Z 2133.000 Thomson-Lowry Family Papers

Z 2133.000 S
THOMSON-LOWRY FAMILY PAPERS

Cynthia A. Thomson was born in Florida on October 4, 1885. She was the daughter of Dr. Ruffin and Fanny Mayes Potter Thomson. Until her marriage to Ben Shem Lowry on July 3, 1916, Thomson was employed as a stenographer at the Standard Oil Company in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. The Lowrys resided in Jackson where they had five children: Frances (b. ca. 1918), Ben Shem, Jr. (b. ca. 1919), Ruffin Thomson, Wiley Potter, and William T. Lowry died at the age of ninety-four on February 5, 1980, and she was interred at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson.

Ben Shem Lowry was born in Pickering, Covington County, Mississippi, on September 30, 1879. He was the son of Robert Francis and Nannie Pickering Lowry. Ben Shem Lowry attended Mississippi College. He later served as chief deputy sheriff of Covington and Hinds counties. Lowry served three years as deputy state treasurer; was elected as state treasurer for the 1924-1928 term; and was elected as state insurance commissioner while serving as state treasurer. He served in various other capacities, including United States marshal, until he retired from public service in the 1950s. Lowry died at the age of 102, and he was interred at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson on December 30, 1981.

Brenda Thomson was born in Mississippi in 1874. She was the daughter of Dr. Ruffin and Fanny Mayes Potter Thomson. Brenda Thomson worked as a stenographer in various Jackson offices, including Mayes and Longstreet and Mayes and Mayes, and for the Mississippi State Board of Health and the Mississippi Supreme Court. Thomson died in 1956, and she was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.

This collection contains correspondence and printed materials of various members of the Lowry and Thomson families of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. The majority of the correspondence, dating from 1912 to 1913, was sent to Cynthia A. Thomson (Lowry) from her sister, Brenda Thomson, and a suitor, while Thomson was on an extended stay in California. Included are letters written to Fanny Mayes Potter Thomson from her daughters, Brenda and Fanny, while she and her grandson, Ben Shem Lowry, Jr., were visiting friends in California. Letters addressed to Fanny Mayes Potter Thompson from various other family members are also included. The remainder of the correspondence is from Ben Shem Lowry to his mother-in-law, Fanny Mayes Potter Thomson, and his sister-in-law, Brenda Thomson. There is also a letter from Ben Shem Lowry to an unknown recipient. Topics of the letters include the health and welfare of family and friends, social news, and fashion. A partial newspaper issue of the Green Sheet Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is included.

1. Thomson-Lowry Family Correspondence. 1912-1950.

   Box 1, folders 1-8

2. Newspaper. 1939.

   Box 1, folder 9