in the University of Tennessee, which conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1895 and that of Master of Arts in 1897. He ranked high in scholarship and afterward was elected to membership in the honor fraternity of the University of Tennessee. While pursuing his studies he was also an instructor in mathematics in the university from 1893 until 1897 and during that time he won the Philomathian debaters medal and the Allen medal in mathematics. From 1897 until 1902 he taught in Knoxville, Cookeville and McMinnville and at the New Mexico Military Institute at Roswell, being for one year head of the department of Latin. In 1898 he assisted in the organization of schools in Cookeville, Tennessee. He did postgraduate work in Columbia University of New York city during the summers of 1913 and 1914. From 1902 until 1917 he was superintendent of schools at McMinnville and in the latter year he became principal of the White county high school at Sparta. He was active in that connection until 1919, when he became superintendent of the Gallatin schools and principal of the Central high school. The school is an accredited institution, with an enrollment of seven hundred and fifty pupils, and there is a daily attendance of from nine hundred to one thousand white and colored pupils in the elementary and high schools. The schools turn out each year a large number of graduates, many of whom become students in the leading universities of the country. Mr. Lowry stands high in his profession and he has been accorded many offices in leading educational organizations, being president in 1922-23 of the Tennessee Public School Officers Association. He holds membership in the Tennessee State Teachers Association and served as chairman of the high school section in 1921 and 1922. For four years he has been a member of the faculty of the summer school at the Middle Tennessee State Normal at Murfreesboro.

       On the 31st of December, 1901, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lowry and Miss Blanche Elizabeth Rogers, a daughter of Dr. E. S. Rogers of Knoxville, Tennessee, in which city their marriage was performed. Mrs. Lowry began her education in the public schools of Knoxville and later enrolled in the University of Tennessee, in Columbia University of New York city and in Peabody College of Nashville. She has always been active in educational work and for eleven years was principal of the high school department of the McMinnville city schools. At present she is head of the English department of the Central high school at Gallatin. Mrs. Lowry is a woman of much culture and refinement and is prominent in the work of literary and civic clubs. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lowry one son has been born, John Rogers, whose birth occurred at Knoxville, November 24, 1903, and who is a graduate of the central high school of Gallatin and is now in the University of Tennessee, in his junior year.

       Since attaining his majority Mr. Lowry has given his political endorsement to the democratic party and the principles for which it stands. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is lecturer for the Blackmore Bible class, which has a very large membership. He is essentially a public spirited man and no movement instituted to promote the general welfare seeks his aid in vain. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lowry have devoted their lives to teaching and have won the confidence and esteem of the people of the community. Gallatin is proud to number them among her foremost citizens.

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