- JOHN P. TOWNE, who is numbered among the older members of
the bar of Rock County,
- having opened a law office at Edgerton in September, 1858,
is a native of the "Old Granite State," having been
born at Milford in 1826. He is descended from one of the early
New England families, which was founded in America by William
TOWNE, who emigrated from England in 1640 and settled at Topsfield,
Mass., only twenty years from the landing of the Pilgrims from
the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock. The longevity of many members
of the family is quite remarkable, many of them having attained
to a very old age. The subject of this sketch is of the sixth
generation in lineal descent from William TOWNE. His great-grandfather
left Massachusetts, the first home of the family, and removed
to Milford, N.H., in 1761. The farm on which he first made his
home is still in possession of his descendants. Jonathan TOWNE,
the father of our subject, was born, lived and died on the old
homestead where his grandfather first settled. There, also,
John P. resided from the age of three years till manhood, and
there his mother, with one of her sons, still resides. She has
reached the very advanced age of ninety-nine years, having been
born on the 12th day of February, 1790. Her maiden name was
Clarissa HOYT, and she also is descended from one of the early
families of New England, her grandfather having been one of the
first English children born at Concord, N.H. The ancestry of
Mr. TOWNE were prominently identified with the early settlement
of New England and were people held in the highest respect.
His great-grandfather, who, as stated, settled in Milford, N.H.,
in 1761, fought for Independence in the War of the Revolution
and died in the Army at Crown Point, in July, 1776. His maternal
grandfather, John HOYT, was a Captain in the American Army during
the War of 1812.
- Throughout his life Jonathan TOWNE followed the occupation
of farming. He and his wife were
- the parents of ten children, all of whom, with the exception
of one, grew to mature years. Of the five sons and four daughters
who attained to manhood and womanhood, two sons and three daughters
are living, in 1889. Of these, John P. is the eldest. His surviving
brother, Ezra C., resides on the old homestead in New Hampshire
with his aged mother, and the daughters still living are Mrs.
Clarissa ADAMS, Mrs. Nancy DUNCKLEE and Mrs. Carrie NYE. The
members of the family who have passed away are William, Jonathan,
Nathan and Mrs. Mary HAMBLETT. None of the family, except the
subject of this notice and his brother, Nathaniel, ever left
their native State to find homes in the West. The latter settled
at Manchester, Iowa, where he continued to reside until his death,
which occurred in March, 1889.
- On the old homestead in New Hampshire John TOWNE was reared
to manhood. He received
- his education at the Military academy at Norwich, Vt., and
in 1853 left the parental roof and started out in life for himself.
His course lay to the westward, and he continued his journey
until reaching Johnson County, Ind., where he engaged in teaching
until 1856, when he came to Wisconsin, locating at Milwaukee.
Previous to this time he had pursued the study of law and had
been admitted to the bar of Indiana in 1856, and after settling
in Milwaukee he continued his studies in that line for a year.
At the end of that time he became a resident of Palmyra, whence
he removed to Edgerton in 1858. At once opening a law office
in that town, he began practice, which he has carried on continuously
since with fair success, gaining an honorable reputation among
his professional brethren.
- Mr. TOWNE was married in 1860 at Edgerton, Rock Co., to Miss
Rozilla FORD, a native of
- Oswego County, N.Y., and a daughter of Nelson FORD, who settled
in Waukesha County, Wis., in 1842, and later made his home on
Rock Prairie, this county, whence he removed to Cambridge, Dane
County, and subsequently became a resident of Keokuk, Iowa.
A family of three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. TOWNE.
Louis H., the eldest, who was born in Edgerton in April, 1863,
received his literary education at the schools of that city and
at Milton College, and graduated from the Law Department of the
State University, in the class of 1884. He is now engaged in
the practice of his chosen profession in Edgerton and is a young
man of high ability and much promise. Angie F., born in 1871,
and Metta, born in 1873, are still at home with their parents.
- Mr. TOWNE is one of the representative men of Edgerton and
has ever been prominent in the
- promotion of any object which tends to advance the best interests
of the community. In 1861 he was elected to the office of Justice
of the Peace, and for twenty-six years served in that position.
In 1887 he declined a re-election. He has also served as a
member of the school board for seventeen years, and in his political
sentiments is a supporter of the Republican party. In his religious
views he is liberal, but since the organization of the Methodist
Episcopal church at Edgerton he has acted as one of its trustees.
In addition to his other business interests he is connected
with the bank, in which he holds the office of Vice President.
Throughout the many years of his residence in this community
his life has been one of the strictest integrity and he has won
the highest regard and confidence of all. Cordial and genial
in manner, he possesses not only the power of securing friends,
but the greater gift of retaining them, and his circle of friends
is indeed large.
-
- Taken from "The Portrait and Biographical Album of
Rock County, Wis." (c)1889, pp. 855-856.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
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