Martha Perry Lowe (, Perry; November 21, 1829 - May 6, 1902) was an American writer of poetry and prose, as well as a social activist and organizer. She supported women's rights, temperance, education, and Unitarian organizations. Born in New Hampshire in 1829, her parents were General Justus Perry and Hannah Wood. She was a descendant of William Wood, the supposed author of New England's Prospects, who left England and settled in Concord in 1638. At the age of 15, Lowe was sent to Sedgwick's School for Young Ladies. After her graduation, she spent a winter in the West Indies, and the following year was passed in Madrid with her brother, who was a member of the Spanish legation. In 1857, she married the Rev. Charles Lowe who died in 1874, and at the time of his death was a member of the Somerville school committee. In 1871, when the family went to Europe, Lowe corresponded regularly for the Liberal Christian. In Somerville, she was connected with the Unitarian Review. She was the author of several books of prose and poetry; the most noted ones include The Olive and the Pine, Love in Spain, and a Memoir of Charles Lowe. She was interested in many public and private philanthropies, but her chief interests were in the public schools. She was among the first to advocate the teaching of cooking and sewing, and at her suggestion a sum of money was raised for that purpose. She was one of the founders of the Educational Union in Somerville, one of whose duties was a regular visitation of the schools by its members. She was a member of the Society of American Authors of New York, the Authors' Club of Boston, the Woman's Education Association, and the Unitarian Church Temperance Society, as well as an honorary member of the Castilian Club, of the Heptorean Club, of the Teachers' Annuity Guild, honorary president of the Woman Suffrage League, a director of the Massachusetts Suffrage Association, president of the Woman's Alliance of the First Unitarian Church, and a member of the Cambridge Branch of the Indian Association. She died in Massachusetts in 1902.
Early life and education
Martha Ann Perry was born in Keene, New Hampshire, November 21, 1829. Her parents were Gen. Justus Perry and Hannah Wood.
As a child, Lowe was rather heedless, enjoying more her life out of doors than plays or studies in the house. She loved her garden, the animals about the farm, and all out-of-door games and amusements.
Between the ages of 12 and 14, she lost her father and mother, an older sister, and a younger brother who had been her constant companion. Thereafter, Lowe, her sister Ellen, and her brother Horatio continued to live in the family with an aunt and cousin.
Perry attended the district school and the Keene Academy. At the age of 12, she and Martha were old enough to have a more advanced education, and they were sent to Elizabeth Sedgwick's 'School for Young Ladies' in Lenox, Massachusetts. The influence of this school was to them both a lasting benefit. On the return of the two sisters from Lenox, their pastor Rev. Abiel Abbott Livermore and his wife were invited to make the Perry family mansion their home. Lowe occupied her leisure with riding, driving, and singing. After a year at home, she went to Boston, to take piano lessons. Her first winter was spent with the family of Mrs. George Bond, one of the ladies of Boston society. Her second winter in Boston was devoted to lessons in singing, and she stayed in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Henry I. Bowditch.
In the meantime, the elder brother, Horatio, after graduating from Harvard College, had enlisted in the Mexican–American War, and served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Shields. On his return from the war, he went with his sisters and the Livermores to the West Indies, where they spent a winter. When the party returned, Horatio received through President Zachary Taylor an appointment as Secretary of Legation to Spain. He accepted the position, and not long after married Carolina Coronado, poet-laureate of Spain. Horatio Perry continued to live abroad, and became distinguished in Spain. Lowe and her sister visited them, and while there, studied French, learned to speak Spanish, and attended many court balls and receptions, under the reign of Queen Isabella II. During that winter in Madrid, they also met many persons of distinction. They afterward traveled on the Continent and in England, returning finally to their old home in Keene.