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Willie Lowry papers, 1873-1946

 

Summary

Creator:
Lowry, Willie
Lowry, Sumter de Leon, Jr., 1893-1985
Extent:
22 boxes
13.69 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Willie Lowry papers, USF Libraries – Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

The Willie Lowry papers have been arranged by the type of materials found in the collection and organized into series. A large portion of the collection is correspondence to and from Willie to Sumter Lowry. The bulk of the material in the collection falls within the period of the 1880s and 1920s with no significant gaps in the documentation.

The collection contains a significant volume of information on Tampa Bay and other regions in Florida. Further, a substantial portion of the material is intrinsically significant in that it contains items which are believed to be the only ones in existence. Some examples of these items are the first breakfast and dinner menus of the Tampa Bay Hotel, a program from the Hotel's Opening Ball and a full page of the Tampa Daily Journal with an article on the completion of the Hotel.

Biographical / historical:

Willie Miller Lowry was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 15, 1862. She was the daughter of Dr. William Robards Miller and Mary Frances Britton. Orphaned at an early eage, Willie moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina to live with her married sister, Mrs. Isabella Wilson. She attended Salem Female Academy where she learned secretarial skills. After graduation, she worked as a secretary for various employers such as the Chairman of the Democratice Party in 1888 and the Peace Institute in 1889 as an instructor of typing and shorthand.

Willie Miller met Sumter Lowry in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1885. Sumter Lowry was a native of York, South Carolina who was born on February 26, 1861. He attended Kings Mountain Military Academy and, then, the Medical and Pharmaceutical College in Charleston, South Carolina. Lowry moved to Palatka, Florida in 1886 to manage their Florida store while Starr handled their South Carolina business. Willie and Sumter corresponded regularly while he was working in Palatka.

They were married on December 18, 1890, first settling in Palatka, then St. Augustine and finally, in late 1894, Tampa where they built a home on Plant Avenue and had five children: Willie Louise, Sumter, Jr., Blackburn, Loper, and Isabella. Prior to the Lowry's move to Tampa, Sumter had decided to leave the pharmacy business and embark on a career as an insurance agent thorugh the help of his friend, G. Loper Bailey who he had met in Palatka. Sumter frequently traveled as an insurance agent, but reguarly corresponded with his wife.

Although she enjoyed being a wife and mother, Willie strongely believed in the importance of being active in the community. Willie founded or was active in numerous civic and social activities and, participated in many state and national issues such as the women's suffrage movement, Tampa's Woman's Club, and Tampa's Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). In 1900 she wrote a letter to Andrew Carnegie and secured $50,000 to establish a local public library.

Willie Lowry was deeply interested in the welfare of young people. She participated in the first kindergarten movement and formation of the first kindergarten association in Tampa. In 1916, she start what was the first Girl Scout troop to be formed in the South after Juliet Lowe had established the organization and served as their first counselor. She also founded two clubs to help her children become more socially and culturally active: the "Would-Be-Goods" in 1901 for young girls and the "Merry Makers" in 1913 for her son, Loper and his friends. The latter club still exists as an exclusive men's club.

When the United States became invovled in World War I, Willie Lowry volunteered her time to the Red Cross. As a Red Cross volunteer, she held several important chairmanships and helped raise thousands of dollars for supplies and training. In 1928, she was decorated by King Alfonso XIII of Spain with the "Royal Order of the Lace Isabella Cathlica" in recognition of her efforts in promoting the role of Spain in the settlement and history of early America, especially, Florida.

Willie Lowry continued to be active in the community but failing health limited her involvement. She passed away on August 14, 1936.

References:

Dillon, P. (1999). Clubwomen and Civic Activism: Willie Lowry and Tampa's Club Movement. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 77(4), 429–444. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30150827

Mrs. W. L. Lowry, Pioneer Tampa Woman, Is Dead". Tampa Times. Tampa, FL. August 15, 1946. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.

Acquisition information:
Ann Lowry Murphey, material grandaughter of Willie Lowry
Physical facet:
16 Hollingers and 6 Flat, Oversized Boxes
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

At the donor's request, the collection was previously closed until January 2015. There are no other restrictions on the use of the collection.

Terms of access:

None. The contents of this collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Willie Lowry papers, USF Libraries – Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Location of this collection:
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus
4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122
Tampa
FL
33620-5400
USA