Axley, Lowry, ca. 1890-1960.

Lowry Axley (ca. 1890-1960) was an educator, historian, and author. He was a native of Murphy, North Carolina. After his service as a Captain in World War I, he taught in the public schools of Savannah, Georgia for 27 years, during many of which he was head of the English Department at Savannah High School. Axley retired in 1950. He was the author of numerous articles and wrote a history of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah. Axley was also a member of several Savannah civic, military, and philanthropic organizations.

The person principally responsible for the Savannah Writers' Conference in Savannah, Georgia, was Lowry Axley, head of the English Department at Savannah High School, with the assistance of John P. Dyer, Professor of History at Armstrong Junior College of Savannah. Mr. Axley began his preparations for the Conference in 1938, and the conference was held in Savannah, April 6-8, 1939. Lecturers (called "staff") for the conference were well-known writers, including Allen Tate, his wife, Caroline Gordon, Andrew Lytle, John Peale Bishop, Samuel Gaillard Stoney, and George Stevens, then editor of The Saturday Review.