Family of Ezekiel Towson and Ruth Cromwell

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Ezekiel Towson was born to William Towson and his first wife, Ruth Gott. He married Ruth Cromwell, with whom he had 12 children including General Nathan Towson, hero of the War of 1812. Ezekiel himself was the proprietor of Towson's Tavern, the epicenter of what would become Towsontown and later Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County.



Ezekiel Towson born December 28th 1736 in St. Paul's Parish in Baltimore (source), just shy of two years into the marriage of William Towson and Ruth Gott. He appears to have been their oldest son, though his sister, Catherine, may have been older. When William Towson died in 1772, he left a detailed will outlining the inheritances of his various relatives. Ezekiel was the recipient of a tract of land called Gunner's Range, which had been conveyed to William by Samuel Gott in 1748, and which Ezekiel already inhabited at the time of his father's death. Also mentioned in William's will was Ezekiel's daughter, Ann, to whom William left "a negro boy called Sam? to be delivered to her when of age."

He married Ruth Cromwell, who was born on May 20th, 1738 [source], circa 1758. According to histories written about their son, General Nathan Towson, Ezekiel and Ruth had twelve children of which Nathan was the youngest.
  1. William, born 1758, who married Rebecca Young
  2. Sarah, born about ???, mentioned as "eldest daughter" of Ruth Towson in Joseph Cromwell's will 
  3. Charlotte, married George Green
  4. Elizabeth, born about 1765, who married Lewis Heck
  5. Ann, born about 1765, who married John Wallace
  6. Catherine, born 1767, who married Solomon Schmuck
  7. Ezekiel, born 1768, who married Betsey Brooks
  8. John Philip?, born about 1769
  9. Philemon, born 1769, married 1. Ann Cockey; 2. Mrs. Catharine Cushman; 3. Ruth Anderson
  10. Ruth, born 1770, who married William Daughtery
  11. James, born 1771, who married Carey Osborne
  12. Nathan, born 1784, married Sophia Bingham
He sold Towson's Chance in 1761.

Ezekiel was the proprietor of Towson's Tavern as early as 1768.

Ezekiel's name appears numerous times in the Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1777 (source).
  • February 7th, 1777: Said [Western Shore] Treasurer pay to Zekiel Towson Seventy Nine pounds Fourteen Shillings and Nine pence
  • February 28th, 1777: Said [Western Shore] Treasurer to pay to Ezekiel Towson Sixty one Pounds Eight Shillings and Nine pence
  • March 26th 1777: The Western Shore Treasurer pay to Ezekiel Towson sixty two pounds, three Shillings, and nine pence for Amt of his Acct
  • June 3rd, 1777: Western Shore Treasurer to pay to James Tooth by order and for use of Ezekiel Towson fifty nine pounds, seven shillings and nine pence for Amt Acct
  • September 13th, 1777: Said [western shore] Treasurer to pay to Ezekiel Towson fifteen Pounds seventeen shillings and eight pence amount of Account passed
Ezekiel Towson can be found in the first United States Census in 1790 on page 128, enumerated in Baltimore in the area known as Back River Upper Hundred. In his household were two free white males over the age of sixteen (presumably including Ezekiel himself) and one free white male under sixteen; two free white females (presumably including Ruth); and two slaves. Also enumerated on the same page were John Wallace (husband of his sister, Ann); Richard Gott (kinsman to Ezekiel's mother, Ruth Gott); and several Cockeys (Ezekiel's wife Ruth's sister Chloe married a Cockey) and Bonds (a family which intermarried with the Gotts). On page 130, a Thomas Towson was recorded; this may be Ezekiel's younger brother.

In 1797, in response to Ezekiel’s petition, the General Assembly of Maryland passed a law to “make an alteration in the York turnpike road” to redirect what is now York Road so that the road passed Towson Tavern. In order to make this possible, he offered to give up a portion of his land for the purpose of having the road altered, without compensation (source).

Ezekiel Towson died in 1805 without a will. A death notice published in the Baltimore Telegraph states that he "died Sat., 9th inst., at his res. on the York Turnpike Road in his 70th year. He bore an active part in the Rev. War" (Marriages and Deaths from Baltimore Newspapers 1796-1816, Barnes). On September 17th, 1806 his sons Philemon and Nathan were granted administration of his estate, with John Cockey senior (presumably the husband of Chloe, Ruth Towson's sister) and John Wallace (presumably the husband of Ezekiel's daughter Ann) being named as securities. A record relating to his estate reveals the name of an enslaved person, "old negro man Nick" (source).

A good amount of information about Ezekiel and his family can be gleaned from the transcribed notes of the Chancery Court case between George Shealey and the Heirs of William Towson (source), in which several of his children and his brother-in-law stated their relationships, the date of his wife’s birth, the number of children alive at Ezekiel’s death, and the disposition of land in Kentucky. Names in bold below are the names of children mentioned in the Chancery Court case.

Ruth would survive her husband by three years. According to a death notice from the Baltimore Federal Gazette that was cited in Barnes' Marriages and Deaths from Baltimore Newspapers 1796-1816, her date of death was December 1st, 1808. The notice stated that her funeral would be held at the home of Mrs. Rebecca Towson near Towson's Tavern (Rebecca Towson being Ruth's daughter-in-law and the widow of William Towson, William having passed the same year as his father). Ruth had outlived several of her adult children, including her sons William, Ezekiel, and James.

Ezekiel Towson, Jr.
Source: GenealogyBank.com, Misissippi Herald and Natchez Gazette, Nov 19, 1807, p. 8.


  1. "General" William (1758-1805) m. Rebecca Young (-1809) on 16 July 1785
    1. Eleanor "Ellen" Towson (1785-1858) m. Daniel Evans Jr. (-1841) about January 1809; died a mother of five sons (source)
    2. Ann Tolly Towson (1778-) m. Edward Trippe (1771-) in about September 1820; died without issue
    3. Ruth (1789-1846?) m. Joshua Anderson on May 31, 1811; m. her uncle Philemon Towson on April 3, 1833
    4. Elizabeth m. Nimrod Cromwell
    5. William
    6. Thomas
    7. John
  2. Elizabeth (1765-) married Lewis Heck on March 10th, 1779
  3. Ann (1765-), daughter of Ezekiel, was mentioned in grandfather William Towson's will; m. John Wallace (-1813, source) on December 30th 1785
    1. Ruth Ann Wallace m. Samuel G. Coleman 1847?
    2. John F. Wallace (1790-)
    3. Thomas Wallace (1797-)
  4. Sarah?
  5. Catherine (1767-1834) married Solomon Schmuck
  6. Ezekiel (1768-1808) married Betsey Brooks in Mississippi, June 1st 1802 (source); died prior to 5 August 1808; in 1810 widow married John Hutchin.
    1. Mary Jane Towson (1805-1877) married Richard Gillard Ellis on 6 Nov 1824
    2. Eliza Seraphine Towson
  7. Philemon (1769-1843) married 1. Ann Cockey, his first cousin, on March 3rd 1803; 2. Mrs. Catharine Cushman on April 18th 1811; and 3. Ruth Anderson, brother William's daughter, 19 years his junior, on April 3rd, 1833.
  8. Ruth (May 10 1770-1862) m. William Daughtery on April 27th, 1790
    1. Ezekiel Towson Daughtery (b. 1791) m. Mary (Martha) Elkins (source)
      1. Ezekiel Towson Daughtery (b. 1840-1863) m. Mary Ann Whetsel
  9. James (1771-1805) m. Carey Osborne on May 13th 1786
    1. Nancy Towson married Rev. John Cullison on December 28, 1811 (source)
  10. General Nathan (1784-1854) m. Sophia Bingham; likely named for his mother's brother Nathan Cromwell. Nathan was born January 22nd 1784 (source).
  11. Charlotte m. George Green
  12. ????????

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