1714, Burial place of Susannah Maria Lowe

On the north side of the road leading from Oakville to Forest Wharf is a part of Fenwick's Manor, which was presumably the estate of Henry Lowe, as his wife [Susannah Maria Bennett] is buried there.

Her gravestone, a heavy flat slab, bears a record worth preserving, but unless something is done to protect it from the ravages of time and neglect, it, too, before long, will be a thing of the past. The date, 1714, places it amongst the oldest memorials of the eighteenth century. The inscription runs:

Here Lyeth interred the Body of Susannah Maria Lowe, Late wife of Henry Lowe of the Family of the Bennetts, who departed this life the 28th Day of July 1714 in the 48th year of her age.

-Taken from Historic Graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia: With the Inscriptions Appearing on the Tombstones in Most of the Counties of the State and in Washington and Georgetown by Helen West Ridgely, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland.

It was published in 1908.

At the time of Susannah's death,  her husband Colonel Henry Lowe was the county clerk of St. Mary's. He was a nephew of Lady Jane Baltimore, and was appointed by the governer.

The position of clerk was a lucrative one with income derived from fees for the recording of various documents. In addition to these fees, the clerk received a salary of 2,000 pounds of tobacco for public services such as issuing warrants. So, it seems that Susannah was an important woman in her community.

(Susannah Maria Bennett is my second cousin 9 times removed. Our common ancestors are Benjamin Gill & Mary Mainwaring.)

History of St Mary's County, Maryland