M The Grand MIKEY Lowe

Grand Mikey Lowe - My 4th Great Grandfather 

Born 20 FEB 1771 • Tulpehocken Township Berks County Pennsylvania, USA

 Died NOV. 11, 1859 • Smokey Junction Scott County Tennessee, USA

In the 1790s, a Scotch-Irish settler known as Mikey arrived at Smokey Creek - now located in Scott County, Tennessee - when he was in his twenties. Along with his family and meager possessions, he settled in upper Smokey Creek on a land grant from North Carolina. This land grant was quite large and covered all the land on both sides of Smokey Creek to the top of the mountains. The ancestors of this group of pioneers scattered across the Cumberland Plateau. These were the people of my paternal Grandma, Nanny.

1771–1859

Mikey, who was my 4th great-grandfather, settled in the beautiful forests, coves, and narrow valleys where the bald eagle flew over the pristine wilderness. The people who didn't own slaves in North Carolina saw little hope in their state and were eager to find a better place. Grand Mikey embarked on an adventure to find a new home, and his entire family worked together to clear the bottom land and plant crops like corn and vegetables in the fertile creek bottoms. They left the vast tracts of virgin timber uncut for many years, creating a haven for the abundant wildlife in the area. The families were known for their strength and resilience, working side by side to build a new life in this untamed wilderness.

According to "available records" Grand Mikey is considered to be the first permanent settler in Smokey Creek. He was Scotch-Irish. The Scotch side of his stock showed up remarkably in the frugality of his ancestors, and so did the Irish, in their independent ways, which often led to disputes and fights among the "clans." Their ancestors became involved in numerous lawsuits which left them but small profit from these vast tracts of virgin timber. Trees back then grew six to seven feet in diameter. 

After the land was cleared, settlers built log cabins and other white settlers came in, including the Carroll's, Masons, the Hembrees, Lewellen's, Bunches, Massengalls, and other branches of the Lowes who were not related to Mikey. (best they knew back then) These surnames are intertwined in my family tree and produced many double and triple cousins (when 2+ brothers married 2+ sisters). In those days, everybody was considered kinfolk and everybody was considered a cousin.

These were simple people who used to sit together in front of a fire and tell stories that had been passed down from one generation to another. I used to hear these stories when I was a child, and my dad grew up on them. They came with a wealth of folklore, lonesome ballads, five-string banjos, fiddles, and hoedown tunes. They grew their own "chawing terbaccer" and bottled their old brand of mountain dew in wooden kags, drinking from little brown jugs. Even the Preacher carried a little brown jug in his saddlebag just in case of rattlesnakes.

 

Many stories included ghosts and werewolves, some of which were said to wear women's clothing. My dad even claimed to have seen one as a child. My ancestors were also into fortune-telling, using methods such as reading coffee grounds, using lucky charms, and relying on folk remedies to cure diseases. According to my fourth great-aunt, Aunt Becky Lowe, my ancestor Grand Mikey was an enthusiastic hunter and fisherman and was considered the greatest of them all. There are several tales of bear attacks, eagles swooping down to steal infants, never to be seen again, and bears so close you could feel their hot breath on your neck. The wildlife was abundant as they lived among bears, panthers, wildcats, and timber wolves.

According to a favorite story told by descendants, Grand Mikey's wife, Elizabeth Bordner, once went to a spring to fetch water. While she was approaching the spring, she saw a big bear also heading towards it. In a state of panic, she started running towards her cabin with her wooden pail, and the bear followed her. She tossed the pail down, hoping to distract the bear, and it stopped for a moment to examine the pail, but then took up the chase again. She then threw down most of her clothing piece by piece, and the animal slowed down each time but then resumed the chase. By the time she reached her cabin door in the clearing, she was completely naked, and she could feel the bear's hot breath on her back. She managed to reach safety, nearly completely exhausted, but just in time to bar the door against the intruder.

Louisa would be my 1st cousin, 4 times removed. 

I remember my Grandma, Nanny (Hembree) Young, telling us that she had some Native American ancestry on her side of the family. She mentioned that someone in her family had married a Cherokee woman and had a daughter. It was my 3rd great uncle, Michael Lowe Jr (Low), who married a Cherokee woman, and this is where the stories of our Cherokee heritage began.

Grand Mikey served in the War of 1812, as a member of the 5th Regiment East Tennessee Militia commanded by Colonel Edwin Booth and reporting to General William Carroll.

He died in 1851 and is buried here in the Lowe Cemetery in Smokey Creek. 

Grand Mikey is someone I would have liked to meet - Having been raised in California, as a family we always went back for summers to visit. I loved going back to this rural part of the country - in a way to connect with my roots and I am glad I did get that connection. I always preferred my dad's side of the family over my mom's - just more interesting. From what I hear, a good part of the area has been developed into Federal lands - for recreation.