Lowing Genealogy: James Wm. MacLaughn, also know as Wm. Laughn and Wm. Lowing.
James William was an adventuresome boy who did not care a great deal for school. Shortly after his father's death, he sailed as an apprentice on his father's ship which was the under the command of his father's first mate. James did not like the captain and the hatred was mutual. The captain was desirous of marrying the widow and the MacLaughn fleet. James William would only be an impediment to the success of this ambition. James sensed the captain's ambitions and sought to thwart this event.

James, only fifteen, was still a lazy growing boy. He probably was also a little spoiled being an only son with a wealthy shipping business behind him. He probably expected to learn the shipping business without too much hard labor. The captain, however, sought to make life on ship as difficult as possible. James was driven from morning till night beyond the limits of his strength. An Irish sailor who felt pity for young James tried to help him, but he in turn was brutally flogged for his efforts. When the ship reached Boston, the sailor brought charges against the captain who was tried and convicted of brutality. James testified in behalf of his friend, further antagonizing the ambitious captain. Knowing if this story ever got back to James' mother, his chances of marrying her would be finished, he resolved that James would never return to Kingston alive. In his anger, he told James this as they were leaving the courtroom. James, realizing his danger, did not return to the ship and hid himself till after the ship had sailed.

At this time there was a great shortage of labor in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was common practice to indenture orphans to guardians who used their labor until they were twenty-one. Certain corrupt magistrates "sold" these orphans to those who were willing to pay. James, who intended to get a birth on another ship and return to Jamaica, fell in the toils of this illegal practice. He was indentured to a guardian and taken out of Boston to work at clearing a large tract of land and to add to his woes he was charged as being only thirteen instead of sixteen which would add three more years to his period of slavery. Angered by this brutal treatment and hard work, James soon planned his escape. He knew that he would have to escape beyond the limits of the Massachusetts Colony or he would be captured and returned.

He decided to go south into Rhode Island Colony, and knowing that Boston and Rhode Island people visited back and forth, he decided it would be wise to change his name. As a boy he had been called James by his father and William by his mother. She had wanted him to be named William after William the Conqueror, being English. His father had wanted him named James to please his grandfather. James decided to drop the Mac and use his middle name. On his arrival in Rhode Island he gave his name as William Laugh.

To reach Rhode Island he traveled mostly by night and kept from sight as much as possible. After about a week of this difficult travel, he arrived at a settlement named Gloucester in Rhode Island. He attended church on Sunday and made his choice of a family to whom he was indentured as a shoemaker under the name of William Laugh. A few months later he further changed his name to William Lowing on joining the Massachusetts Minute Men. This has been the spelling his descendents have used to this day with one rather amusing exception.

William Lowing was only a few months under sixteen years of age when he enlisted in the Massachusetts Minute Men in 1774 at Uxbridge just across the line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Minute Men had undergone some training and had some equipment in readiness for the outbreak of hostilities which were imminent. When the British made their raid on Concord and Lexington on April 18, 1775, these minutemen took up arms. In the manner made famous by Paul Rever's Ride these men were called to arms. William Lowing was among the Uxbridge minutemen that left Uxbridge at 4:00 a.m. on the 19th of April and intercepted the British about six miles from Lexington As they fled back to the safety of their warship in Boston harbor. This was the beginning of the eight years of war. The records of his company show that he served two weeks in this early campaign--two days coming, two days going and ten days at Boston. Later when it became evident that this struggle was to be a long affair the Minute Men were disbanded and militia were formed by separate colonies. William Lowing enlisted in the Rhode Island militia in 1776 and served, with some absences, until the end of the war in 1783. He enlisted in the Continental Line in 1777 for three years. Among the more famous battles in which he participated were the Battle of Rhode Island, the Battle of Monmoutn, the Winter at Valley Forge, the Battle of Red Bank on the Delaware River and Yorktown.

When William Lowing enlisted in the Rhode Island militia it was for a term of nine months, but after six months service his company was asked to enlist in the Continental Line for a period of three years. It was understood by the men in his company that their previous six months service would count as part of that three year term, but when the enlistment period ended the officers would not let them go, but insisted they serve the entire three-year term. With the typical Lowing independence and stubbornness, William Lowing left for his home in Vermont when he felt he had served his full term. He was reported as A.W.O.L. in November 1779. Later at the insistence of his wife and for the sake of his record, he went back and served six months and seven days to the end of the war.

During the three years that William Lowing was not in the Continental Line, he was still very active in the great struggle for independence. He served the entire time with the Green Mountain Line who were activated on a call basis. Most of the campaigns were on the Canadian border on local alarms. William served as a private, corporal, sergeant and a lieutenant. He was discharged as a private because of his A.W.O.L. record. He had been promised a captaincy which was given him after the war. This commission was later destroyed in the fire which burned the home of his widow.

When William left the army in 1779 after he deemed his enlistment complete, he went to Vermont, a region he had visited during one of his campaigns. There he met and married Anna Haight. He was 22 and she was only 16. Anna Haight was the daughter of a very strict Quaker (Quaker records of the region are unable to confirm this.) a clerk and reader in the Friends Church at Danby, Vermont. They were married twice, the first time by a professing pastor who was serving the area, but who had not been ordained. The second time December 24, 1780 by the Baptist minister in Danby. Anna's father had not thought the first marriage legal and this was an attempt to appease the anger and disapproval of Anna's father.

After his marriage William bought a 40 acre farm near Tinmouth, VT. He built a log house and moved to the farm probably in the spring of 1781 shortly after their first son James, on February 3, 1781. For this home, he planned and built his own furniture. That he was a fine craftsman is emphasized by the stories of the fine furniture that came down to later generations.

Although records of purchase and sale of real estate were rather sketchily kept in those days, those which remain show that Willima Lowing became an extensive landholder for those days, buying and selling considerable property in Rutland County in Tinmouth and Danby Townships.

Beginning with Anna's marriage to William, there was a serious split in the Quaker Chruch in Tinmouth and Danby. If this was not the beginning of the split, it certainly was evidence of the struggle. There was much agitation among the younger group for a more liberal way of living and dressing. This resulted in the establishment of a settlement of liberal Quakers at Peru, NY. William Lowing was among the group who established homes in this area.

In 1797 William sold most of his property in Danby, Vermont and moved his family to Peru. Several other families left with him. They formed a caravan of families, stock and possessions that took ten days to cover the 100 miles over rough-cut trail though woods and mountains.

In those days part of the taxes were worked out in road improvement. In 1797 William Lowing was one of two assessed for five days of road work, the largest assessment. Hence, he must have been one of the largest land holders in the settlement. In 1799 he was chosen as Assessor for his district and also as fence viewer and a year later he was elected a member of his local school board.

At the time of his early death in 1803, he was a large land holder. He owned a 100 acre farm a mile north of Peru and 156 acre farm to the east though this was mortgaged for $300. He also owned and operated a mill at Peru.

There are several versions of the cause of his death--one that he was hurt in a cave-in while building a race for his grist mill, another that he contracted typhoid fever while working on the mill and a third that he died of improperly healed wounds suffered during the war, or a combinations of these.

When he died he left a family of James 22, Mary 21, Deborah 17, Stanton 15, Susanna 13, Isaac 9, John 3 and Anna only 6 months.

Although William owned considerable property, on his death his wife was not able to maintain the family fortunes. Lacking in business experience and being a very honest and trusting sort of woman, she was the victim of dishonest neighbors and "friends". In her efforts to hold all her property, she lost both the farms and the mill. She then moved back to Danby, VT to a small home that still remained from William's estate. James, then twenty-two and married, attempted to aid his mother but lost his own farm in the struggle. As evidence of the struggle to save the family fortunes, Isaac has related the story of the loss of logs being floated to market. James and Stanton, the two eldest sons, had cut some logs on their mothers farm and with high hopes of raising the money to pay off the mortgage, attempted to float the log raft down the Little Ausable River to Lake Champlain, where they could be sold. The river, however, under spring flood conditions was too swift and narrow and the log raft was destroyed. Eleven year old Isaac, who was helping with the raft was nearly drowned in the accident. With the loss of the logs, all hope of saving the family fortunes disappeared. James then went to Canada, where he worked in the woods cutting timber for several years. His wife, Polly, stayed behind and helped care for her husbands brothers. The family was forced to split, Stanton and John living with Aunt Polly and Isaac and Stephen staying with their mother.



REV. WAR RECORDS:

Albany 3352

Anna Vaughn, who was widow of William Lowing who died on the 29 December 1802 of Genesee Co. in the state of NY who was a Pr. Corporal in the company commanded by Captain Allan of the rgt. commanded by Col. Angel in the RI line for 14 mos. Pr...................46.66
10" Corpl.....................36.66
Total $83.32
Inscribed on the Roll of Albany at the rate of $83.32 per annum to commence on the 4th day of March 1884.

Certificate of Pension issued the 8 day of June 1840 and sent to Hon. S.M. Gates, House of Representatives.

Arrears to the 4th of March 1860 749.88
Semi-annual allowance ending 4 Sep. 41.66
Total $791.54

Revolutionary Claim
Act July 4, 1836
Section the 345
March 1837

Recorded by D. Brown
Book C Vol. 1 Page 133

State of New York
Genessee County

On the 20th day of March 1839. Before me William Mitchell first Judge of Genesee Co. came Anna Vaughn of the town of Gainsville in the Co. of Genesee and the State of New York who after being duly sworn according to Law makes the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed July 4th 1836 that she was born in the place called the Nine Partners in the County of Dutchess in the State of New York on the 10th day of March 1764 as she has been taught by her Parent and she believes it to be true that she is seventy four years old on the 10th day of March 1838 that her name before her marriage was Anna Height that she was married to William Lowing on the 24th day of December 1780 at the town of Danby in the County of Rutland in the State of Vermont by Thomas Rowley Justice of the Peace of the said County of Rutland that at the time of her marriage the said William Lowing was a Soldier of the Revolution that she has been informed by her said husband and believes that the said William Lowing entered the Service of the United States in the year of 1778 at Rhode Island under Captain Allen as she believes in Colonel Angels Regiment that the Lieutenant's Colonel's name was Oney and the Majors name was Thayer that he first entered for three years but continued in the Service during the war that he first enlisted as she understood as a private Soldier that he served at Rhode Island the fore part of the war that he marched to Peekskill New York and was also stationed at Red Bank that he was in the Battle of Monmouth he was at Valley Forge that she often heard her said Husband relate that he was stationed at West Point in the State of New York for a length of time but does not remember how long that she has often heard him relate being one of the Guard either at Red Bank or Fort Miplon where one Palmer was hung as a Spy that she understood from her said husband that he had been in the Service of the United States between four and five years when she was married to him that at the time of her said marriage the said William Lowing was an Orderly Sargeant that the winter after her marriage the said husband was part of the time at Saratoga and also went to Lake Champlain and to Fort Herkimer that he joined the Troops under Colonel Willet and marched towards Oswego before reaching Oswego he fractured a bone in his leg and was billeted out with some of the Inhabitants until the Troops returned from Oswego this was in 1782 that he was finally discharged from the service in July or August 1782 that he continued in the Service all the time from her marriage until his final discharge that she distinctly remembers that after her said husband returned about the second of August 1782 and brought with him his discharge signed by General George Washington that she then saw his discharge and read it that she has often seen it since that she kept the said Discharge in her possession a long time until eight years when it was destroyed by the burning of her house by which misfortune she lost all her Furniture and Papers and this Declarant further saith that she lived with her said Husband the said William Lowing in the County of Rutland in the State of Vermont until the year 1796 when she removed with her said Husband to the town of Perue in the State of New York where she continued to live with her said Husband until the 29th day of December 1802 on which day her said Husband Died at the said town of Perue that she remained the widow of the said William Lowing until the 27th day of February 1813 when she was married to William Vaughn at the town of Tinmouth in the County of Rutland in the State of Vermont that she lived with the said William Vaughn until the 16th day of May 1830 on which day the said William Vaughn died at the town of Lewis in the County Essex in the State of New York that she has never been married since but she was a widow on the 4th day of July 1863 and still remains a widow as will more fully appear by the proof here unto annexed abstracted and sworn to before me the 10 March 1889
William Mitchell
First Judge of Genesee County

Anna Vaughn

I William Mitchell First Judge of Genesee County do testify that Anna Vaughn who has subscribed and sworn to the forgoing-----action from age and body infirmity is unable to attend court and that the said declaration was drawn up and ----------------------by her at her place of residence
William Mitchell
Anna Vaughn 5079
Act of

Married 24th Dec. 1780
Husband died 29th Dec. 1802.............................10th May 1830

Col Angel R. Island
Capt Allen live

Ent 16 May 1777
Corp 30 May 1779
16 Nov 1779 Wounded
...............June 1780..........................Like
End of the war..........................................
.........................Finish to Dec 1783

Administered
Mon
Private 14 "
Corporal 10 "

Hon S.M. Gates
1102


State of New York:

Ontario County Joshua Harendeen (Harrington) of said county hereby duly sworn according to Law Doth depose and say that he resides in the town of Farmington in the said county of Ontario in the State of New York that he is seventy eight was of age in the year 1780 he resided in the town of Danby in the State of Vermont that he was well acquainted with William Lowing who was then a Soldier of the Revolution that he was also well acquainted with Anna Height who resided in Tinmouth in the said State of Vermont that the said William Lowing was married to the said Anna Height in the year 1780 at Danby by Thomas Rowley a Justice of the Peace that this ..........lived in the immediate neighborhood and was well acquainted with all the Joets and knows.........that he was well acquainted with the said William Lowing and with his wife for a long time after the said marriage that they lived together until the death of the said William Lowing that the present widow Anna Vaughn of Genesee Co. New York the same Anna Height that was married to William Lowing and .................not

Affirmed and subscribed to Joshua Harendeen (Harrington) this 27th day March 1839 before me...................Athon Hedrick

Thomas Herrandeen being sworn deposes and says that he is aged seventy-nine years and now resides in the Town of Penfield, State of New York - that during the war of the Revolution he served seven years and upwards in the American army and that in the fall of 1776 he became acquainted with William Lowing then also a soldier of the American army and was acquainted with him until June, 1782. -- Deponent and said Lowing both belonged to Colonel Israel Angel's regiment of infantry at New York. Rhode Island and said William Lowing belonged to Captain Allen's company to the best of the deponent's recollection - said Lowing continued in service at New Port a few weeks - and from New Port said regiment was marched to Peekskill in the State of New York in the fall of the year and deponent and Lowing both marched there - that they remained in Peekskill a few weeks and returned to Providence in Rhode Island and wintered there in the College - that in the next spring deponent and Lowing were again marched to Peekskill and continued there two or three months during which time Palmer, a spy, was hanged there - that there deponent and said Lowing were marched from Peekskill to Morristown in New Jersey and continued in service there a month or more and were marched to Red Bank in New Jersey and prepared a fort there furnishing room and accommodations for five hundred men - that after a few days at the fort and on the 22nd day of October 1777 as deponent thinks, the Hessians attacked the fort and hard-fighting took place - Colonel Green had command of the fort - deponent and said Lowing remained at Red Bank until late in the fall were marched to Becuskin Ridge in New Jersey and went into winter quarters there - and were then marched to Springfield, Massachusetts about May or June 1778 and after a few months were marched to West Point in New York in the fall of 1778, continued stationed there nearly two years - that in the fall of 1780, said Lowing marched to Saratoga in New York and remained in service there until June 1782 when he was discharged from service. - While stationed at Saratoga said Lowing was marched with two hundred and fifty Rhode Island troops to Fort Herkimer and there joined two hundred and fifty New York troops and were led under Colonel Willett to Oswego and before reaching that place heard that the war was concluded then marched directly back to Saratoga - that during the aforesaid time of Service said Lowing was at Valley Forge and took part in the battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, but deponent cannot state the time when that deponent was in Service with said Lowing all said time, though not in the same company and is able to state positively of the length of service but may be incorrect as to dates -
Taken and sworn this 26th
day of November 1838 before me. Thomas Herrendeen
Ariel Wentworth J.P.

May 8, 1928
Mrs. John A. Maxwell, National Register