Abiel Abbot Low
| Abiel Abbot Low (A.A. Low) | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
February 7, 1811 Salem, Massachusetts |
| Died | January 7, 1893 (aged 81) Brooklyn, New York |
| Monuments | Low Memorial Library, Hospital in Wu-Chang, China |
| Occupation | Businessman, merchant active in the China trade in tea and also in the opium trade |
| Known for | Clipper ship owner, philanthropist |
| Home town | New York |
| Board member of | President, New York Chamber of Commerce, 1846; board member, Packer Collegiate Institute; member, Union Defense Committee of New York, War Fund Committee of Brooklyn; President, General Committee of Citizens in Brooklyn; President, Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Historical Society endowment |
| Spouse(s) | Ellen Almira, 1841; Anne Davison Low, married 1850 |
| Children | Harriette Low, Abbot Augustus Low, Ellen Low, Seth Low |
| Parent(s) | Seth and Mary Porter Low |
| Relatives | Brothers, William Henry Low, Charles Porter Low, and six others; four sisters. |
Abiel Abbot Low (February 7, 1811 – January 7, 1893) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, trader and philanthropist who gained most of his fortune from the China trade, importing teas, porcelains, and silk, and building and operating a fleet of reputable clipper ships.
Abiel Abbot Low was one of twelve children (eight sons, four daughters) of a Salem, Massachusetts, drug merchant, Seth Low. Abiel grew up attending public schools, and became a clerk in the house of Joseph Howard & Company, a company engaged in the South American trade, and moved to New York with his family in 1829. There, Seth Low's pharmaceutical business flourished, importing drugs and India goods.
In 1833, Low sailed to Canton, China, and started working as a clerk for the mercantile house of Russell & Company, the largest American firm in China and also the country's leading American opium trading and smuggling enterprise. Founded by Samuel Russell, Low's uncle, William Henry Low, had been at its head for some years. In 1837, after four years of learning the intricacies of trading in China, Low became a partner in the firm. He launched his own business in 1840 in a joint venture with Wu Bingjian, also known as Howqua, a mentor for young Americans in China, a very important Hong merchant, head of the Canton Cohong and one of the richest men in China. The company, A. A. Low & Brother named for both him and his brother, Josiah Orne Low, rapidly became one of the leading China and Japan silks and teas trading company.
Having made his fortune in China working with Russell & Co, and shortly after the launch of his business, Low returned to New York. There, he set up his New York headquarters on Fletcher Street, in a building shared with his father's business. In 1849–1850, Low erected the A. A. Low building at 167–171 John Street, now the offices of the South Street Seaport Museum. The firm was situated at its Burling Slip building from 1850 to after the turn of the century.
Low launched his own fleet of clippers, among which were the Houqua, the first streamlined ship, named after his Chinese business partner who had died in 1843, and the Samuel Russell, named after the founder of the mercantile company in which Low had worked as a clerk. Two other of Low's clippers, the Contest and the Jacob Bell, were subsequently destroyed by Confederate privateers during the Civil War.
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