our family stories

LOWLINES: The 1860s

NOTE:
This timeline has not been checked for years.
I’m in the process of verifying what I can, adding and updating.

1860:

March 26: David Brown Low was born to Alexander and Sarah Low. [see 1864]

1862:

February 11: Anna Bella Flanagan died aged 7 months of Diahoroea .

February 12: She was buried Otago in the Southern Cemetery in the general portion (reg. No. 287)

1863:
(see John’s notes on A. Low and D. Heenan running a pub)
It was around this year that Alexander married Sarah Borah Cooper.

1864:

26 March: David Brown Low was born to Alexander Low and Sarah Cooper. At the time, Alexander and his family were living at Carnoustie in Scotland.

August 6: Caroline Jane Flanagan died aged 8 weeks of weakness. She was born in Dunedin and was buried in the Southern Cemetery in the general portion, lot 31, block 11 (reg. No. 936).
The informant was H. Murray.

1865:

January 17: James Patrick Flanagan died (1 year 7 months) of inflamation of the throat

January 19: He was buried in the Southern Cemetery in the General portion (reg. No. 1056)

1866:

April 6: Jane Caroline (Carlile?) Flanagan was born. She was to become Mrs David Brown Low. The baptism register in Knox Church shows she was baptised on May 11. (reg. No. 332)

Alexander spent 5 months at sea on the Hydaspes. On this voyage he was acting Second engineer. The ship was at sea for 5 months, leaving London on 14 February and returning to the same port on 22 July. The voyage was simply described as “foreign”.
The Hydaspes was a famous early clipper built in 1852 by Mare of London, 2392 tons, a full rigged three masted ship with single topsails. She was a popular immigrant ship to Australia and New Zealand, one of the Shaw Savill line, and was known as a powerful and fast sailer. She ended her career in 1878~9 when she was lost in a collision with another vessel in the English Channel.

It is known that the Hydaspes visited Sydney in 1875. when it was used as the flagship for the anniversary regatta in the harbour in June of that year. At that time it was under the command of Captain Babot.

The ship was moved half-way between Goat Island and Shark Island and the Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, saw the racing from on board this vessel… The course was from moorings in Lavender Bay round both islands, returning to the flagship.

1867:

May 3: Alexander gained his Second Class Engineer’s certificate (no. 8035). He was living at: 69 Hawk Hill DUNDEE Scotland.

1868:

Robert Baxter Low married Catherine McFarlane in Dundee, Scotland.

1869:

Alfred Low married Helen (Eleanor) Ogilvie at Dundee, SCOTLAND.