Hannah Green was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England in 1829. Her father was William Green, a butcher.

In 1850 she married James Lowe in Sheffield.

In 1853 a daughter Annie was born, and John William in 1857.

On Wednesday 28th of October 1857 James, Hannah, four year old Annie and baby Jack, set sail from London for Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand, on the Palmyra. The trip took 110 days, arriving in Dunedin on Sunday 14th of February 1858. There were nine deaths during the voyage.

Upon arrival in Dunedin, the family lived in a small whare of manuka scrub with a tarred tarpauline for a roof. Bedsteads, tables and the rest of the furniture were made by using the chests marked "Wanted" and "Not Wanted on the Voyage". The food was simple, and eaten outside. They soon moved from their temporary hut into a hotel as boarders.

By 1864 the Lowes were living at Bay View Hotel in Maitland Street, Dunedin. On 7 January 1862 Hannah and James had a second daughter whom they called Emma. She was baptised at St Paul's Anglican Church in Dunedin on 23 April of that year. In 1864 a third daughter was born - called Eliza.

The family continued to live in Maitland Street until 1871 when they shifted to Dowling Street in the centre of town. In that same year, on 5 April 1871, Annie married Harry Goodman, a horse trainer of the suburb of Caversham.

In 1881 both Emma and Eliza were married - Emma to Thomas Allen and Eliza to William Joseph Smith. The only son, John William, married, but the marriage did not last. He shifted to Trentham where he worked as a horse trainer, leaving Mrs John W. Lowe living at their home in Leith Street, Dunedin. She quickly disappears from the scene.

Emma and her husband Tommy Allen later moved to Trentham in the Hutt Valley where they lived with Emma's brother, Jack Lowe. They had no children. On 4 May 1941, Emma and Tommy went to Wellington to visit Emma's sister, Annie. When they got off the train at Trentham and were crossing the road Emma was run over by a car and died. Tommy died on 29 June, 1945, aged 86. Both are buried at St John's, Trentham.

John William was known as Jack, although in racing circles he was referred to as "Cocky". Tony Goodman has a gold watch given him by Frank Goodman who got it from Albert Goodman. Albert got it from his sister Annie Goodman, who was given it by her uncle, Jack Lowe. The watch is inscribed with the initials JWL and A present from Bob to Jack. According to Frank Goodman, Bob was Bob Watkins a horse trainer in Dunedin, as was Jack Lowe originally. Jack Lowe had taken a horse to Sydney and won the Metropolitan Handicap about 1910. He trained horses at Trentham for the President of the New Zealand Racing Conference, J.S.McLeod - among the horses was one called Essex. With Yours Truly he won the 1939 New Zealand Cup. He owned a number of race horses himself, among them Sunee, Insurrection and Red Sun. Jack died at Trentham on 31 July 1944 aged 87 years.

In 1884 James and Hannah Lowe moved to Caversham where they lived in Nicholson Road - later Nicholson Street. James' health was not good. In shifting to Caversham they lived only a block away from their daughter Annie and the growing Goodman family which by now numbered seven children.

James Lowe's kidneys were failing, and he died on Thursday 17 July 1890 of Brights Disease, aged 62 years. Hannah moved to Surrey Street in Caversham where she lived with her daughter Annie.

Apparently Hannah smoked a pipe.

The Vivian boys (the Goodman cousins) were living at the same address. Hannah would send the Goodman and Vivian boys to the shop to run messages. She preferred to send Thomas Vivian because he always brought back the change, but the other boys would spend the change on lollies!

Hannah died of heart disease at her daughter Annie's residence on Saturday 28 March 1896. She was 67 years old, and is buried with her husband. The Reverend B.M. King of the Church of England conducted the service. There are no names on the concrete slab that marks their grave.