Christopher Lowndes

Christopher Lowndes (baptized June 19, 1713 – January 8, 1785) was a leading merchant in colonial Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland. He was named Commissioner of the town of Bladensburg in 1745, and in 1753 he was appointed one of the justices of Prince George's County, holding both offices until his death in 1785. He was the senior partner in Christopher Lowndes and Company which also included his brother Edward Lowndes, John Hardman and William Whalley. He was buried at St. Matthew's Church, Seat Pleasant, Maryland.

Business endeavors Christopher Lowndes was a leading businessman in Bladensburg, Maryland. Lowndes had arrived in Maryland in the 1730s as a representative for Liverpool merchants Henry and Edward Trafford. He later established Christopher Lowndes and Co. through which he sold dry goods and supplies. In addition, Lowndes owned a shipyard and manufactured rope and cordage for ocean-going vessels. This wealthy local merchant also owned several farms, and numerous tracts of land, and on two occasions, he was an investor in a ship that imported and sold slaves.

A leading shipbuilder and provider of shipping to and from Maryland and England, Lowndes ships carried a wide assortment of cargo. In May 1752 Lowndes and his brother-in-law, Benjamin Tasker, Jr. were listed in the advertisement in The Maryland Gazette announcing the arrival of the Elijah with its cargo of "healthy slaves" for sale at Severn River.

Other Lowndes was the builder and architect of St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church, Leeland in 1772.

Family

On May 14, 1747, Lowndes married Elizabeth Tasker (February 4, 1726 – September 19, 1789), daughter of Benjamin Tasker, Sr., President of the Council of Maryland, at St. Anne's Parish in Annapolis, Maryland. They had nine children, and their daughter Rebecca Lowndes (1757-February 10, 1802) was married on June 17, 1781, to Benjamin Stoddert (1751–1813), first Secretary of the Navy of the United States. His great-grandson, Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. (1845–1905) was a U.S. congressman and Governor of Maryland from 1896 to 1900. One source of his wealth was the transatlantic slave trade.