Dennis was the son of John Lowrey and Mary Spillane; he was baptized in Cashel & Emly parish in County Tipperary on 25 Nov 1850. Mary Dwyer was baptized in the same parish on 27 January 1855, and was the daughter of Michael Dwyer and Catherine Condon.
Dennis and Mary married about 1881, possibly in County Tipperary though we have not yet found an official record of their marriage. (The birth record for their eldest daughter, Margaret, identifies Mary as “now the wife of Denis Lowry,” but this is the earliest documentation we have of the marriage.)
The Lowrys arrived in America about 1883, quite possibly in Rhode Island, where their son John F. was born on 7 June that year. By 1885, they had moved further north, to Worcester, Massachusetts, where they spent the rest of their lives. We don’t yet know what pulled them to Worcester: there were only two other Lowry households before Dennis and Mary’s arrival but there were a number of Dwyer families so it’s possible at least one of them was linked to Mary in some way.
Dennis ultimately got a job at American Steel & Wire (North), where he worked for 30 years before retiring about 1917.
Dennis and Mary had left their eldest child, Margaret, behind in Ireland when they emigrated. We have only a fragmentary family history on this (those who knew more have long since passed away). According to this story, Dennis may have arrived first, leaving Mary and their infant child in Tipperary, but Mary found soon afterwards that she was pregnant again and opted to join her husband in America. Her parents took care of young Margaret, promising to send her on when Dennis and Mary had the resources to pay for the journey, but then chose not to do so.
What we do know is that in the 1900 and 1910 census enumerations, Mary said that she had only eight children and that another one had died, suggesting heartfelt pangs at having left her daughter behind. They never saw each other again.
Mary passed away in 1919; her obituary lists her survivors as husband Denis Lowrey, sons John J. and William F. Lowrey, daughters “Margaret, wife of James Mulkerns, Mary A., wife of John F. Houlihan; Misses Katherine T., Helen V., and Elizabeth G. Lowrey [and Josephine]; a brother William F. Dwyer and three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Leahy, Mrs. William Glasheene, and Mrs. Thomas Ryan.”
Dennis died two years later, leaving “six daughters, Margaret, wife of Joseph (sic) Mulkern; Mary A., wife of John Houlihan; Katherine F., Helen V., Elizabeth G., Josephine F., and two sons, William F. and John F., all of Worcester.” No mention was made of any family remaining in Ireland.
Tragically, their daughter Josephine passed away at the age of 35. Her photo is the only one we have found of the Lowry family so far, aside from Mary A. Lowrey Houlihan.
Dennis W. Lowrey (bapt. 25 Nov 1850, Co. Tipperary, Ire. — d. 25 Oct 1921, Worcester, MA)
m. ca. 1881, probably Co. Tipperary, Ire.
Mary Elizabeth Dwyer (bapt. 27 Jan 1855, Co. Tipperary, Ire. – d. 26 Jan 1919, Worcester, MA)
Children:
i. Margaret Lowry (baptized. 24 May 1882 — d. bet 1921/61, place unknown); m. James or Joseph Mulkern
ii. John F. Lowry (b. 7 Jun 1883, Woonsocket, RI — d. bet. 1921/61, place unknown); no marriage data
iii. Mary Agnes Lowry (b. 2 May 1885, Worcester, MA — d. 4 Mar 1961, Worcester, MA); m. John Frances Houlihan
iv. Katherine Theresa “Kitty” Lowry (b. 4 Nov 1887, Worcester, MA — d. 27 Jul 1977, Worcester, MA); never married
v. Helen V. “Ellen” “Nellie” Lowry (b. 26 Mar 1890, Worcester, MA — d. 28 Jul 1957, Somerville, MA); m. George Baker
vi. William Francis “Bill” Lowry (b. 21 Mar 1892, Worcester, MA — d. 1953); m. Mae M. (last name unknown) (daughter, Geraldine)
vii. Elizabeth G. “Lilly” Lowry (b. 20 May 1894, Worcester, MA — d. May 1980, Southbridge, MA); m. Edward Suprenant (no issue)
viii. Patrick D. Lowry (b. 23 Sep 1896, Worcester, MA — d. 5 Feb 1897, Worcester, Ma)
ix. Josephine Frances “Josie” Lowry (b. 26 Jun 1899, Worcester, MA — d. 1935, Worcester, MA); never married
Sources:
- Margaret Dwyer, parents Denis Lowry (farmer, Scallaheen) and Mary Dwyer (“now the wife of Denis Lowry”), Birth registry, civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie, Co. Tipperary, Catherine Dwyer (her x mark), grandmother, present at birth, Coolnaharin, Cloupet (?), entry #267, 17 Jun 1882.
- Denis Lowrey, parents John Lowrey and Mary Spillane, birthdate not given, baptized 25 Nov 1850, sponsors Laurence (?) Spillane and J?? M. Lowry, Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, Cashel and Emly, Tipperary, 1849-1868, image 30.
- Dennis Lowrey, Certificate of death, Massacusetts Division of Vital Statistics, Worcester, MA, file #431, filed 31 Oct 1921, Katherine T. Lowrey.
- Dennis Lowrey, obituary, Worcester, Evening Gazette, 26 Oct 1921, page not listed.
- Mary Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Catherine Conlon, baptized 27 Jan 1855, Cornilius Dwyer & Margaret Quinlan, sponsors, Cashel & Emly, Co Tipperary, Ireland.
- Mary (Dwyer) Lowrey, certificate of death, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, Worcester, Worcester, file #132, died 26 January 1919, Michael Dwyer, father; Catherine Conlin, mother, informant Dennis Lowrey.
- Mary (Lowrey) Dwyer obituary, Worcester Evening Gazette, 27 Jan 1919, p. 14.
- Male Lowrey infant birth record, “Rhode Island Vital Records,” 1883, Page 162, line 16, hardbound book, Rhode Island State Archives, parents: Dermis (sic) Lowrey, Mary Lowrey, (FHL #1788196).
- Mary Lowry birth record, Massachusetts Birth Register, 1885-6, Worcester, 2 May 1885, parents: Dennis Lowry and Mary Dwyer, (FHL #1428208).
- Katie Lowery birth record, Massachusetts Birth Register, 1887, vol. 378, p 476, Worcester, MA;, date of birth, 4 Nov 1887, parents, Dennis Lowery and Mary Dwyer, (FHL #1428240).
- Ellen Lowry birth record, Worcester, 1890, “Massachusetts Birth Register, 1890,” Vol. 405, p 480, parents: Dennis Lowry and Mary Dwyer, (FHL #1428245).
- William Lowry birth record, Worcester, Massachusetts Birth Register, 1892, parents Dennis Lowry & Mary Dwyer, p 598, l 518, Ancestry online.
- Lily Lowry birth record, Worcester, Massachusetts Birth Register, 1895, parents Dennis Lowry & Mary Dwyer, p. 611
- Josie Loury birth record, Worcester, Massachusetts Birth Register, 1899, parents Dennis Lowry & Mary A. Dwyer, p 33, entry 1458, Ancestry online
- Dennis Lowry household, 1900 US census of population, Ward 1, Precinct 4, ED 1716, sheet 25B, 22 Jun 1900, dwelling #233, family #467, 9 Milton Street
- Dennis Lowrey household, 1910 US census of population, Ward 2, Worcester MA, 18 Apr 1910, ED 1861, SD 129, sheet 3B, dwelling #33, family #67, 155 Lincoln Avenue.
- Dennis Lowrey household, 1920 US census of population, Ward 2, ED 210, SD 139, sheet 6B, 6 Jan 1920, dwelling #66, family #140, 155 Lincoln Street; Ancestry online