Isaac Low
Encyclopedia
Isaac Low was an American
merchant in New York City
.
. After serving as a tax commissioner for the New York provincial government during the French and Indian War
, Low married Margarita Cuyler in 1760, a scion of the powerful Schuyler family, whose brother and father were both mayors of Albany
. Their son Isaac became a British army commissary-general. He was a prominent merchant and a large real estate holder in the city of New York.
He was an active speaker against taxation without representation and the chairman of New York City's Committee of Correspondence
in 1765. He become chairman of New York City's Committee of Sixty
in 1774. Low was named a delegate for New York
to the First Continental Congress
in 1774 and to New York Provincial Congress
the following year. In that same year, he was a founder and the first president of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Opposed to armed conflict with the British Crown, Low quit the patriot cause after the Declaration of Independence
was announced in 1776 and relocated to New Jersey, where he was imprisoned on suspicion of treason by the New Jersey Convention. He was eventually released after George Washington
intervened, but after collaboration with the British occupation forces in New York, his property was confiscated after the New York assembly passed a motion of attainder in 1779. Low emigrated to England four years later, where he died on July 25, 1791 on the Isle of Wight
, United Kingdom
. Although a family tradition holds that his wife joined him in England, probate records hold that she died in Albany in 1802.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
merchant in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
He was born on April 13, 1735 at Raritan Landing, New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. After serving as a tax commissioner for the New York provincial government during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, Low married Margarita Cuyler in 1760, a scion of the powerful Schuyler family, whose brother and father were both mayors of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. Their son Isaac became a British army commissary-general. He was a prominent merchant and a large real estate holder in the city of New York.
He was an active speaker against taxation without representation and the chairman of New York City's Committee of Correspondence
Committee of correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature...
in 1765. He become chairman of New York City's Committee of Sixty
Committee of Sixty
The Committee of Sixty was an extra-legal group formed in New York City, in 1775, by rebels to enforce the Continental Association, a boycott of British goods enacted by the First Continental Congress...
in 1774. Low was named a delegate for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to the First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
in 1774 and to New York Provincial Congress
New York Provincial Congress
The New York Provincial Congress was an organization formed by rebels in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-rebellion alternative to the more conservative Province of New York Assembly, and as a replacement for the Committee of One Hundred.A Provincial Convention assembled in New York...
the following year. In that same year, he was a founder and the first president of the New York Chamber of Commerce.
Opposed to armed conflict with the British Crown, Low quit the patriot cause after the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
was announced in 1776 and relocated to New Jersey, where he was imprisoned on suspicion of treason by the New Jersey Convention. He was eventually released after George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
intervened, but after collaboration with the British occupation forces in New York, his property was confiscated after the New York assembly passed a motion of attainder in 1779. Low emigrated to England four years later, where he died on July 25, 1791 on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Although a family tradition holds that his wife joined him in England, probate records hold that she died in Albany in 1802.