My Genealogy Home Page:Information about Philip TOWLE, Sr.
Philip TOWLE, Sr. (b. Abt. 1616, d. December 11, 1696)
Notes for Philip TOWLE, Sr.:
PHILIP TOWLE (1) of Hampton was the patriarch of the Towles of this country. The land of his nativity is not known, nor the date of his emigration to America. We first find him among, and intermarried with, the English. The name Towle, however, is undoubtedly of Irish origin, and Philip is said to have displayed Irish characteristics and to have so impressed them on his neighborhood that it has been called Ireland ever since, -- a fact which has not interfered with its prosperity, for it is now the business center of the village.
He was in Hampton as early as Nov. 19, 1657, on which date he was married to Isabella Austin. April 15, 1664, he bought land which is still owned by his descendants. His deed was from the Rev. John Wheelwright, the founder of Exeter, who had been third pastor in Hampton. The land is described as follows: "one messuage, or dwelling-house, with the other out-housing thereunto belonging; as also a house Lott adjoining thereunto, containing by estimaccon seven acres and a halfe more or less (being formerly the house and land of Henry Ambrose) butting upon the highway leading to Exiter with one end, and with the other upon the land of John Marian, lijng between the lands of the sayd John Marian on the west and the land of Jasper Blake easterly." There were also deeded to him about seventy acres in outlying lands and some shares in common lands.
He does not seem to have been prominent in town affairs, so far as appears from the records. On one occasion he and five others "for taking tobacko neare ye meetinghouse in ye face of ye court, were fined each of them ten shillings according to law." The law was an act of the town meeting Feb. 14, 1676, recorded as follows: "To prvent Danger by fire itt is ordered thatt if any prson shall take any tobaco, or Carrie any fire or make use of any fire in the new meeting House or the fortt yard, they shall forfitt ten shillings for Every such offense, the one Halfe to the Informer & the other Halfe to the Towne." Philip was at this time about sixty years old
Isabella's home was on the same street a little to the west, on the place marked in the N. H. Atlas of 1892 "J. C. Marston." Her father died while she was young and her mother soon married Thomas Leavitt of Exeter, who came and lived on her place. Isabella had sisters Jemima and Keziah. Jemima married John Knowles, the first of his family in Hampton, and Keziah married a Tucker.
Isabella was once a victim of persecution for witcheraft. She and Rachel Fuller were accused in the summer of 1680. Rachel confessed and accused Isabella. Both were committed to prison where they remained till the sitting of the Hampton court, Sept. 7. Then "The Court having heard ye case of Rachel Fuller and Isabel Towle, being apprehended and committed upon suspition of witchcraft, doe ordr yt they still continue in prisson till bond be given for their good behaviour of œ100 a piece during the Court's pleasure."(*) John Fuller became bondsman for his wife, and Isaac Marston and John Redman for Isabella.
They were discharged at the Dover court the next year. Probably Philip was not able to give the required $500 bond. The hardship of this imprisonment will be realized when it is considered that Isabella was the mother of eight children from two years of age upward.
These are about all the facts that have come down to us about our first American ancestors of the Towle name. Philip seems to have gained no special distinction, while Isabella suffered some disesteem.(*) They were probably strong and hardy people and laid the foundation of the vitality and vigor that have characterized their descendants. This may be inferred from their longevity in the hard circumstances of those times. Philip lived to be eighty, Isabella to about eighty-six, her mother to past eighty, her twin sons. Joseph and Benjamin to eighty-eight and ninety, her youngest son Caleb to eighty-five.
The succeeding generations of Towles have been of good standing in Hampton.(+) Joseph (2) gained civil and military honors. His son James (3) was selectman. The families of James (3) and his sons are known to have been connected with the church, for their children were baptized. The Towles soon became very numerous and emigrated in all directions. At least thirty-five great-grandsons of Philip, of the Towle name, are believed to have lived to maturity, one of
More About Philip TOWLE, Sr. and Isabel AUSTIN:
Marriage: November 19, 1657, Hampton, NH.1068, 1069
Children of Philip TOWLE, Sr. and Isabel AUSTIN are:
- +Benjamin TOWLE, b. May 04, 1669, Hampton, NH, d. May 29, 1759, Hampton, NH.
- +Caleb TOWLE, Sr., b. May 14, 1678, Hampton, NH, d. September 20, 1763, Hampton, NH.