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About Towne Volume XXXIII, No. 1 January - February - March 2013

In This Issue

Cover Story . . . . . . . William Towne

2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Members

3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President’s Letter

4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Historian’s Corner

5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Book Review

6. . . . . . . . . . . . Genealogist’s Corner

10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Towne Book

11. . . . . . Joseph Towne Connections

17. . . . . .Letter from Great Yarmouth

21. . . Laura Towne and the Civil War

23. . . . . . . . . . .Jim and Marie Roome

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A Gem

25 . . . . . . . . . . . Birth Announcement

26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Osgood

27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Richard Trask

27. . . . . Tennessee Regional Meeting

28 . . . . . Judy Jennings’ Book Release

29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recipes

30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Obituaries

William Towne — Basket Maker, Gardener and Farmer

By Karen Johnsen

William Towne, progenitor of the

Towne family in America in 1635, was baptized at St. Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth 18 March 1598/99. On 5 Nov 1608, when William was not quite ten years old, his father John Towne, a gardener, apprenticed his son William “for 14 years from 2nd Feb next” to a basketmaker

named Abraham Robberts of Yarmouth. This apprenticeship in-denture was enrolled (copied) on to the Great Yarmouth court roll. (Norfolk Record Office—NRO, Y/C 4/302) According to the apprenticeship, William, would not have completed his term until 2 Feb 1623, when he would receive "2£ and double apparel." There is no record of William completing the apprenticeship and becoming a Freeman. The next record for William is his marriage to Joanna Blessing 25 April 1620 at St. Nicholas Parish Church in Great Yarmouth. [See original document excerpt on page 8.]

Working as a basket-maker in Great Yarmouth in the 1600s would have been an important vocation. The fishing grounds off Great Yarmouth were the most productive in the world and the port was the most important in the country until its decline in the 1960s as the herring population diminished. This industry relied on baskets for hauling the herring and for measuring and weigh-ing how many fish were caught. They were also used for unload-ing the fish off the fishing boat and onto the docks.

Some of the participants on the TFA tour went into the Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth and were able to learn about the herring industry and its importance to the economy of the area. Many styles and types of baskets used in the herring industry were displayed in the museum. To learn more about this industry go to the Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life web site: http://www.maritimeheritageeast.org.uk/museums/time-and-tide-museum-of-great-yarmouth-life Continued on page 8

Save the Date !

Towne Family Association 33rd

Annual Reunion will be held on

October 11-14, 2013 (Columbus

Day weekend)

Hilton Garden Inn, Beaufort,

South Carolina and

Penn Center, St. Helena Island,

South Carolina — Look in the

next issue for details!

ABOUT TOWNE VOL. XXXIII. No. 1

2

TOWNE FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC.

Executive Office 1400 Fones Rd. S.E., #7-101, Olympia, WA 98501 (360) 539-7768 [email protected]

For all new member applications, membership renewals & fees, other membership questions

TFA Website: http://www.TowneFolk.com You can join or renew online

and read the latest membership news

President: Elizabeth Hanahan P.O. Box 367, Bethlehem, CT 06751 E-mail: [email protected]

Executive Secretary and Historian: Virginia Towne

Vice-President: Barbara T. Patterson

VP Programs: Lynn Bolte

VP Publications: Ann Hager-Koshar 1056 Windermere Dr., Willoughby, OH 44094-7140 E-mail: [email protected] For newsletter address changes

Genealogist: Gail P. Garda 34 Old Stage Rd., Hampton Falls, NH 03844-2021 E-mail: [email protected] For genealogical data & questions

Treasurer: Linda Bixby Fulmer P.O. Box 5026, Carefree, AZ 85377 E-mail: [email protected]

Recording Secretary, Parliamentarian and Sunshine Ambassador: Barry Cass E-mail: [email protected] 20 Springfield Rd., Somers, CT 06071

Newsletter Editor: Rae Russell Johnson 57 Evergreen Drive, Salem, WVA 26426 E-mail for newsletter submissions: [email protected]

Newsletter Indexer: Ann Tuohy

About Towne is the official voice of the all-volunteer Towne Family Association, incorporated in Delaware in 1989 and com-prised of descendants of William and Joanna Blessing Towne and those interested in their family’s history. William and Joanna emigrated with their family from Great Yarmouth, England, to Salem, MA, about 1635. In 1692, two of their daughters—Rebecca Towne Nurse and Mary Towne Estey—were hanged as witches during the Salem witchcraft hysteria. A third daugh-ter—Sarah Towne Cloyse—was jailed for witchcraft but escaped execution.

Unless otherwise specified by the source person or copyright holder, all submissions become the property of the association for purposes of publication and inclusion in historical files. Published quarterly: March, June, September and December.

About Towne © 2012, Towne Family Association, Inc.

New Members!

Barbara Anderson Buffalo, NYPortage, MI Mary

Richard Benedict Towne d’Albert New York, NY Joseph

Carol & Bob Brotherton Centreville, VA

Margaret E. Coggins-Peckham Dallas, TX Sarah

Patricia Towne Lange Germantown, TN Jacob

Candice & Terry Peterson Coon Rapids, MN Jacob

Margerie A. Phillips Buffalo, NY Rebecca

Staci M. Stevens Bryan, OH

Scott Stimpson North Reading, MA Rebecca & Mary

Lee A. Templeton Thousand Oaks, CA Rebecca

Autumn Town New Orleans, LA Jacob

Note: The deadline for the June About Towne newsletter is

April 15, 2013. Please submit your news information or articles

to Rae Russell Johnson at [email protected].

Also — if you would like to see this newsletter in color, please

visit TFA’s website at www.townefolk.com

mailto:[email protected]


3

President's Letter

Those of us who have been bitten by the genealogy bug know the frustration of those

missing records, the ones which inevitably create "brick walls." After the many disasters

that have occurred all across the country this year, we should instead appreciate the num-

ber of records we DO have that have survived the disasters through the centuries. This is a

good time to make plans to safeguard those irreplaceable letters and photographs!

This might also be a good time, as the weather warms up, to consider other ways to preserve our history for future

generations. I received the following message from Chris Moreau:

“On a recent visit to my childhood home town of Amherst NH, I had the chance to explore two cemeteries — the

oldest one being behind the town hall and the second was Meadowview Cemetery. I was amazed to see how many

Towne family descendants were buried there. It was definitely worth the visit.”

Cemeteries are subject to the ravages of nature, and maintenance at some of the older ones is minimal or nonexistent.

Water, wind, ice, and, unfortunately, vandalism are relentlessly rendering many headstones unreadable. If there is a

cemetery in your area, go exploring and take your camera. If you find Towne stones as Chris did and are not sure how

they are related, send your photos along to Gail Garda at [email protected], who will try to identify them so

we can add them to our cemetery database on the website, www.townefolk.com.

A reminder: if you are planning to send donations to any of the churches we visited in England or any of the record re-

positories, the deadline is coming up soon (April 1) so that we will be able to send the donations as a commemoration

of William and Joanna's marriage date of April 25, 1620. Charles Farrow has agreed to accept the donations and to dis-

seminate them according to our directions so as to minimize the bank fees involved and maximize the funds going to

the various places. If you do send a donation, please help Linda Fulmer out by telling her exactly how you would like

your money to be allocated. However, if she does not get a specific direction, she will split your donation equally

among the churches and repositories.

Marilyn Towne Roy and I spent a few delightful days in Beaufort, South Carolina in November attending the sesquicen-

tennial of the founding of Penn School during Heritage Days at Penn Center and planning for our reunion there on Oc-

tober 11-14, 2013. It was an amazing experience to participate in Heritage Days and to see first-hand the far reaching

effects of Laura Towne's legacy. We have scheduled the reunion for Columbus Day weekend so as to give you an extra

day to experience this unique location and culture. As I am writing this, I am getting ready to head back down there to

finalize everything so that you can read all about it in June.

Once again, on April 18, 2013, I will be representing TFA at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference Society

Fair at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire from 5 to 7 P.M. If you are in the area, stop in and say hello.

There is no charge for this event and I do recommend attending this conference if you have the time. I, unfortunately,

will not be able to stay for the whole conference due to other commitments, but one of our members, Helen Shaw, a

certified genealogist, will again be a speaker.

I hope that those of you who have been affected by one of the many disasters last year are getting everything back in

order and that this year is a much better one for everyone. If you know of anyone in need of some cheer, let Barry

Cass, at [email protected], know and he will send out a card. ∞

Elizabeth Hanahan


4

Historian’s Corner

Coopers in Early America

By Virginia Towne

Who hasn’t read Longfellow’s poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish” in school? In the 1940s and 50s

most of us had to read it as an assignment. Imagine then my surprise to find that I am descended from all

three of the players in that poem. I was further surprised to find that of the three — Miles Standish, John

Alden, and Priscilla Mullins — none was an ordinary pilgrim, but had other reasons for being on the May-

flower. By the age of thirty-six, Miles Standish was an experienced soldier hired to protect the colony.

Priscilla Mullins was a young woman who came with her parents, who were investors in the expedition.

John Alden was the ship’s twenty-two year old cooper who decided to stay on in New England.

Coopers were very important to the early settlers as they made and maintained the barrels and other items

people needed to ship or store many types of goods. While a

loosely constructed barrel might be good for some items, others

needed to be solidly built and waterproof. This job required

someone who was vigorous as well as full of knowledge of pre-

cise details, and who only with experience and a great number

of specialty tools could create the best barrel or butter churn.

Sometimes coopers specialized, therefore he might have made

just the churn and the barrel where butter would be made and

stored. Other barrels were made to hold furs or dried fish being

shipped back to England. Barrels were needed for beer and for

whale oil, flour and gun powder, clothing and water. Barrels

were made in many sizes from fairly small to a “butt” at 108 gal-

lons and the even larger “pipe” at about 110 - 116 gallon capac-

ity. Barrels were the packaging of the age.

John Alden started his apprenticeship at the age of thirteen, and matured as a journeyman cooper at the

age of twenty. Seven year apprenticeships were common for coopers as there was much to learn. Selecting

and shaping the staves, cutting tongues and grooves in the edges of the staves, heating and bending the

wood into the proper shape, banding and cutting the lid and bottom, which then had to be fitted into care-

fully excised grooves. When done properly, the finished result was water tight and sturdy enough to with-

stand being tossed about in the hold of a ship or perhaps transported for miles by ox cart.

Consider the storage of gun powder. You would need a good stout cask for such a volatile item. Imagine if

the gun powder stored in its hold spilled out of the cask during a storm, and someone then went down into

the hold with an open flame, the ship could be blown asunder! Also, if the gun powder were to get wet, it

would be of no use to defend the ship or as a salable commodity. Gun powder casks were generally made of

oak staves an inch thick. Now ponder how much strength and skill it would take to shape and bend those

staves to make a water tight cask out of these one-inch thick staves. Continued on the next page

The different parts of a regular barrel.


5

Continued from previous page

John Alden had been recruited by the Master of the Mayflower, Christopher Jones, his father’s cousin. His

job would have involved being on the ship to mend any damage to the barrels during the loading of the ship

or during the voyage. He, being a ship’s cooper, would have earned only a little more each year than what

land based work paid. Plus, he would have been given generally poor food and a bunk in the forecastle with

the other sailors. After he decided to stay in Massachusetts, he was hired by the colony because of their

need for barrels.

Now back to the poem, just think. . . Priscilla was an eighteen year old woman. There were two men who

wanted to marry her. The first, Miles Standish was around thirty-six years old, a short and ill-tempered wid-

ower with a reputation for booze. The second, John Alden was a highly regarded strong twenty year old man

in a needed profession. Priscilla was no fool! ∞

Book Review

Similarities in the Book March and the Life’s Work of Laura Towne

March by Geraldine Brooks

Reviewed by Virginia Towne

Many of us read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as young girls or boys. Geraldine Brooks, in her book

March, takes the original story and fills in the life of the one missing member of the March family. Ms Alcott’s

Chaplin March goes off to the Civil War and is not seen for a year, but the novel, March, fills in for us that

year of his life. This book was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and is a very good read.

Several things make March a book of interest for TFA members, first and foremost is the description of Chap-

lin March’s service with the freed slaves. This aspect of the book borrows a lot from the experiences of Laura

Matilda Towne during her service with the Port Royal Experiment during the Civil War. In fact, before finding

Laura’s diary listed as a source, I pinpointed several common areas between Laura Towne’s life’s work and

the book, March.

Louisa May Alcott based Little Women on her family, with Jo being a loosely disguised Louisa. March is based

on the philosophy of Bronson Alcott, Louisa’s father — an educator, abolitionist, and leader of the utopian

community Fruitlands. In this book we see him with Bronson Alcott’s friends, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to

John Brown. Giving a good illustration of the intellectual thinking in New England before the Civil War, it

offers an insight into a most complex and violent period in our history.

Another interesting note: Louisa May Alcott’s mother was descended from Samuel Sewall, one of the judg-

es in the witch trials of Salem. — Virginia Towne ∞

Editor’s note: For those who have never read Little Women, the book relates the story of four young sis-

ters living with their mother while their father goes off to fight in the Civil War. It tells of the daily activities

and adventures of the Civil-War era March family and is also a great read, regardless of one’s age. — RRJ ∞


6

Gail Garda’s Resource Documents Genealogy Corner

Gail Garda, our TFA Genealogist, has made a list of the genealogy resources she has in her possession. She states that if anyone is interested in any of these documents, they can email her their research questions, and if possible, she will provide them with answers and/or scan and send copies of any pertinent infor-mation from the documents (copyrights considered).


7

Gail Garda’s Resource Documents Continued —

Editor’s note: Thank you Gail for taking the time to make this list of resource documents and then

sharing it with us. Thank you also for being willing to try to answer everyone’s questions. - RDJ∞ Editor’s note: Thank you Gail for taking the time to make this list of resource documents and then shar-

ing it with us. Thank you also for being willing to try to answer everyone’s questions. - RRJ∞


8

Continued from cover page

Under online exhibits on the left of the home page, click on GREAT YARMOUTH’S HERRING CURING INDUS-TRY. You can read about the industry and see some photos. There are seven titles under the index that you can click on. On page two click on HERRINGS EVERYWHERE, you will see a photo of many baskets of herring on the Yarmouth quay. Click on the photo to enlarge it. At the top of the page above the orange area there is a tab marked SEARCH. Click that and you will find a box where you can type in the word “baskets”. It will show you three pictures that you can click on to enlarge. After you view one picture, you can click at the top where it says TAKE ME BACK to get to the next photo.

Below is another link you can use to get directly to Great Yarmouth’s Herring Industry:

http://www.maritimeheritageeast.org.uk/museums/time-and-tide-museum-of-great-yarmouth-life/great-yarmouths-herring-curing-industry

The swill and quarter-cran baskets were made of willow with a hazel frame. The swill basket was made by forming the top rim first. The quarter-cran bas-ket and most all other baskets were made from the base upwards. The bas-ket maker used tools to shave and cleave the willow and osier rods, knives and shears for cutting and trimming and then used another tool to arrange the weave. Before leaving the workshop, all quarter-cran baskets had to be measured and passed by the Inspector of Weights & Measures. This was the official measure used to check the quar-ter-cran baskets before they were offi-cially stamped. These baskets were unique to the Great Yarmouth herring fishery. The demand for the baskets varied according to the success of the fishing. During a successful week of fishing, hundreds of baskets would be ordered from a single basket-maker’s

workshop. Basket hooks were used to secure the baskets full of herring when hauled ashore from the hold of the boat.

How long William Towne worked as a basket-maker is not known since basket-makers had been in great de-mand at this time in Great Yarmouth. What we do know is that when William Towne was thirty-six years old he had become a gardener. This information is found in an original record of the apprenticeship of William’s oldest son John. (The original document is located at the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich.) On 25 April 1635, William Towne, gardener of Yarmouth, apprenticed his 12 year old son, John Towne, to Lyonell Gibson, cooper of Great Yarmouth to “8 years from 14th June next.” He was to receive "Double apparel, a thicksle, a howell & shave, and to be made a freeman." (NRO Y/C 4/327) Continued on next page

Quarter-cran baskets

Example of a swill basket

John Towne’s son, William’s apprenticeship to Abraham Robberts to become a basket-maker—original document (NRO)

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Swill+baskets&view=detail&id=12DEDC99C8E0FB65715145C244098E725D143497&first=1


9

William Towne’s son, John’s apprenticeship as a cooper to Lyonell Gibson—original document (NRO)


William Towne was listed here as a gardener. The gardens of Great Yarmouth were at the North End, beyond St. Nicholas and the town wall, not far from the Market Place where they could sell their goods. The TFA group walked along the outside of the wall and noted how the area looks today. A playground can be seen in one area.

Back in the fifteenth and sixteenth-centuries, a gardener would grow vegetables and fruits that would have

been for their own family’s use and also to make a living by selling vegetables and fruits in the town market.

We do not know what vegetables the Towne family grew. But vegetables such as peas, lettuce, cucumbers

and root vegetables like carrots, onions, radishes and turnips would have been common in this climate.

Fruits were also grown as well as flowers and herbs. Some plants were grown for their medicinal purposes.

John was twelve years old when he entered an apprenticeship as a cooper. Traditionally, a cooper is some-

one who makes wooden staved vessels, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads. Exam-

ples of a cooper's work include but are not limited to casks, barrels, buckets, tubs, butter churns, hogsheads,

firkins, tierces, rundlets, puncheons, pipes, tuns, butts, pins and breakers. Wheel wrights used similar meth-

ods in making wheel hubs and steel tires. Today, coopers mostly operate barrel-making machinery and as-

semble casks for the wine and spirits industry. Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_(profession).

Two of the records that can be found at the Norfolk Record Office related to William and Joanna Towne

close to the time of their departure from England include:

1) Record DN/VIS 6/4 Bishop's Visitation 1633 Presentment; of William & Joanna Towne for not receiving

Communion at Easter last.

2) Record DN/ANW/2/71 Archdeacon's Visitation 1634 Presentment of William & Joanna Towne.

Soon after John's apprenticeship started, William and Joanna were cited for failing to appear for communion,

and on 26 September 1635. They were labeled "Separatists, William Towne and Joanna, his wife." (Norwich

Consistory & Archdeaconry Visitation Records) Undoubtedly, they had already ”removed to New England.” Continued on next page

Record 1 - William Towne and Joanna written up for not coming to communion on Easter last. Original document (NRO)


10

The Towne Book —

One Correction and Three Additions

By Lois Hoover

TOWNE BOOK CORRECTION

Page 217 – Mehitable Towne b. 1768, daughter of Jacob #147, was married in Keene by Rev. Aaron Hall, to

William Balch on 12 Jan. 1792. William Balch was the son of Esther Estey (#74) page 274, and David Balch.

This marriage is found in The Vital Statistics of Keene, New Hampshire by Frank H. Whitcomb. The Balch Ge-

nealogy and The Essex Antiquarian articles are incorrect. There are no records of a marriage of William Balch

and a Mehitable Townsend in Keene vital records. [Lois would like to give credit to Barbara Ramsdell of Elmi-

ra, NY for the Towne/Balch correction.]

ADDITIONS TO SARAH DESCENDANTS

Matthew Bridges of Slidell, Louisiana has identified two additional children of Edmond Bridges (#131) page

425, and Lucy Bartlett. Taken from page 11 Records of Births, Deaths, Publishments and Marriages, copied

from the Earliest Records of the Town of Spencer by James Draper 1838 “Sarah Bridges daughter of Edmund

Bridges and Lucy his wife was born October 22, 1772; Hosea Bridges son of Edmund Bridges and Lucy his

wife was born May 29, 1774.” This book is found on microfilm or microfiche by Jay Mack Holbrook of Ox-

ford. The marriage of Hosea Bridges to Charlotte Wilcott of Brookfield, is found in vital records of Warren,

Worcester, Massachusetts.


In America William Towne became a farmer. He acquired ten acres of land in the Northfields section of

Salem. In 1651, he purchased land in the neighboring town of Topsfield from William Paine of Ipswich. This farm contained forty acres, "part of which is plow land, another part is meadow, another part is upland un-plowed, all lying together." He sold his Salem property to Henry Bullock in 1652 and bought additional land at Topsfield in 1656.

So over the course of his life, William Towne started out as an apprentice basket maker, then became a gar-dener in Great Yarmouth, England and ended up a land owner and farmer in America.

Karen’s descent is from three of William’s children: Joseph, Mary and Edmund

1st — Joseph: John, John Towne married Mercy Towne * — continued on Edmund’s line

2nd — Mary Towne Estey:, Jacob, Isaac, Sarah Estey Richardson, Timothy Richardson married Sarah “Sally” Towne ** — continued on Edmund’s line

3rd — Edmund: William, Mercy Towne * married John Towne, William, Sarah “Sally” Towne ** married Timothy Richardson, Luther, Adelia Richardson Hetzler

Harriet Hetzler Johns, Clifford, Harriet Johns Johnson, Karen Johnson Johnsen

* — Where Joseph’s and Edmund’s lines intersect; ** — Where Jacob’s and Edmund’s lines intersect

Editor’s note: Lois Hoover sent me an email stating that she sold a good number of books due to the article in the

December Newsletter. She now has less than sixty books left and when they are gone that will be it, she does not

plan on publishing a third edition. If you wish to order one of these books, the address is Lois P. Hoover, 24093 Eu-

calyptus CT., Auburn, CA 95602-8226. The price is $75. California residents must add $5.71 tax. The tax mentioned

in the last issue of A/T was too high. Lois has now figured the amount which will be easier for people. — RRJ ∞


11

The Joseph Towne Connection:

the Deacon, Gould and Perkins Families

Part 1: The Deacon Family of Hertfordshire

By Charles Farrow, Consulting Genealogist, Towne Family Association

Joseph Towne, son of William Towne & Joanna (Blessing), was not born until after his parents had arrived

in Salem, probably about 1639 since he took an oath in 1660 when he was twenty-one. About 1663, he mar-

ried Phebe Perkins, daughter of Thomas Perkins and his wife Phebe Gould. The origins of the Perkins family

in Hilmorton, Warwickshire, England will be examined in future articles, as will the Gould family of Boving-

don, Hertfordshire and later of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England.

[Information on the American descendants is taken from “Towne Family” by Lois Payne Hoover 2010]

Phebe Gould was the daughter of Zacheus Gould and his wife Phebe Deacon, and it is the family of Phebe

Deacon that we are concentrating on today. At the outset it must be made clear that no marriage record has

been located for Zacheus Gould and Phebe Deacon in Hertfordshire, nor is there any cross referencing in the

Gould or Deacon wills. However, Benjamin Apthorp Gould in his “Lineage of Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield” -

1895 p. 26 cites an account book kept by John Gould, grandson of Zacheus, in which is a memorandum:

“Grandfather Gould lived in Buckinghamshire, and Grandfather Deacon lived in Hertfordshire in Hempstead

town in Corner Hall.” There is only one Hempstead in Hertfordshire -- Hemel Hempstead, in which is a ham-

let called Corner Hall, and here Thomas Deacon lived and pursued his trade of a tanner. Moreover, he had a

daughter Phebe, who was of the right age to be wife of Zacheus Gould, and since there is no marriage record

for her in Hertfordshire, it seems certain that she is the wife of Zacheus. A Deacon ancestry is therefore es-

tablished and it is with them that I will now deal.

I will pass back over two generations of Thomas Deacon given in a pedigree with no supporting documentary

evidence. The third generation back Thomas Deacon is said to have been born c1521 in Hemel Hempstead,

and to have died in 1582. There is, as I will show, good evidence for Thomas Deacon who died in 1582, al-

though not in Hemel Hempstead, but in neighboring Bovingdon.

In the Exchequer Series at The National Archives (TNA), Kew, are the Subsidy Rolls, a number of which give

the names of those assessed to pay a tax or subsidy on their lands or goods. For Hemel Hempstead, there

are Rolls for 1523/24, 1526, 1527, 1541, 1544, 1545, 1550, 1567, 1571, 1572 and 1599. The name Deacon

does not appear on any of them. However, on the same Rolls under Bovingdon we have a different situation.

Up to 1550 there is no name of Deacon, but in the Roll for 1567, Thomas Deacon is assessed on £5 in goods,

on which he is to pay 5s. In 1571 the value of goods has risen to £6 on which he has to pay 10s, while in 1572

his goods are again valued at £6, but he only pays 6s. By 1599 there is no Deacon listed in Bovingdon. [E

179/120/119; /122; /125; /130; E 179/121/155; /156; /169; /183; 191; /207; /216; /226; /259]

In Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies (HALS) at Hertford are preserved the Manor Court records of Hemel

Hempstead. The earliest surviving Court Book (D/EX 640/M15) covers the period 1529 – 1543, but it has no

record of any Deacons in it. The next Court Book (D/EX 640/M16 Part 1) covers the period 1569 – 1593, and

it has no reference to Thomas Deacon of Bovingdon either. Continued on next page


12


It seems clear that Thomas Deacon had no connection to Hemel Hempstead, but came to Bovingdon some-

time between 1550 and 1567. It is unfortunate that there are no Manor Court Records for Bovingdon for this

period according to the Manorial Documents Register kept at TNA.

Also in TNA, in the Chancery Series, is a Complaint by Thomas Deacon of Bovingdon regarding a Lease of

lands in Bovingdon:

C 2/Eliz/D5/16

Complaint by Thomas Deacon of Bovingdon

“To the right honorable Sir Nicholas Bakon knight lord keeper of the greate seale of Englande Ao 1577

In humble wise complayninge shewethe unto your good lordship your orator Thomas Deacon of Boving-don in the countie of Hertf[ordshire] yeoman that wheras one John Horton of Bovingdon afforesayd in

the sayd countie of Hertf[ordshire] gent and Marye his wyffe as in the right of the sayd Marye were lawfully seised of and in one meswage [messuage – house] or tenement and of certeyne landes medowes

pastures fedinges [feedings] to the same belonginge Scytuat [situate] lyinge and beinge in the sayd par-ishe of Bovingdon afforesayd in the sayd countie of Hertf[ordshire] in ther demesne as of fee and so be-

inge seised for certeyne consideracons them movinge aboute seventene yeare now past did demise grannt betake and to ferme lett one close of pasture parcell of the foresayd premisses comonlie called and knowen

by the name of Hells felde conteyninge by estimacon eightene acres with the appertenances lyinge and be-

inge in the Hamlett of Bovingdon afforesayd unto Henrye Mayne of Bovingdon afforesayd Hus-bandman for the terme of fyftene yeares then next followinge renderinge a certeyne rent for the same

And afterwardes within a quarter of a yeare after the demise the sayd John Horton and Mary his wyf for certeyne consideracons them also specyalye movinge did in lyk maner demyse and grannt the sayd

meswage tenement & landes premisses whatsoever to the same belonginge wherof the sayd close is parcell unto your orator for the terme of one and twentie yeares then next followinge rendringe a certeyne Rent

unto the sayd John Horton and Marye and theyres [the heirs] of the sayd Marye and with other cove-nant & granntes and agre[mentes?] as in and by the same Indenture redye to be shewed to your good lord-

shipp more at lardge yt [it] dothe and maye appeare And although your sayd orator havinge wordes suf-ficient in his sayd demyse to him made by the sayd John Horton and Marye his wyff to convey unto him

the sayd close in the tenure of the sayd Henrye Mayne after thende of the sayd terme of fyftene yeares Continued on next page


13


for 6 yeares then to come, yet bycause ther meaninge might also in the same matter more playnlie appeare the sayd John Horton and Marye did in the pre[sence?] of divers honest and credible persons confesse

and declare that your sayd ...... [hole in document] should and ought by virtue of his sayd lease have and enjoye the sayd close called hell close for the terme of six yeares after thexpiracon of the sayd terme of

fyftene yeares made to the sayd Henry Mayne as aforesayd which was to thende [the end] of the sayd 21 yeares

And also divers tymes practised with the compl[ainant] to have his good will that he might increase the

yeares of the sayd Mayne by a newe lease which when your orator would not consent unto the sayd Hor-ton and the sayd Mayne myndinge to overthrowe the interest of your orator therin contryved a lease as

from him and his sayd wyf dated at the tyme that the first lease was made at for one and twentie yeares wherin they might take upp the sayd yeares so remayninge to your orator

And afterward the sayd John Horton deceased sythence [since] the decease of which sayd John Horton the sayd Marye beinge demanded whether the sayd Henrye Mayne had any further interest and terme

of and in the sayd close then onlye for the terme of fyftene yeares she the sayd Marye hath in lyke maner confessed that the sayd Henrye Mayne had no farther terme that she did knowe of from her sayd hus-

band of the sayd close but onlye for fyftene yeares.

And so will as yt affirm the same accordinglie all which notwithstandinge so yt is yf [if] yt maye please

your good lordshipp that the sayd Henrye Mayne Sythenc [since] the death of of [sic] the sayd John Horton hath in many and sondrye places now of late geven out in speche in the hearinge of divers credible

persons that he hath a longer and further interest and terme from the sayd John Horton by & uppon a new surmised and supposed lease and grannte from him and his sayd wyfe Marye made Alledginge the

same to be to him made for and duringe the terme of one and twentie yeares as at the first tyme of the lease made unto him by the sayd Horton and Marye his sayd wyfe And so he affirmethe the same his un-

knowen and seacreat grannt therof to be made before the interest and terme of your sayd subject wheras in all trothe the same was contryved by the sayd Horton and him after your orrators interest for that your

orrator would not yeld to gyve up his sayd interest yf any such grannt therof should have ben made by the sayd John Horton of the sayd close as yt is verye unlyke that ther was ever any suche made for that Continued on next page


14


the sayd Marye his wyf in whose right he held the sayd close and other the premisses was never partie nor consentinge therunto And as she will also be redie to shewe and declare the same uppon her corporall othe

accordinglie when as it shall seme most expedient in that behalf And for as mutche as much controversie sutes trobles and variannces by & through sutch sinister practises and the havinge of suposed grannt &

may lykelie ensue and chardge hinderance and mutch monye in that behalf caused to be spent in the de-fendinge of the same in verye shorte tyme to come And for that the trewthe whether the sayd Maynes

lease that he now holdethe by for one and twentie yeares was made at the first before your orrators or sins

by slyght as aforesayd lyethe onelye in his knowledge and cannot be dissencied [discerned] by wittnesses and for divers other & as the circumstances and truthe of the causes which wilbe have to be founde and

wheras the same should happe to come to tryall by the corse of the comen lawes of this Realme but lye hyd to the hinderance of mercie and to the great hinderance of your orator except the sayd Mayne may be

brought before your honor to utter the trewthe of the premisses and whether the lease that he now holdethe by which is for one and twentie yeares from the date be the lease that he had at the tyme and before your or-

ators lease was made.

In consideracon wherof may yt please your good lordshipp the premisses considered to grannte the Que-

nes ma[jes]tes most gracous wrytt of sub pena to be directed to the sayd Henrye Mayne comannding him therby at a certeyne daye and under a certeyne payne therin to be prefixed to be and personally to appeare

before your honor in the Quenes ma[jes]tes hygh corte of chancerye to answer to the premisses and to stand to and abyde sutch order and direcion therin as to your honor shall seme to stand with right equitie

and good conscience and your orator as he is bounden shall praye for the preservacon of your honor [document damaged] longe to contynue.”

The awnswer of Henrye Mayne deff [defendant] to the byll of compl[aint] of Thomas Decone plt [plaintiff]

“The saide deff savinge unto hime selfe thadvantage of the uncertentye and insufficiencye of the saide byll at all tymes saythe that the landes and tenementes in the byll mencioned whiche the plt by his sayde byll supposethe that the sayd deff wrongfullye dothe clayme houlde and deteine From the sayde plt is not worthe 40s by the yeere but fare under the same value, nor the whole intereste and terme of yeers whiche the Continued on next page


15


sayde plt by his byll supposethe that the sayde deff dothe clayme of and in the same lands & tenementes over and besyds the deff corne nowe growinge upon the saide groundes is worthe the some of £10 but fare

under the same valewe wherfore the sayde deff demmureth upone the sayde byll thinkinge yt by the orders of this honorable courte to a matter of soe smale valewe he shall not be compellede here to awnswere and de-

manndethe the judgmente of this honorable courte whether he shall neede or shalbe enforcede to make any further or other awnswere unto the sayde byll and prayethe to be hens dimissede withe his reasonable costes

in this behalfe wrongfullye susteynede.”

It is a sad fact of Chancery that so often there is no evidence for the conclusion of the case, so we have no

way of knowing if Thomas won or lost. Whatever the outcome, Thomas Deacon and Henry Mayne must have

been reconciled, since Thomas in his will made in 1582 appoints Henry Mayne one of his Overseers, and gives

him 13s 4d. Before we turn to that document, let us consider what this Chancery case tells us. The Horton’s

must have granted the original Lease to Henry Mayne c1560, and 3 months later granted the lease to Thomas

Deacon, in 1560 or 1561. This indicates that Thomas was in Bovingdon by that time, and it may indicate that

he was leasing a house and land on which to settle down, perhaps as a newly married man, or at least with a

very young but growing family. As will be seen from his will, his sons Roger & Thomas were under twenty-

one in 1582, and would still be under age three years after that. Because the earliest Parish Register of Bo-

vingdon has been destroyed, we have no record of the baptisms of Thomas’s children.

Bovingdon and Hemel Hempstead were then in the Diocese of Lincoln, and the will jurisdiction was vested

in the Archdeacon of Huntingdon, who maintained a Registry at Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Some of these wills

are preserved at HALS, but others, including that of Thomas Deacon of Bovingdon, are kept in the Hunting-

donshire Archives & Local Studies:

AH/Hitchin Series/2

Will of Thomas Deacon of Bovingdon

“In the name of God Amen the first daye of June in the yere of our Lord God 1582 I Thomas Deacon of

Boveingdon in the Countie of Hertford yeoman beinge sicke in bodie but of good & perfecte memorie laude & praise be unto Almightie God do make & ordayne my last will & Testament in manner & forme

followinge.

First I comend my sole into the handes of Almightie God my maker & redeemer & my bodie to be buried in

Boveingdon churchyeard.

Item I geve & bequeth to the poore in Boveingdon 16d. Continued on next page


16


Item I geve & bequeth to my three Daughteres Awdrey Margeret & Marie to eche of them the some of £13 6s 8d of good & lawfull monye of England & to eche of them as followeth that is ech of them one cowe,

10 shepe, one cofer [small chest] the best save two, one paire of flexen [flax] shetes & two payre of toane sheetes one table cloth & halfe a dizen of napkins one candlesticke two pewter platters & two pewter dishes

one matterise one coverlet, one blanket one bolster one pillowe and one paire of pillowbeers [pillow cases] one bearinge sheet & one brasse pott.

Item I geve & bequeth to my two sonnes Roger & Thomas eche of them the some of £40 of lawfull monye

of England to be payd within three yeres next after the feaste of St Michaell tharkangell next comynge after the date hereof to the overseers of this my last will & Testament & they to imploye at yerelye to the

best use of the said Roger & Thomas untill eche of them come to the age of 21 yeres & then my said overse-ers to deliver the said somes of £40 a peece unto the said Roger & Thomas their heires or assignes.

Item I geve & bequeth to William Ewer & Anne Ewer the sonne & daughter of John Ewer my sonne in lawe eche of them an ewe pugge of an yeare olde. [An ewe pug is normally 2 years]

Item I geve to William Parret Franncis Axtell & John Feilder eche of them 12d & to Henrye Style 8d.

The residue of all my goodes & Chattels not bequethed I geve & bequeth to Jone my wiffe & I make & ordayne the said Jone my wiffe & Richard Allen her brother executores of this my last will & Testament

& he to have for his labor 40s and to have all his charges borne about the executinge of this my last will, & I ordayne Henrye Mayne & John Goold of the lane overseers & they to have eche of them for their la-

bores 13s 4d.

Witnesses hereof Thomas Hallam Raphe Bullocke John Deacon & Thomas Fielde with others.

22nd June 1582 approved and administration granted to Richard Allen.” ∞

Note: All figures in Roman Numerals in original documents have been converted and placed in italics.

Likewise, all editorial matter is placed within square brackets and in italics. – Charles Farrow

Editor’s note: If you read the documents aloud, you will have fewer problems understanding them as

they are usually spelled out phonetically. — RRJ


17

St. Nicholas Minister — Thank You for the TFA Contribution

Below is a letter sent by The Reverend James Stewart, Curate of the Great Yarmouth Minister, to President

Elizabeth Hanahan thanking TFA for the contribution that had been presented to the church during TFA’s trip

to England in September.

Reminder: If anyone is still interested in donating to any of the churches, the deadline is approaching. Also, be sure

to tell Linda Fulmer how the donation is to be allocated, either to one particular church or churches or to all of them.

Linda Fulmer’s address is P.O. Box 5026, Carefree, AZ 85377.


18

History and Hollywood…

A Look at Beaufort, South Carolina

By Elizabeth Hanahan

Beaufort County, South Carolina lies in the flat land bordering the Atlantic Ocean

and is known as the low country that encompasses over 200 sea islands.

Beaufort and the town of Port Royal are located on Port Royal Island,

next to Parris Island and St. Helena Island,

where Penn Center is located.

All of these islands are accessible by car, joined by a series of bridges.

As descendants of William and Joanna Towne, when we think of our country's history, we think of Plym-

outh Rock and Massachusetts. Our history books have told us that St. Augustine, Florida was the first settle-

ment in North America. When you go to Beaufort, South Carolina, however, you will learn that Beaufort's

Port Royal Sound, with the deepest natural harbor on the east coast was explored as early as 1514 by the

Spaniards. In 1562, French Huguenot explorer, Jean Ribaut, who after exploring the St. Augustine area, went

north and established Charlesfort on the present day Parris Island three years before St. Augustine was

settled by Spain. However, Charlesfort, like many of the early European settlements, did not survive. In 1566,

the Spanish returned and established the Santa Elena settlement on Parris Island, which lasted until 1587

when the British drove them out. Beaufort was chartered by the British in 1711 and managed to endure de-

spite numerous threats of foreign invasion as well as hostilities by the local Cusabo Indians, who had been in

the area for four thousand years. In addition to the harbor which promoted shipbuilding, the climate and

land allowed rice, cotton and indigo to flourish. Wealthy plantation owners built mansions, many of which

can still be seen today in downtown Beaufort.

In order to fully take advantage of nature's boun-

ty, however, it was necessary to import slaves

from the rice-growing areas of western Africa, so

the slave trade got an early start in the sea islands.

Because of the isolated nature of the islands, de-

scendants of these slaves have been able to main-

tain many aspects of their language and culture.

The resulting culture, which Penn Center works

hard to preserve, is known as Gullah, a blend of West African, British and American traditions.

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860, and Beau-

fort was quickly captured by the Union forces at the start of the Civil War,

causing frightened plantation owners to flee, leaving behind their slaves.

These slaves, shut off from the rest of the country, had no way to take care of

their most basic needs. It was at this point that the call went out to Northern

churches for assistance, a call answered by Laura Towne and her friend Ellen

Murray. Their tireless work helped newly emancipated slaves learn the skills

needed to live and prosper. Their legacy can be clearly seen in the thousands

of people who return each year for Penn Center's Heritage Days. Continued on next page

Laura Towne’s Penn Center Plaque

Flags of the Gullah people on th grounds of Penn Center during Heritage Days


19


Also leaving behind a strong legacy was Robert Smalls, a slave who was born in Beaufort. During the Civil

War, he captured a Confederate ship and sailed it past Charleston to deliver it to the Union Navy. He was

awarded his freedom as a result and after the War, served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Beaufort is also the location of one of the first national cemeteries which was established in 1863 by Presi-

dent Lincoln, and is the only one in which both Union and Confederate troops were buried. The John Mark

Verdier House, which was used as Union headquarters, is the only former

plantation house open to the public.

After the War, the town continued to flourish due to phosphate mining un-

til 1893 when it was devastated by a major hurricane. This hurricane, the

only one the area has had, caused another Towne descendant, Clara Bar-

ton, to come to the rescue. A plaque commemorating her relief work may

be seen on the grounds of Penn Center. Whether Clara Barton and Laura

Towne realized that they descended from the same ancestors is unknown.

Beaufort was rejuvenated in large part during the twentieth century as a result of the involvement of the

U.S. Military. The U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island is the training facility for all Marine recruits

east of the Mississippi River, and female recruits from all over the country. Over 15,000 recruits are trained

every year. The Marine Corps Air Station Marine and Navy in Beaufort is an established air station, with

many of its squadrons deployed around the world. There is also a Naval Hospital which is located on the

grounds of Fort Frederick, built in 1734, and the Civil War garrison, Camp Saxton.

Beaufort worked to revitalize the downtown and as a result the area was designated a National Landmark

Historic District in 1973.

Are you a movie buff? If so, Beaufort, South Carolina will seem familiar to you. It has been the setting for

numerous movies, television shows, and commercials which have helped to spur recent growth and develop-

ment, and to document the feel of "old" Beaufort. Every tour you take, whether it is a walking tour, a car-

riage ride, or even a river boat excursion, highlights places featured in many of the movies and where the

stars lived during filming. There is even a movie tour devoted entirely to Beaufort's film history!

Starting with the film version of Pat Conroy's Great Santini, producers, directors and actors have found Beau-

fort to be a perfect setting. Many of the actors brought family members with them while they spent months

in filming, and some of them have returned periodically, even buying property themselves. Names like Blythe

Danner, Tom Berenger, Nick Nolte, Sally Fields, Tom Hanks, and Kevin Kostner pop up frequently in stories

that residents delight in telling. They especially relish stories of Barbra Streisand's stay while filming The

Prince of Tides. It seems that everyone has their own version of a "star attitude" interaction!

Pat Conroy has had a long connection to Beaufort so it is fitting that Great Santini started Beaufort's connec-

tion to Hollywood. Conroy's first job was as an English teacher in Beaufort, and Beaufort High School figured

prominently in the film version of his novel. Also featured were scenes around St. Helena Island, which is also

the location of Penn Center where we will be holding our annual meeting. Continued on next page

Clara Barton’s Penn Center plaque


20


The next notable film set in Beaufort and other parts of the low country was The Big Chill. The mansion which

is so familiar to all who have seen that movie is still known informally to residents as the "Big Chill" house.

Things were quiet in Beaufort for the next several years until plans were being made to film another of Pat

Conroy's books, The Prince of Tides. Beaufort was anxious to be selected as the site for this high profile film to

be produced and directed by Barbra Streisand, who would also be its star. Many accommodations were made

to achieve this coup and everyone who lived there at the time has stories about her stay in town. Also fondly

remembered from this film was Nick Nolte, who, unlike Streisand, spent much of his time off camera socializ-

ing in the community.

One of the most recognizable landmarks for many mov-

ie goers is the swing bridge which was featured in Forrest

Gump. This film was widely viewed with its many scenes

around Beaufort and the Low country. Tom Hanks was

very well liked, and both he and Sally Field rented homes

in the area during shooting. Unfortunately, Fripp Island,

which was the location for many of the Vietnam scenes, is

a private gated community which is only open to those

staying there.

The next few years saw a flurry of films being made in Beaufort.

Some of the jungle scenes from the 1994 version of Rudyard Kip-

ling's The Jungle Book were filmed on Fripp Island. The year 1995

saw the arrival of Julia Roberts, Kyra Sedgewick, Gena Rowlands,

Robert Duvall and Dennis Quaid for several months during the film-

ing of Something To Talk About. Also filmed in 1995 were Last Dance

which featured Sharon Stone, and White Squall. Rounding out the

decade were G.I. Jane, Forces of Nature, Rules of Engagement, The

Legend of Bagger Vance, and Radio. More information about all of

these films and their connection to Beaufort can be found in Ginnie

Kozak's book Lights, Camera, . . .Beaufort, Hollywood Comes to the

Low Country, Third Edition, which is the source of much of the infor-

mation in this article and which will be available in the hospitality

room at the 2013 reunion.

The majority of these movies can be obtained on Netflix or Moviefone and would make great rainy day view-

ing. Even if you have seen them before, knowing a little about their filming might make them worth seeing

again and provide a preview of where we will meet this October.

For residents and visitors alike, history in Beaufort is not something of the past. Everywhere you go, you will

find it preserved and appreciated. Come to Beaufort in October so you can experience it for yourself! ∞

A view of the swing bridge featured in Forrest Gump and Waterfront

Park in Beaufort.

Marilyn Towne Roy, co-chair of the October Reunion

along with another view of the swing bridge


21

LAURA M. TOWNE AND THE CIVIL WAR

By Paul Towne

April 12, 2011 was the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil

War and therefore it is timely to make mention of a Towne relative

who played a pivotal role in those turbulent years.

My wife Linda and I first heard about Laura Towne from our son,

Shawn, who is a high school history teacher. Shawn asked us if the

Laura Towne he knew about was somehow connected to our family

line and was TFA aware of her contributions to the history of South

Carolina. Of course, the answer to both questions was yes.

Early in the Civil War the Union forces found themselves in one of

those good news/bad news situations. Fighting in the Sea Islands

area of South Carolina had gone well—with the Battle of Port Royal

in 1861, but the local property owners had fled inland and the Un-

ion forces suddenly found themselves burdened with the care of a

couple thousand newly freed African-American slaves. It was time

for the Northern abolitionists to step up to the plate and help out.

The war was one year old when Miss Towne left her family in Penn-

sylvania and sailed south to do her part as a health care giver, edu-

cator and supply distributor.

Try to imagine how much courage and devotion it must have taken

to travel down to the Beaufort area during wartime with no way of

knowing how long the war would last or what the final outcome

would look like. There was a long time period when Laura and her

best friend, Miss Ellen Murray, kept loaded fire arms in their

rooms. On some occasions Laura could smell the smoke of nearby fighting. Laura had received medical

training and used this knowledge well when smallpox and other maladies swept through the Sea Islands.

Laura was also a bit of a politician in some respects and was not afraid to make her views known to Union

generals and Boston newspaper editors. Laura and Ellen stayed on and founded a school called The Penn

School on the island of St. Helena. In all, Laura spent 38 years devoted to the education and well-being of the

African-American people of St Helena.

If at this point I have piqued your curiosity about Laura and you would like to learn more, I have a few sug-

gestions. First, there is a book which consists of letters and the diary of Laura Towne, edited by Rupert Sar-

gent Holland, printed by Higginson Book Company. Reading a journal which Laura didn’t think you and I

would read is different than reading a finished book aimed at anonymous readers. I found that speed read-

ing then rereading various sections again worked best for me. I enjoyed and learned a lot about the Civil War

and Laura Towne from reading this book. There was one part where Laura recorded that food was becoming Continued on next page

From the Penn School Collection.

Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St.

Helena Island, SC.


22


scarce and they were forced to eat the abundant native oysters to the point where they were sick of them.

My sister and I experienced a similar problem when our father had a recreational lobster fishing license

many years ago. Hard to believe one can get tired of oysters or lobsters.

The second suggestion is to enter the name Laura Towne in one of the web search engines. There is a lot of

good information on Laura on various web sites. That is how I found out about the lineage connecting Laura

to William Towne, however, her complete lineage can also be found on the family tree on the TFA website.

(8) Laura Towne - b 03 May 1825 in Pittsburgh, PA, d 22 Feb 1901 on St Helena’s Island, SC;

(7) John Towne - b 30 Apr 1787 in Methuen, Essex, MA, d 24 Jul 1881, m. Sarah Robinson on 30 Apr 1817;

(6) Benjamin Towne - b Feb 1746 in Andover, MA, d 1825 in Methuen, Essex, MA, m Mehitible Chandler abt

1772;

(5) Nathan Towne - b 25 Apr 1720 in Andover, Essex, MA, d 3 Sep 1810 in Andover, m Eunice;

(4) Nathan Towne - b 30 May 1693 in Topsfield, Essex, MA, d aft 5 Jan 1762, m Phebe Curtis on 31 Dec 1713;

(3) Joseph Towne - b 2 Sep 1661 in Topsfield, Essex, MA, d 18 May 1713 in Topsfield, m Ruhana Smith on 10

Aug 1687;

(2) Edmund Towne - b bef 22 Jun 1628 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, d 3 May 1678 in Topsfield, Es-

sex, MA, m Mary Browning abt 1652;

(1) William Towne - b 1598 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, m Joanna Blessing in 1620.

Belfry schoolhouse bells were very important to the schools on the

islands and became a status symbol to some extent. Penn Center

has Laura’s bell and a replica of the belfry it was mounted in. There

are two memorials in Laura’s name, one erected by Laura’s brother

and the other by the people of St. Helena Island on the grounds of

Penn Center.

The third and last suggestion I have is to visit the Sea Islands of

South Carolina during the 33rd TFA Annual Reunion in Beaufort and

St. Helena’s Island, South Carolina on Columbus Day weekend, Octo-

ber 11-13, 2013. It will include functions at the Penn Center. Penn

Center was designated a national historic landmark in 1974 and is comprised of 19 buildings. (See

www.penncenter.com) The center has a large amount of information on Laura, Ellen and the Penn School.

Paul Towne’s descent: William, Joseph, Joseph, David, David, Joseph, Joseph, Charles, Selwyn H., Selwyn H., Paul Towne

Penn Tower Bell — located at Penn Center.

The Bell pictured was photographed at the Penn Center by Paul Towne. It also is part of the “Penn School Collections.”

Permission to print the picture was granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, SC.

Their address is: Penn Center Inc

National Historic Landmark District

P.O. Box 126

16 Penn Center Circle West

St. Helena Island, SC 29920


23

A Tribute to Jim and Marie Roome

By Jean L. and Arthur J. Towne

The time was September, 1985 – I remember it well! Our

5th annual TFA meeting was being held at the Nonantum Ho-tel and Inn in Kennebunkport, ME, hosted by Charles and Robert Towne. For us in New England, it was hurricane sea-son. We had planned on arriving on Friday, September 27th; but for us in Hamilton, MA, Hurricane Gloria was wreaking a bit of havoc, and we arrived a day late — just in time for the Saturday business meeting.

During that past year or longer we had all been hearing much mention of a gentleman whom Arthur and I had not yet met — but about whom our President Deena Towne had been speaking of quite often, and lately with much respect and admiration. We had been wondering, “Who is this guy

about whom Deena speaks of so highly?” He had seemed like such a phantom, as nobody else seemed to have met him.

That was the day we came to know about Jim Roome! As luck would have it for TFA, Jim himself ended up speaking that day at his first TFA meeting, in place of another keynote speaker who, at the last minute, had to cancel her trip because of the hurricane. This began our long personal association with Jim and Marie Roome, who have become our role models and friends throughout our wonderful years of TFA.

Jim Roome has been a member of TFA since 1984. He was a chemist and spent his career working for East-man-Kodak in Rochester, NY. He is a descendant of Mary Towne, a daughter of William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne, and Isaac Esty, who had married about 1665 and settled in Topsfield, Essex County, MA. Mary later was executed as a witch during the witchcraft delusion of 1692.

Prior to joining TFA, Jim had already been very active as the Genealogist for the Esty/Estey Family Associa-tion. I think that one reason Deena regarded Jim so highly was for his knowledge of computers and comput-erized genealogy. As many of us can remember, TFA got its start during the infancy of the personal comput-er age, and it was our co-founders Deena and Bill Towne’s dream that one day all of our genealogy files would be computerized. Throughout the years Jim’s knowledge of computer software has guided TFA to-wards making the most appropriate decisions regarding computer equipment purchases.

Jim also served on the Board of Directors for 1984 – 1986, as well as being a member of TFA’s Membership Committee. He also started writing his About Towne newsletter column entitled — “The Esty File,” which included many genealogy and history articles, and as the TFA Genealogist, many query responses. At that time Jim’s Esty File contained over 4,000 names of Estys and their relatives. Over the years Jim and his wife Marie had also made many genealogy trips in the United States and in England to research the Esty, Towne, and Kimball families. They also took retirement trips throughout Europe and South America. In the ensuing years he continued to “wear many hats” by assuming more TFA responsibilities, along with the quiet and positive support of Marie, who “wore many related hats” as well. These responsibilities included: Display and Sales Committees, Vice-President for Publications, Photographer and the Genealogical Committee. It was their “experience of a lifetime” trip to East Anglia in May, 1987, in which Jim and Marie sowed the seeds for a TFA genealogical trip to the land of William and Joanna (Blessing) Townes’ births. Continued on next page

Jim Roome with Marie Roome (deceased) being presented an award for

their service to TFA by Arthur and Jean Towne - Dec 2009 A/T newsletter


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They submitted “Our East Anglia Heritage” to About Towne, along with photographs and a map. Their trip became the precursor of the first and subsequent TFA trips to East Anglia, which later took place in 1990, 1994, and 2001 led by Jim and Marie, and then coordinated by Charles Farrow, our British Genealogist in 2001 and 2012. The highlight of our 1990 trip was Jim and Marie’s presentation of Jim’s computer-designed bronze plaque to commemorate our immigrant ancestors and their children at the Sunday church service at St. Nicholas Parish Church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, on September 30, 1990. It is today displayed on the east wall of the church chancel. The text of the plaque is as follows:

“WILLIAM TOWNE and JOANNA BLESSING were married in this church on 25 April 1620 and six of their eight children were baptized here. They founded the Towne family in America. Two of their children, Rebecca and Mary, were executed during the Salem witchcraft delusion in 1692.”

TFA has been so fortunate to have benefitted from Jim and Marie’s many trips. They have given so many TFA members our own “trips of a lifetime!”

Between trips Jim has served as Executive Secretary, to whom many of you have probably forwarded your membership applications and dues, a member of the Nominating Committee, and on the Registration Com-mittee. He was the recipient of a “Certificate of Distinguished Service in 1991. Then he became TFA Genealo-gist, and host of the 16th annual TFA meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1996, and in 2003 the 23rd annual meeting in Rochester, NY. For years Jim and Marie have been diligent and outstanding members of “The Rochester Group,” the team which has been coordinating the publishing, circulation, and indexing of About Towne. They have been fine examples of the teamwork needed to produce a newsletter of which we are all proud.

Early in 2001 Jim and Marie were excitedly learning about the new DNA genealogy project that can link mod-ern-day people to those who lived 20,000 years ago. This led to having their own DNA testing done in Oxford, England in 2003 and maintaining continued ardent support of the DNA process of genealogy by serving on a new committee formed in 2007, named the “Towne Surname DNA Project.” The purpose is to establish a baseline DNA profile for William Towne in order to identify distant branches of the Towne family and to de-termine, along with utilizing traditional genealogical research, whether or not the lines leading back to Wil-liam are intact.

In 2009 the “Jim and Marie Roome Genealogy Fund” was established by Jean and Arthur J. Towne for further-ing genealogical studies, and to be used at Jim and Marie’s discretion.

Jim’s latest retirement projects have been to develop his own method of re-binding old books and to re-search the deed history of Sandhill Cemetery, of which he is a Trustee, that is located in Seneca, Ontario County, NY. This cemetery was established in the 1780’s and has been added to over the years. He re-searched the original land deeds, as well as the deeds for subsequent cemetery additions. From these deeds he prepared a map of the entire cemetery, performed a tape survey, and placed survey markers to delineate the current boundaries. Many generations of both Esty/Estey and Roome family members are interred here, including Jim’s wife Marie and their son, Thomas.

Like most of us genealogists who have our own “brick walls,” Jim continues to search for the whereabouts of his Molly Hooper, born 8 January, 1744 in Marblehead, Essex County, MA, who married Aaron 7 Esty on 22 October, 1766, in Lynn, Essex County, MA. Her final resting place is unknown. Continued on next page


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Much indeed has happened since that day in September, 1985, when Arthur and I wondered, “Who is this guy Jim Roome?” We now know! Through the years the four of us have corresponded together, broken bread together, and spoken together often. Past President Barbara Bayliss once affirmed that Jim re-tired from his career, only to work full-time for TFA! Accolades don’t get much better than that!

And so, to Jim and Marie Roome, our special friends and role models, on behalf of TFA, we say a very heartfelt thank-you for two special lives well-lived, inspirations to us all. ∞

Jim’s Descent: William, Mary Towne Eastie, Isaac Estie, Aaron Easty, Aaron Estey, William Esty, Aaron, John, Frederick, Lulu Maude Estey

Roome, James Roome

A Gem on the Back of the Dues Notice Page

On the back of the Dues Notice page you were asked to tell us about yourself. The Reverend

Elinor Towne Lockwood Yeo took us up on this suggestion. We thought it was such a gem and after getting Elinor’s permission, we thought we would share it with you.

“My husband Richard and I are retired UCC (Congregational) pastors. We live in Newtonville, MA and are active members of Old South Church in Boston, which is an historic church located in Copley Square.

Three of the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials were members of the Old South Church includ-ing Judge Sewell. Judge Sewell apologized 5 years later, but the others did not. The pastor of the church opposed the trials. John Alden, Jr. and others were also accused while they were mem-bers.

My paternal grandmother was Mary Rebecca Towne before she married William Wirt Lock-wood. She was in the class of 1898 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she met her husband. He was a YMCA Secretary and they spent 35 years in Shanghai, China where they raised their 3 sons. Their youngest, John Salem Lockwood, was my father -- a brilliant surgeon who died at forty-two.

My grandmother would never let any of her grandchildren forget the tragic family history of the ‘witch’ trials.”

(Rev.) Elinor Towne Lockwood Yeo

Elinor’s lineage: William, Jacob, John, Israel, Israel, Salem, Rufus, Salem, Mary Rebecca Towne Lockwood, John, Elinor Towne Lockwood Yeo

Birth of Broderick Allan Schield

Ruth L. Hacker has announced the birth of Broderick Allan Schield who was born on May 29, 2012. He is the

son of Meghan Kirsten Davis Schield and Kris Schield. Meghan is Ruth L. Hacker’s granddaughter. Broderick

has an older brother Aidan Patrick Schield who was born in 2007.

Broderick's Linage: William, Edmund, Joseph, Jesse Towne, Thomas Town, Israel Towne, Thomas Towns, Newell Towne, George Washing-

ton Towns, Mary Ethel Towns Soper, Ruth Emma Soper Barnes, Ruth Loree Barnes Hacker, Sandra Lynn Hacker Davis, Meghan Kirsten Davis

Schield, Broderick Allan Schield.∞


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Rebecca Nurse Homestead’s Bob Osgood Honored by Town of Danvers

by Jean and Arthur J. Towne

On Thursday Nov. 29, 2012 Jean and I attended a

standing-room only recognition at the Danvers,

Mass. Town Hall honoring Robert “Bob” Osgood, for-

mer resident overseer of the Rebecca Nurse Home-

stead, as a fifty-five year continuous Town Meeting

member in the town of Danvers. Bob is the longest

continuously serving Town Meeting member in the

history of the town. Richard B. Trask, Danvers Town

Archivist, a member of the TFA Archives Committee

and a past member of the Danvers Alarm List Co.

(DALCo.), among other town officials, provided inter-

esting, humorous, and sometimes curmudgeonly vi-

gnettes of Bob’s years of volunteer involvement in

town of Danvers affairs.

TFA members who had visited the Homestead during his 15-year residence there may remember Bob as a

friendly and very knowledgeable docent who always warmly welcomed Towne Family descendants and TFA

members. Even when it was officially closed, Bob took the time to provide personal off-hours/off-season

tours of the Homestead. He is one of the founding members of DALCo., the current owner of the homestead.

Through his efforts at the Homestead Bob alone has been responsible for gaining more TFA members than

any other single person, even though he was not a TFA member himself until 2007 when he was awarded

honorary TFA membership. Bob has truly been an invaluable resource of knowledge to the town of Danvers,

as well as to TFA.

Arthur’s personal note: For several years Bob allowed Jean and me to bring Homestead Gift Shop items to

TFA annual meetings for the benefit of our members and the Gift Shop. This gave TFA long distance members

the opportunity to see and purchase historically significant materials related to the early history of our Towne

family and the Homestead, which they otherwise would not have been able to do.

I have also known Bob professionally, as well as personally. Bob was an active member of the Danvers Con-

servation Commission during the time that I was doing site/environmental and wetlands permitting in con-

junction with the development of the local regional shopping center. Bob’s zealous diligence at those

meetings as a visible steward of the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act and its regulations was always a

valuable asset for the town of Danvers. ∞

Bob Osgood — Photo courtesy of the Danvers Herald, printed

in the December 6, 2012 edition of the newspaper in Danvers,


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Danvers Town Archivist Richard B. Trask Honored

by Jean and Arthur J. Towne

Danvers, MA Town Archivist Richard B. Trask was recently hon-

ored by the town for his 40 years of employee service to the town as

the head of the Danvers Archival Center, located at the Peabody In-

stitute Library, 15 Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA 01923. He was

thanked by Bill Clark, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen for his

work ethic and for providing the quality of services for which town

employees are known.

In addition to being the town’s Archivist, as a TFA and Ar-

chive’s Committee member, Richard has for many years generously

(and graciously) provided valuable space in the Archival Center for

our TFA family archives.

The Danvers Archival Center contains printed material on local histo-

ry, genealogy, witchcraft and manuscript collections. These include,

among other materials, the following:

1. Journals of the Massachusetts House of Representatives – Essex County Quarterly Court Records

and Files 1636 – 1686.

2. The Salem Village Records of Transactions (1672—1715), as well as many other “original or copies

of early imprints relating to Salem Village witchcraft . . .”

3. Perhaps the most complete collection of printed materials relating to the 1692 witchcraft hyste-ria in Salem Village — now Danvers.

For a complete description of materials at the Danvers Archival Center see their web site at

www.DanversArchival Center – Peabody Institute Library of Danvers. The Archival Center is open selective

hours during the week. One should call ahead to assure when the Center will be open for visitation ( Tel. 1-

978-774-0554). There is no visitation charge.

Town Archivist Richard B. Trask is the author of several books and other publications, a historical consultant

for documentaries and is a lecturer and teacher.∞

Town Archivist Richard Trask, right, with

Town Manager Wayne Marquis — Photo

TFA Tennessee Regional Meeting – Debbie Atchley

Debbie Atchley has announced that the next meeting of the TFA Tennessee Regional Meeting

will held on May 11, 2013 at the Tennessee Genealogical Society meeting room in Germantown,

TN. Anyone interested in attending please email Debbie at [email protected]. ∞

http://www.DanversArchival


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Judy Towne Jennings has Book Published

Judy Towne Jennings, PT, MA has written a medical book, Living With

Lewy Body Dementia, One Person’s Personal, In-Depth Experience, chron-

icling her caregiving experiences while caring for her husband for five

years.

Ms Jennings wrote the book to help other caregivers continue to keep a

loved one in the home setting as long as possible. All aspects of caregiv-

ing are included: chapters list hundreds of suggestions for keeping a per-

son walking, dressing, bathing, and laughing.

“My husband taught me how to laugh; he had a dry sense of humor that

he delivered with a twinkle in his eyes. As the disease advanced, we both realized that it would be humor

that put quality into our days….That and ice cream of any kind”, Jennings states to explain the picture of the

hot fudge sundae on the cover.

The book explains and centers on the dysfunctions associated with Parkinson Disease, Lewy Body Dementia,

and Alzheimer’s disease; but many of the suggestions could apply to anyone suffering

from a serious illness. Because Lewy Body Dementia is not widely known, more rapidly

progressing than Parkinson, and often misdiagnosed, the book is a must read for any-

one dealing with the added insult to Parkinson of dementia and/or hallucinations.

Chapters are included to specifically address the emotional burn out that caregivers

might face when dealing with the challenges surrounding a terminal illness.

To read Jennings’ blog or get more information on the book, go to

www.ourlewybodydementiaadventure.com, www.livingwithlbd.com or Google:

Westbow Press, Judy Towne Jennings or Judy Towne Jennings, blog. The book can also

be ordered from all major book sellers. ∞

Judy’s descent from three of William Towne’s children — Edmund, Jacob and Mary

1st — Edmund’s line: Samuel, Elizabeth Towne married Robert Perkins, Elizabeth Perkins married Isaac Perkins*, Elizabeth Perkins married

John Emory**, . . . (continued on Mary’s line with Isaac Emory)

2nd — Jacob’s line: Deliverance Towne Stiles, John Stiles, Deliverance Stiles Emery, John Emory** married Elizabeth Perkins, . . . (Continued on

Mary’s line with Isaac Emory)

3rd — Mary Towne Estie’s line: Isaac, Mary Estie married John Perkins, Isaac Perkins married Elizabeth Perkins*, Elizabeth Perkins married

John Emory**, Isaac Emory, Thomas Emery, Olive Emery Winchel, Myron, Rose Winchel married Clarence Towne***, Rolland, Judith Towne

Jennings.

* marks where Edmund’s and Mary’s line meets — ** marks where all three lines meet

Editor’s note: Listed on Mary’s line, Rose Winchel married a Clarence Towne (1873—1945)***. Clarence

was born in western New York. Clarence is Judy’s grandfather, she mentioned that she has not been able to

trace his line back. If anyone has him in a family tree or is able to help her with taking his line back, she

would appreciate your help — perhaps it will lead to another link to William Towne. — RDJ


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More Ties to our English

Roots:

Chicken on Both Sides of the Pond!

Broccoli Bake Chicken Divan

From Best Cooks in Towne

Compiled and published by Towne Family Association in 1992

Submitted by Willa Towne Curtis

Arrange on the bottom of casserole, 2 packages of frozen broccoli. Add cooked chick-

en (chicken cutlets are good), for 5 or 6 people. Cutlets can be oiled and precooked

1/2 hour at 300 degrees.

Pour in the following sauce:

1 c. mayonnaise

1 1/2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/8 - 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp sherry or lemon juice

Sprinkle over the top 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese mixed with 1/2 c. Crushed

corn flakes. Bake uncovered about 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

——————————————————————————————————

Chicken Melee

From A Second Taste of Caister

Compiled by members of Holy Trinity and St. Edmunds churches in Caister-on-Sea

Holy Trinity is the church where Joanna Blessing was baptized.

4 chicken pieces - more if needed, breast is best

1 tin of Campbell's chicken soup

4 T. Mayonnaise

4 T. Greek yogurt

1 tsp. curry powder

Grated cheese for top

Broccoli spears

Line dish with broccoli spears. Cover with the chicken. Mix together the mayonnaise,

yogurt, chicken soup and curry powder and pour over the chicken and broccoli. Put

the grated cheese over the top and bake at 150 C (300F) for 1 1/2 hours. ∞

Holy Trinity Church


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Ruth H. Turner, 92, of 15 Kinsman Drive, The Taylor Community, died at her home on Friday, March 16, 2012.

She was born on March 13, 1920, in Keene, NH, the daughter of Ralph h. & Bernice (Davis) Turner. She was

raised in Keene and graduated from Keene High School in 1938. She also graduated from the Brattleboro

School of Nursing, Brattleboro, Vermont and received her Associate Degree for RN’s from Springfield Tech-

nical Community College, Springfield, MA. She had employed by hospitals in VT, NH, FL and MA. She is sur-

vived by a sister, Carolyn Turner Davis of California, a sister-in-law, Clara K. Turner, of Laconia and numerous

nieces and nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews. She was a member of the Congregational Church of

Laconia where she sang in the choir for twenty years. She was a member of the D.A.R., the Daughters of

Founders & Patriots of America, the NH Society of Descendants of the Mayflower, the NH Society of Genealo-

gists and the New England Genealogical Historical Society. She did family research for over thirty years and

aided many others in their research. She was a member of the Lakes Region General Hospital Auxiliary and

volunteered at the hospital for twenty years, a member of The Red Hat Society, a member of the Peabody

Mt. Washington Chapter No. 35, OES, Tilton, NH and was a Past Matron of Adelphi Chapter No. 2 OES, Spring-

field, MA, a member of the Towne Family Association and a member of the board of Directors of the Taylor

Community.

Ruth Turner’s descent: William Towne, Mary Towne Estie, Isaac Estie, Aaron Easty, William Estie, Fanny Esty Davis, Calvin, Fred, Bernice Davis Turner, Ralph,

Ruth Turner.∞

Shirley Ann Dam, age 79, died Monday, December 31, 2012 unexpectedly of a stroke

in Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She had been a resident of Merri-

mac, Massachusetts, graduating from Merrimac High School class of 1951. She was

born on December 9, 1933 in Haverhill, Massachusetts to Carl Arthur and Lucretia

Root Kneeland. She was a sister to Carl Ward Kneeland and Virginia Wilson. She mar-

ried Richard Dam at the Merrimac First Baptist Church in Massachusetts on Sept 28,

1951. She graduated from Northern Essex Community College with an Associate in

Business and then obtained a Real Estate License for MA and ME. She was recently

employed at Waterhouse Realty. Shirley enjoyed genealogy, writing memoirs, running

road races, biking, living at the lake, touring lighthouses, yard sales and spending time

with family. She was a collector of books, antiques and Native American memorabilia. She was member of

Haverhill Alliance Church and enjoyed being a part of the Mayflower Society, Old Newbury, and the Alden

Society. She loved summers with friends and family in Bridgton, Maine and also spending time during the

winter in Cape Canaveral, Florida. She was survived by her husband of 61 years, Richard Dam, her children

are Chrystal Turner, Daniel Dam, and Robin Bush. The grandchildren are William Turner, Rebekah Turner, Sa-

rah Brownell, Jonathan Bush and Joshua Bush. She had four great-grandchildren: Naylee, Tatum, Analee,

Brent, another one expected in February and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sis-

ter, Virginia Wilson of Port Charlotte, Florida.

Shirley Dam’s descent: William Towne, Edmund, Samuel, Samuel, Hannah Towne Ramsdell, Hannah Ramsdell Kneeland, John, Hiram, Charles, Carl, Shirley

Kneeland Dam ∞

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