Lands of John Tower

The fact that John Tower made a considerable purchase of land soon after his arrival would show that he, like many other of the settlers of Hingham, was possessed of property in England, and that he, like them, was compelled to make large sacrifice in the sale of it. And now, in the year 1639, at the age of thiry years, we find John Tower, a member of one of the early towns of Massachusetts Bay Colony, a member of the church gathered there, and brought by his marriage into relationship to the minister of it, and to his brother, a leader in the affairs of the town, church and state, and a member of the chartered corporation to which he has been elected a freeman.

The great lots granted and purchased, containing together 22 acres, were more than 2 miles from his home. In addition to these he had common right to the lands not granted. These lands as they became cleared of the forest were made available for the pasturage of sheep and cattle. As the planters brought much stock with them, we may suppose that John Tower had such a supply as would enable him to carry on the work of subduing the forest and so cultivating the soil thus cleared as to supply the means of supporting his family. To the business man of today it would appear that in the allotment of lands to the several inhabitants, of which John Tower is a very good illustration, all the laws of economy, in the expenditure of time and force in their cultivation, were set at defiance. The daily travel to and from these lands consumed no small portion both in time and energy, and became a total loss when these elements for subduing a wilderness were of so much importance. This sacrifice was made in obedience to former habits of life and work in England, the importance the early settlers attached to convenience for social religious worship, and the management of those common affairs which grew out of their new condition, and which taxed their ability to conduct.

After the Pequot Indian War of 1636, a year after the settlement of the town, the danger from the savages passed away for the period of more time than is alloted to one generation, and did not appear again until the King Philip's War in 1675; and this war, so devestating to all the colonies in New England, brought but little loss to the town of Hingham.

We can form some picture of the life of John Tower at this period when we think of him as occupying a home about midway in the settlement which extended irregularly about one mile on either side of him, whose inhabitants had common objects and common pursuits in subduing the wilderness and gaining a living from the products of the soil. It was an aid to the settlers in the clearing of the land of forest that timber from Hingham to Boston by water gave the town advantages over other places before roads were constructed. The exception of the cedar and pine swamps in all particular grants shows the value placed upon that species of timber.

In 1675 came the cruel and devastating King Philip's War, involving so many of the towns and settlements of New England in partial or complete destruction, and causing a loss of life unparalled in its history. Hingham, from its situation on the seaboard suffered but small loss of property in this war, but gave freely of the lives and services of her sons in defence of the Colony. John Tower's home was on the extreme outskirts of the town, and in any inroad of the savages would be the most exposed to attacks. It would seem that it was considered by the town authorities to be so unsafe and untenable that he was ordered to remove his family into one of the forts near the more compactly settled portion of the town. He was not inclined to yield ready obedience to the order, and once more addressed the colonial authorities, in the following petrition:

10 Mar 1675/76 - "John Tower, Sen., of Hingham, is bold to inform your Honors that he hath at his own proper charge fortified his housew, and to beg your favor that his four sons and one or two persons more. that he may hire at his own cost, may be allowed him for the garrisoning of his house, and may not be called off by the committee of the town for to come into any other garrison, my sons having deserted their own dwellings and brought their goods into my fortifications. I shall then acknowledge your Honor's favor herein, and be thereby further obliged to pray for a blessing on your councils." Your Humble Servant, J.T. Tower, Sen.

It would seem that this favor was granted, and that John Tower remained in his fortified house. Only one eruption of the Indians is known to have taken place in the vicinity of his house, and John Jacob was slain within one mile of it; the only person killed in town by the Indians in this war, and within three quarters of a mile of his own house. The houses of Joseph Jones & Anthony Sprague were burned, they having probably been vacated by their owners.

The number belonging to John Tower's family and sheltered within his fortified house appears to be as follows; himself & wife & 7 children (his son Jonathan probably having died before this time, though no record of his death appears), including his oldest son, John, with wife, Sarah & infant son, Benjamin; son Ibrook, with wife, Margaret & children, Richard, Daniel, John, Rachel; and son Jeremiah, with wife, Elizabeth & children, Jeremiah & Mary; daughter, Hannah, with son, Joseph Cowell; and his unmarried children, Benjamin, Jemima & Samuel; making 20 persons in all, of whom 7 are children of tender years, and one Samuel, a lad of 14 years. All these were accommodated in one house of moderate dimensions, and defended by John Tower, then 67 years old, his four sons, and one or two hired men. It will be seen by turning to the history of King Philip's War that the Indians at this particular time had become savagely aggressive, and were attacking the settlements all through the colonies, with a last desperate effort for their destruction, as the only hope of their own salvation.

John Tower lived long enough to witness the union of the two colonies of Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay under one charter government, and the advent of a royal governor, in 1692, with whom and with whose several successors his descendants were to wrestle in questions of rights, liberty, and government policy, as he had often contended with authority under the old charter for the same things. That sturdy hold upon the possibility of an independent commonwealth which Winthrop and his associates brought with them never relinquished its grasp until attainment and security came to reward their tenacity and fidelity.

It will be noticed that John Tower invariably made his mark when his signiture was required to deeds or other instruments of writing, while his wife always signed her name; and specimens of her written name have been preserved, made a few years only before her death. John Tower left no Will, nor is there any settlement of his estate in the Probate Court. It would seem that he gave his property to his children before he died, a few of the deeds of gift being recorded; but from the extent of his possessions it appears that the greater part failed to be put on record. At the time of his death three of his children had deceased; namely John, Jonathan & Jeremiah. The other seven children were probably living.


	Tower Family Website \| home The Saga of John Tower \| The Ibrook Family \| Lands of John Tower \| 1st & 2nd Generations \| 3rd Thru 7th Generations \| Contact Us Lands of John Tower The fact that John Tower made a considerable purchase of land soon after his arrival would show that he, like many other of the settlers of Hingham, was possessed of property in England, and that he, like them, was compelled to make large sacrifice in the sale of it. And now, in the year 1639, at the age of thiry years, we find John Tower, a member of one of the early towns of Massachusetts Bay Colony, a member of the church gathered there, and brought by his marriage into relationship to the minister of it, and to his brother, a leader in the affairs of the town, church and state, and a member of the chartered corporation to which he has been elected a freeman. The great lots granted and purchased, containing together 22 acres, were more than 2 miles from his home. In addition to these he had common right to the lands not granted. These lands as they became cleared of the forest were made available for the pasturage of sheep and cattle. As the planters brought much stock with them, we may suppose that John Tower had such a supply as would enable him to carry on the work of subduing the forest and so cultivating the soil thus cleared as to supply the means of supporting his family. To the business man of today it would appear that in the allotment of lands to the several inhabitants, of which John Tower is a very good illustration, all the laws of economy, in the expenditure of time and force in their cultivation, were set at defiance. The daily travel to and from these lands consumed no small portion both in time and energy, and became a total loss when these elements for subduing a wilderness were of so much importance. This sacrifice was made in obedience to former habits of life and work in England, the importance the early settlers attached to convenience for social religious worship, and the management of those common affairs which grew out of their new condition, and which taxed their ability to conduct. After the Pequot Indian War of 1636, a year after the settlement of the town, the danger from the savages passed away for the period of more time than is alloted to one generation, and did not appear again until the King Philip's War in 1675; and this war, so devestating to all the colonies in New England, brought but little loss to the town of Hingham. We can form some picture of the life of John Tower at this period when we think of him as occupying a home about midway in the settlement which extended irregularly about one mile on either side of him, whose inhabitants had common objects and common pursuits in subduing the wilderness and gaining a living from the products of the soil. It was an aid to the settlers in the clearing of the land of forest that timber from Hingham to Boston by water gave the town advantages over other places before roads were constructed. The exception of the cedar and pine swamps in all particular grants shows the value placed upon that species of timber. That John Tower engaged in this work of preparing timber, and that he and others, probably owing to imperfectly defined boundaries, trespassed upon common land and the town records indicate numerous incidents involving claims and fines against them. In 1675 came the cruel and devastating King Philip's War, involving so many of the towns and settlements of New England in partial or complete destruction, and causing a loss of life unparalled in its history. Hingham, from its situation on the seaboard suffered but small loss of property in this war, but gave freely of the lives and services of her sons in defence of the Colony. John Tower's home was on the extreme outskirts of the town, and in any inroad of the savages would be the most exposed to attacks. It would seem that it was considered by the town authorities to be so unsafe and untenable that he was ordered to remove his family into one of the forts near the more compactly settled portion of the town. He was not inclined to yield ready obedience to the order, and once more addressed the colonial authorities, in the following petrition: 10 Mar 1675/76 - "John Tower, Sen., of Hingham, is bold to inform your Honors that he hath at his own proper charge fortified his housew, and to beg your favor that his four sons and one or two persons more. that he may hire at his own cost, may be allowed him for the garrisoning of his house, and may not be called off by the committee of the town for to come into any other garrison, my sons having deserted their own dwellings and brought their goods into my fortifications. I shall then acknowledge your Honor's favor herein, and be thereby further obliged to pray for a blessing on your councils." Your Humble Servant, J.T. Tower, Sen. It would seem that this favor was granted, and that John Tower remained in his fortified house. Only one eruption of the Indians is known to have taken place in the vicinity of his house, and John Jacob was slain within one mile of it; the only person killed in town by the Indians in this war, and within three quarters of a mile of his own house. The houses of Joseph Jones & Anthony Sprague were burned, they having probably been vacated by their owners. The number belonging to John Tower's family and sheltered within his fortified house appears to be as follows; himself & wife & 7 children (his son Jonathan probably having died before this time, though no record of his death appears), including his oldest son, John, with wife, Sarah & infant son, Benjamin; son Ibrook, with wife, Margaret & children, Richard, Daniel, John, Rachel; and son Jeremiah, with wife, Elizabeth & children, Jeremiah & Mary; daughter, Hannah, with son, Joseph Cowell; and his unmarried children, Benjamin, Jemima & Samuel; making 20 persons in all, of whom 7 are children of tender years, and one Samuel, a lad of 14 years. All these were accommodated in one house of moderate dimensions, and defended by John Tower, then 67 years old, his four sons, and one or two hired men. It will be seen by turning to the history of King Philip's War that the Indians at this particular time had become savagely aggressive, and were attacking the settlements all through the colonies, with a last desperate effort for their destruction, as the only hope of their own salvation. John Tower lived long enough to witness the union of the two colonies of Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay under one charter government, and the advent of a royal governor, in 1692, with whom and with whose several successors his descendants were to wrestle in questions of rights, liberty, and government policy, as he had often contended with authority under the old charter for the same things. That sturdy hold upon the possibility of an independent commonwealth which Winthrop and his associates brought with them never relinquished its grasp until attainment and security came to reward their tenacity and fidelity. It will be noticed that John Tower invariably made his mark when his signiture was required to deeds or other instruments of writing, while his wife always signed her name; and specimens of her written name have been preserved, made a few years only before her death. John Tower left no Will, nor is there any settlement of his estate in the Probate Court. It would seem that he gave his property to his children before he died, a few of the deeds of gift being recorded; but from the extent of his possessions it appears that the greater part failed to be put on record. At the time of his death three of his children had deceased; namely John, Jonathan & Jeremiah. The other seven children were probably living. Continue For 1st & 2nd Generations John Tower lived long enough to witness the union of the two colonies of Plymouth