HORACE W. LOWE

     Horace W. Lowe, a well known business man and representative citizen of Stoughton , is senior partner in the firm of Lowe & Powers, undertakers. He was born in Canton , Norfolk county, March 20, 1862 , and is a son of Edmund A. and Susan E. (Withington) Lowe, the former a native of Canton , while the latter was born in Maine . The father became an engineer and was employed by various firms. He continued a resident of his native city until 1872, when he removed to Stoughton , where he spent his remaining days. His widow survives and has now reached the notable old age of ninetv years.

In taking up the personal history of Horace W. Lowe we present to our readers the life record of one widely known in Norfolk county. He spent his youthful days largely in the acquirement of a public school education in Canton and in Stoughton and later made his preliminary step in the business world as an employee of his uncle, Phineas Withington who was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. He bent his energies to a thorough mastery of the trade and displayed marked efficiency and capability in mastering the business. After a time he was admitted to a partnership by his uncle and their association continued for a number of years with mutual pleasure and profit. At length, however, Mr. Lowe purchased the interest of his uncle, who retired from business, and he then admitted Webster Smith to a partnership and later M. F. Powers. This association was maintained for a long period or until the death of Mr. Smith in October, 1916. The firm name is now Lowe & Powers and in January, 1917, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Powers admitted their sons to a partnership, so that Millard D. and Arthur W. Lowe and John J. Powers are now members of the firm. The three sons are also proprietors of the business conducted under the name of the Electric Knife Sharpening Company. The three young men own together a third interest in the undertaking business, each having a ninth share, in addition to their interest in the Electric Knife Sharpening Company. The firm of Lowe & Powers enjoys an extensive patronage, theirs being the only undertaking establishment in Stoughton .

     On the 20th of June, 1883 , Mr. Lowe was married to Miss Florence C. Drake, a daughter of Luther W. and Hannah (Swift) Drake, who were natives of Sandwich , Massachusetts , and removed to Stoughton , where they resided for twenty years or until Mr. Drake was called to the home beyond. The father was a glass cutter by trade and worked for many years for the Boston Sandwich Glass Works, but on establishing his home in Stoughton gave up his trade. He died in the year 1913, while his widow survives and now makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Lowe, who have a family of two children, the sons previously mentioned - Millard D. and Arthur W., both of whom are yet under the parental roof.

    Mr. Lowe votes with the republican party and fraternally he is a prominent Mason and is also connected with the Odd Fellows. He has membership in the lodge, chapter and council and in Bay State Commandery, K. T., all of Brockton , while his connection with the Mystic Shrine is that of a representative of the Temple at Boston . He likewise has connection with both the Odd Fellows lodge and the Rebekah degree at Stoughton . He belongs to the Board of Trade and is interested in all that has to do with the progress and unbuilding of the community in which he makes his home. His religious faith is that of the Universalist church and his life has ever been actuated by high and honorable principles, which have made him a man whom to know is to esteem and honor. He has a wide acquaintance in Stoughton and throughout his section of Norfolk county and enjoys the warm regard of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. His business today extends not only over Stoughton but also over Canton and Sharon and he has made for himself a creditable place as a representative of commercial interests in his part of the county.

 Source: History of Norfolk County Massachusetts 1622-1918 (New York, S. J. Clark Publishing Co., 1918), 1:140-142.

Back to www.StoughtonHistory.com - Main Page