“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists."
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
The settlement of New Meadows was incorporated as the Town of Topsfield in 1650. The church "gathered" on November 4, 1663. The third Meeting House was built in 1703 with Rev. Joseph Capen as pastor.
Jacob Towne was baptized on March 11, 1632/33 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. He was christened on March 11, 1632/33 in St. Nicholas Parish. His parents were William Towne and Joanna Blessing.
He was a husbandman.
He married Catharine Symonds (Simonds) on June 26, 1657. Catherine was born on April 18, 1630 in Great Yarmouth, England. Her parents were John Symonds and Ruth Fox.
Their children were born in Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts.
John Towne (1657, married Mary Smith),
Jacob Towne (1659/60, married Phebe Smith)
Catherine Towne Perkins (1662, married Elisha Perkins),
Deliverance Towne Stiles (1664, married John Stiles)
Ruth Towne (1664) and
Edmund Towne (1666).
Jacob, Sr. died on November 27, 1704 in Topsfield.
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.
A yeoman was a man who owned and cultivated a small farm. He belonged to the class below the gentry or land owners. A husbandman was a free tenant farmer. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman.
Learn more about the Towne family.
The New England Historical & Genealogical Register pblished by New England Historic-Genealogical Society, 1867
Jacob Towne, son of William and Joanna Towne, was baptized at Yarmouth, Norfolk Co., England, March 11, 1632, resided at Salem, Essex Co., Mass., in the "North Fields," with his father about twelve years: m., June 26, 1657, Catharine, dau. of John Symonds, of Salem ; made his will at Topsfield, Nov. 24, 1704, and d. the third day following, aged about 73 years. His will was proved Jan. 1, 1704-5, son John, executor.
Children:
19. John, b. April 2, 1658.
20. Jacob, b. Feb. 13, 1660.
21. Catharine, b. Feb. 25, 1662; m. Elisha Perkins [son of Thomas Perkins], Feb. 23, 1680.
22. Deliverance b. Aug 5, 1664 m. John Stiles.
23. Ruth b. Aug 5, 1664,
24. Edmund, b. July 21, 1666.
Three daughters of William Towne and Joanna Blessing were wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem. Rebecca Towne Nurse, Mary Towne Estey, and Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyes were persecuted in 1692. The children of people in the line below are all descendants of Mary Estey.
Essex County, Massachusetts was created on May 10, 1643 by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when it ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires."
from Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusets edited by William Richard Cutter published by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908
Jacob Towne was born and baptized in England in 1632, son of William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne, came to Salem with his father and lived there about twelve years. He married, June 26, 1657, Catherine, daughter of John Symonds, of Salem, removed to Topsfield and died there November 27, 1704.
Their children:
1. John, born April 2, 1658, married Mary Smith.
2. Jacob, February 13, 1660.
3. Catherine, February 25, 1662, married Elisha Perkins.
4. Deliverance, twin, August 5, 1664.
5. Ruth, twin, August 5, 1664.
6. Edmund, July 21, 1666.
Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Volume 2 by Henry Sweetser Burrage, Albert Roscoe Stubbs
John Symonds, afterward of Salem, Massachusetts, and Samuel Symonds, afterward of Ipswich, and deputy governor of Massachusetts, appeared together in Boston, in March, 1638, and took the freeman's oath
. . .When John Symonds took the freeman's oath, in March, his wife Elizabeth was pregnant with her youngest child, the only one born in this country, and when that child was born in the following November, either because it was the name of the head of the family or because of tender regard for the deputy, he called it Samuel. John Symonds brought with him from England, 1637-38, his wife Elizabeth and three children, and died in 1671.
His will was proved September 19, of that year. He left apprentices and is called a carpenter, much as Sir Richard Saltonstall is called a miller, but it is claimed that he did not work at the trade. His children were: James, Ruth, Katherine, Samuel. . .
Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England.
