Peter Towne (abt. 1633 - 1705)

Born about Sep 1633 in Kent, England [uncertain]

Husband of Elizabeth (Paine) Towne — married 1 Apr 1697 in Braintree, Suffolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Died 2 Nov 1705 at about age 72 in Cambridge, Suffolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Julia Howard [send private message]

Biography

Peter Towne immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Peter Towne was the son of William Towne and Martha (Unknown) Towne. Based on the inscription on his gravestone, which said that he died on November 2, 1705, at the age of 72 years and 10 months,^[1][2] Peter was born about September 1633. He was born in England, as established by a First Church in Cambridge record that states that Peter was baptized in England^[3] and as is consistent with the fact that it is believed that his family's probably emigrated to New England in 1635.^[4] Since it is reasonably likely that his parents lived near Aylesford, Kent before they emigrated, it is reasonably likely that Peter was born near there. If Peter was born in Aylesford, it is unlikely that a baptismal record for his birth will be found, as no parish registers exist for Aylesford, Saints Peter and Paul Parish prior to 1654.^[5]

Emigration to New England

Peter's family probably emigrated from England to New England in 1635 and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[4]

Marriages; No Children

According to several secondary sources, Peter was married, first, to a woman named Joanna.^[2][6][7] The History of Cambridge, which Anderson relied on for this marriage,^[7] states that she was his wife in 1687.^[2] No primary record has been located to support the existence of this marriage.

Peter later married Elizabeth Paine on April 1, 1697^[8][7] or April 8, 1697^[9] at Braintree.

There is no evidence that Peter had any children.

Public Life

Peter was a cooper.^[2] Cambridge town records contain regular entries, starting in 1658 (when Peter was 25) and ending in 1686 (when he was 53), in which he was granted the liberty to fell one or two trees on town land (first from the Common and later "off our rockes") for his trade.^[10] The grants in 1668^[11] and 1671^[12] included permission to fell a walnut tree in order to make hoops.

Peter was chosen by the town of Cambridge as a surveyor fo the highways in 1667;^[13] as a hogreeve in 1668;^[14] as a constable in 1669,^[15] 1676,^[16] 1690,^[17] 1691^[18] and 1694;^[19] as the sealer of weights and measures in 1671,^[20] 1676,^[21] 1693,^[22] 1694,^[23] 1700^[24] and 1701;^[25] as a tithingman in 1684;^[26] as a selectman in 1695;^[27] and as a tithing man in 1698,^[28] 1699,^[29] and 1701.^[30]

Peter and his second wife, Elizabeth, were admitted to full communion at the First Church in Cambridge on June 10, 1705.^[31]

Will; Death

Peter made a lengthy will on May 28, 1705. In his will, he describes himself as "of Cambridge in New England." He made bequests to his wife (not named); his brother[-in-law] Samuel Paine of Braintree; his five "first cousins" at Bridgewater, John Howard, Nathaniel Howard, Joseph Howard, Elisha Howard, and Mary Mitchell; his former negro servant Jane; his wife's mother (Hannah Wilburr (sic)); the town of Cambridge for "easing the poorer sort of people in Cambridge that shall be rated to the building a new meeting house;" and (by addendum) Nicholas Tessenden, schoolmaster. He made an additional bequest of 20 pounds more of his real estate to his cousin Joseph Howard on condition that Joseph grant his negro servant her freedom when she reached the age of 26. He granted freedom and 10 pounds each to his negro servants (after a few additional years service to his wife in some cases). Peter appointed his friends Nathaniel Hancock, Solomon Prentiss Sr and Nicholas Fessenden Sr as overseers of his will.^[32][6]

Based on the inscription on his gravestone, Peter died on November 2, 1705.^[1][2][7]

^{[8] [25] [30] [24] [29] [28] [27] [23] [19] [22] [18] [17] [26] [10] [21] [16] [12] [20] [11] [15] [14] [13] [2] [31] [4] [6] [32] [5] [3] [9] [1] [7]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 2. Marriages and Deaths, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1915, p 767. At archive.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts 1630-1877 with a Genealogical Register, 1877, p 671. At archive.org
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Stephen Paschall Sharples, Records of the Church of Christ at Cambridge in New England, 1621-1830, 1905, p 15. At archive.org
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} See the profile for his father William Towne.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Aylesford, Ss Peter And Paul Parish Records, Kent County Council, Kent History and Library Centre. The absence of Aylesford parish records prior to 1654 was confirmed through communications by Chase Ashley on December 17, 2018 with the Archive Collections Officer at the Kent History and Library Centre.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} William B. Towne, Notes and Memoranda Relating to Persons of the Name Towne, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 20 (1866), pp 370- 371. At americanancestors.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration 1634-1635, T-Y, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011, p 78. At americanancestors.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Edward Evarts Jackson, Records of the First Church at Braintree, Mass., New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 59, p 154. At amcericanancestors.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 2. Marriages and Deaths, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1915, p 392. At archive.org.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, pp 124, 132, 137, 143, 165, 176, 183, 200, 206, 221, 238, 254, 261, 282. At archive.org.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 176. At archive.org.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 200. At archive.org.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 167. At archive.org.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 169. At archive.org.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 175. At archive.org.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 228. At archive.org.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 292. At archive.org.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 295. At archive.org.
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 303. At archive.org.
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 197. At archive.org.
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 229. At archive.org.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 300. At archive.org.
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 304. At archive.org.
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 329. At archive.org.
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 336. At archive.org.
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 267. At archive.org.
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 309. At archive.org.
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 318. At archive.org.
29. ↑ ^{29.0 29.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 320. At archive.org.
30. ↑ ^{30.0 30.1} The Records of the Town of Cambridge (formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts 1630-1703, 1901, p 335. At archive.org.
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Stephen Paschall Sharples, Records of the Church of Christ at Cambridge in New England, 1621-1830, 1905, p 42. At archive.org
32. ↑ ^{32.0 32.1} Middlesex County Probate Records, Vol 12, pp 104-7

See also:

• Waldo Chamberlain Sprague, The First Wife of John Richmond of Taunton, Mass., The American Genealogist, Vol 36 (1960), pp 137-8. At americancancestors.org.