John Philip Towson was born July 5th, 1837 to Joshua Towson (1793-1842) and Mary Ferrel (1795-1884), according to Ancestry.com user judyflash. He was the younger brother of James Franklin Towson. According to the same family tree, his wife was Mary Parsons, born 1833 in Harford County, Maryland. The couple had at least two
sons and four daughters, whose birth dates are provided from judyflash's public family tree: Joshua Joseph (born 31 Jan 1860), Virginia "Jennie" (born Oct 1862), Elizabeth "Lizzie" (born Jan 1865), Rosalia "Rose" (born 2 Sep 1867), Helen (born 2 Mar 1870), and John P., Jr. (born 4 Jul 1875).
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Jan 5, 1921; pg. 13.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Oct 30, 1919; pg. 14.
Joshua Joseph Towson married, first, Annie Teresa Anderson on June 4th, 1896. The couple had three children, sons Joseph Phillip (born May 1897) and Joshua Leo (born Nov 1898) and daughter Mary M. (born Nov 1900). Annie Towson died January 24th, 1903, when her children were 6, 5 and 2 years old. Joshua later remarried Margaret E. Kraft, twenty-five years his junior. He was also instrumental in the foundation of two societies, the New Harlem Club in 1889, and the Liberty Association in 1892.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); May 23, 1889; pg. 4.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Aug 30, 1892; pg. 8.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Jan 25, 1903; pg. 4.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Oct 6, 1918; pg. A8.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Dec 4, 1939; pg. 14.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Oct 20, 1943; pg. 22.
Jennie Towson worked alongside her sister Lizzie as a hair dresser, according to the 1920 and 1930 Censuses. It does not appear that she ever married or had children.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Oct 15, 1955; pg. 19.
Lizzie Towson was the operator of a "hairdressing and manicuring parlor." In January and February 1915 she advertised in the Baltimore Sun that she was moving this practice from 931 Madison Ave to 913 Madison Ave. In 1897, she returned a satchel full of jewels valued at $5,000 to their owner, after having found the satchel on Lexington street. It does not appear that she ever married or had children.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); April 2, 1897; pg. 10.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Jan 25, 1956; pg. 23.
Rose Towson married Samuel Reitzel Tabler September 2nd, 1902 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It does not appear that the couple had any children.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Sep 3, 1902; pg. 7.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Feb 16, 1971 pg. C9.
Helen Towson married Robert Clarke Abell March 2nd, 1905 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It does not appear that the couple had any children.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Mar 4, 1905; pg. 6.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Jul 28, 1946; pg. S79.
John P. Jr. married Jennie L. Starkloff on June 2nd, 1906: source. They had at least two children, daughters Helen J., born 1907, and Elsinor E., born 1909. The girls were only 13 and 11 years old when their father died. Helen married J. Todd Merritt August 31st, 1936, and Elsinor wed Judge Donald Roman on September 8th, 1936.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Jun 3, 1906; pg. 7.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Nov 17, 1920; pg. 13.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Nov 17, 1920; pg. 13.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Sep 9, 1936; pg. 5.
Source: ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun (1837-1988); Sep 13, 1936; pg. SC15.
Libby,
ReplyDeleteJohn Phillip Towson and Jennie L. (Starkloff) Towson are burried at Loudon Park Cemetery, plot M.
Their daughter Elsinor E. (Towson) Roman and her husband Donald Philip Roman are also buried there. I came across Elsinor and her sister Helen (Towson) Merritt, a stockbroker, when they attended a Towson Bicentennial event in 1968. They're descended from Ezekiel Towson.
David A. Loizeaux
David, this is very interesting! Do you know how they descend from Ezekiel? I know that Ezekiel's son, William, had three sons (William, Thomas, and John) but know nothing of their lives apart from the fact that they were minors when William died. Ezekiel's son, also Ezekiel, was married 1802 and died prior to August 5th 1808; doesn't appear that he and his wife had any children, but I don't know for certain– however, if he had, they would've been in Mississippi, as that was where he married and died; his son Philemon appears to have had three children, but I don't know their names or dates of birth yet; I believe James Towson, who married Carey Osborne, had a daughter Nancy Towson, but do not know of any other children; and then General Nathan Towson's children are all known.
DeleteLibby,
ReplyDeleteThis branch connects back to Ezekiel Towson and Ruth Cromwell's sixth child John Philip Towson, through his son Joshaua and Mary, to their son John Philip and Mary, to their son John Philip and Jennie Starkloff.
I've worked through a number of these families, so would like to get with you to look at the progress. I'm available on Saturday mornings after 10:30. We could meet here in Mt. Washington, or maybe at the Cockeysville Library. Let me know when and where.
David L.
Hi David,
DeleteIt's been a while but after a very busy 2019, I am free from classes for about a month and a half! It's given me some time to work on genealogy. Maybe we could meet up soon?
Do you have any more information on John Philip Towson, son of Ezekiel and Ruth? The obituary of Ruth A. Towson, James Franklin Towson's daughter, says she was the grandniece of Nathan Towson. That would've meant her grandfather Joshua Towson (1793-1842) was Nathan's brother, but he was known to be the youngest and he was born in 1784, so she must actually have been Nathan Towson's great-grandniece. I don't have a John Philip Towson in my list of Ezekiel's children, and my notes suggest that Joshua Towson (1793-1842) might have been the son of Joshua Towson (1756-????) but I don't have sources to back that up. Any information would be appreciated.