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TOWNE FAMILY HISTORY

TOWNE FAMILY ASSOCIATION members are the descendants of William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne who came to America from Great Yarmouth, England and settled in Salem, MA about 1635. The couple had eight children and TFA includes descendants of both the male and female lines.

Three of William and Joanna's daughters, Rebecca (Nurse), Mary (Esty) and Sarah (Cloyse) were all victims of the Salem Witchcraft hysteria in 1692. Rebecca and Mary were executed. The witchcraft trials ended nine months after they began when the Colonial Courts recognized their grave error in the execution of innocent people.

Looking for other families? Our 9 generation tree contains nearly 3 thousand associated surnames. Click "Find", then "Surnames", then "9 generation Towne tree" to check them out. (Non-TFA members will instead see the Abbreviated 4-generaton tree.)"

STATUS OF THE BOOK: Book Receives Two Awards!

Lois P. Hoover last August published a new compilation of Towne family history. This book is the culmination of many years of research on her part and is a vauable resource for anyone interested in early Towne family history in this country. This spring, she received two prestigious awards this for her book, Towne Family- William Town and Joanna Blessing- Salem, Massachusetts- 1635- Five Generations of Descendants

At the National Genealogical Conference in Charleston, South Carolina she was awarded a certificate suitable for framing which read:

2011

Award for Excellence

Genealogy and Family History

13 May 2011

The Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc. awarded Lois a framed certificate which read

The Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc.

Certificate of Achievement

Grand Prize Winner of the 2011 Literary Awards Contest in Genealogy

21 May 2011

She also was presented with an engraved porringer and a check for $1000 along with this certificate, which will be applied to publication costs. A special treat for her was to be accompanied to the Connecticut meeting by her two granddaughters, Jennifer and Katie Joyner. I was pleased to attend as well while Lois received recognition for all of her hard work. You can read more about these awards in the September 2011 issue of About Towne. The book is 7" x 10", hard cover, printed on 520 pages of 50# acid free paper, Smyth bound (the best binding available). There is a chapter for each child of William and Joanna containing their descendants. Cross references are provided when descendants marry, eliminating duplications. Each life event is documented with the source, page and text included. The main text is indexed; however the endnotes are not included in the index. Females are indexed under maiden and married names, and the parents of a spouse have been identified whenever possible. Years of birth and/or death are included in the index when there is a long string of people with the same name.

The price of the book is $75.00 which includes shipping via Media Mail. California residents must add 8.25% sales tax. The book can be ordered now from Lois P. Hoover, 24093 Eucalyptus Court, Auburn, CA 95602-8226 with checks made payable to Lois P. Hoover. They will be mailed in the order they are received. The initial printing of 200 book is close to sold out, and a second printing is underway.

A number of the books already sold have been purchased as donations for organizations and libraries around the country. If you plan to donate a book, please contact Lois to avoid duplications.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Lois at 530.268.9354 or email her at Lphoov@yahoo.com.

Congratulations to Lois on this well-deserved achievement!

Elizabeth Hanahan, TFA, Inc.

Nothing But Our Best by Richard P. Towne, Jr.

Richard P. Towne, Jr. has sent this information about the book he has written about his grandfather. Additional information can be found in the March 2010 issue of About Towne.

Nothing But Our Best: What the Book is About This book is a two part tale of a company which the author's grandfather, Frank B. Towne, managed in Holyoke, Massachusetts for fifty years, intermixed with biographies of Frank and my father, Richard P. Towne, who became his successor. Interwoven with these stories are my own recollections of National Blank Book Company. A local news reporter describes it thusly: "The book chronicles the family's move from a printing business in San Francisco to a return to the East which included various stops in rural New Hampshire, Frank's parents home state, followed by future moves to Orange New Jersey, and ultimately to Holyoke, where, in 1886, the company was established. The reader moves from the family home to the factory floor, meeting local working class residents who came to Holyoke seeking employment in the mills that thrived here in the late 1900's and on into a large part of the twentieth century. It moves through the years to the company’s Board Room as its Directors wrestle with the decision about to whom the best partner would be as a merger is contemplated." Along the way, it recalls how the business and the Towne family coped with family deaths, the disaster of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, the First World War, and the Economic Collapses of 1893 and 1929. National Blank Book was a leading innovator and maker of record books for offices, students, and household use for sale by retail stationers. The title comes from a speech made by Frank to his employees which is quoted in a book of remembrances given to Frank on the anniversary of his fiftieth year as the head of the business by the employees.

Where to Buy It

The book is for sale on line by ordering it from Odyssey Book Store, South Hadley MA

The Odyssey Bookshop

9 College Street

South Hadley, MA 01075-1465

413-534-7307, https://www.odysseybks.com/towne.html

There is also a link on the right side of the home page.

Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, MA: TFA Reunion 2007
Photography courtesy of Stablegirl Cindy