At his wife's request, he left the sea and invested his savings in a hat store in Albany, New York, but lost the business during the Panic of 1837, and was forced to return to the sea as supercargo of the ship Richmond (captained by his brother-in-law), which traded in Europe and the East Indies.
On one of these voyages, he fell prey to a near-fatal bout of yellow fever, severely damaging his constitution.
Having failed to prosper in New York, he came to Wisconsin Territory in early 1843, settling briefly in Green Bay (where he ran a hotel) before moving that same year to Fort Winnebago, where his father Capt.
In 1846, Low converted his house into an inn and stage stop to accommodate travelers between Madison and Portage, which he would operate until 1853.
In 1871, Low was elected for the 25th Wisconsin Legislature (1872 session), from the new 3rd Columbia County Assembly district (the Towns of Arlington, Caledonia, Dekorra, Leeds, Lodi, Lowville, Pacific, West Point and Wyocena) as a Republican, with 586 votes to 567 for Democrat John Staudenmayer.