Joanna Towne

Joan Blessing, the third daughter of John / William and (–) Blessing, was born ca 1595 at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and died ca 1682 in Topsfield, Ma. She married, at Great Yarmouth on 25 April 1620, William Towne who was born in 1596/bp 18 March 1599 at Great Yarmouth and died in 1672 at Topsfield, Ma. William Towne was the son of John and Elizabeth (–) Towne of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. They had eight children, i.e., four sons and four daughters. Three of the daughters, Rebecca, Sarah and Mary, were victims of the tragic Salem Witchcraft debacle with Rebecca and Mary Towne being executed by hanging. There is a statue of Rebecca Towne Nurse in Salem, Ma. which is a perpetual reminder of this sad chapter in US history.

When Joanne [nee Blessing] Towne (b. 1594) came to the colonies her sister, Alice [nee Blessing] Firmage (b. 1593) and her brother-in-law, Robert Buffam, husband of her late sister, Margaret [nee Blessing] (deceased) came too. Joanne Blessing was known as "Mother Goose." This was a misleading name, since it was her sister, Juliana [nee Blessing] who married Thomas Goose.

family

From http://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/Towne%20Family/TowneWilliamJ...

William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne had eight children, six of whom were born in England:

• 1. Rebecca, baptized February 21, 1621, married Francis Nourse, of Salem. She was hanged as a witch at Salem, July 16, 1692. Her husband died at Salem, November 22, 1695.
• 2. John, baptized February 16, 1624, died before his father.
• 3. Susanna, baptized October 20, 1625, died before her father.
• 4. Edmund, baptized June 28, 1628.
• 5. Jacob, baptized March n, 1632.
• 6. Mary, baptized August 11, 1634, married Isaac Esty. She was hanged as a witch September 19, 1692.
• 7. Sarah, baptized September 3, 1638, married (first), January 11, 1660, Edmund Bridges, (second) Peter Cloyes. She narrowly escaped the fate of her sisters.
• 8. Joseph, baptized September 3. 1648.

biographical notes

From http://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/Towne%20Family/TowneWilliamJ...

William Towne and Joanna Blessing were married on March 25, 1620 in St. Nicholas Parish, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. 

Their older children were born in England. Rebecca Towne Nurse was baptized on February 21, 1620/21. John Towne was baptized on February 16, 1623. Susanna Towne was baptized on October 26, 1625. Sergeant Edmund Towne was born in 1628. Jacob Towne was baptized on March 11, 1632/33. Mary Towne Estey was baptized on August 24, 1634. 

The family came to America and settled in Salem about 1635. Joseph Towne was born in 1639 and Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyes was born in 1639. 

The first record of the family in America was in the town book of Salem in 1640. William was granted "a little neck of Land right over against his house on the other side of the river." In the same year, he sued John Cook in what seems to have been a boundary dispute and obtained a verdict and costs. 

William moved from Salem to Topsfield in 1651 where they lived in North Fields. William Towne's name appeared on an undated list of land grants in North Fields. He also purchased land in Topsfield from William Paine of Ipswich. This farm contained forty acres "part of which is plow land, another part is meaddow, another part is upland unplowed, all lying together:" He sold his Salem property to Henry Bullock in 1652 and bought additional land at Topsfield in 1656. 

The land south of the river got him involved in land disputes with the Putnams of Salem, which may have had some impact on the accusations of witchcraft which claimed the lives of two of his daughters forty years later.

When his son, Joseph married Phebe Perkins, daughter of Deacon Thomas Perkins, in 1663, William Towne deeded two-thirds of his real property to Joseph. William and Joanna probably lived with them.

William died in 1672 and Joanna followed in 1682.

notes

(Ted Nadeau) There seems to be some confusion / debate about the parents (in particular the father) of Joanna Blessing.

e.g. John or William

From research, I think it is resolved as 'John' and any confusion might be due to the fact that Joanna married a 'William Towne'

This source supports 'John':

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~walkersj/WilliamTowne.html

Blessing Family

Generation No. 1

1. JOHN1 BLESSING1,2,3 was born 1549 of Somerlayton, Suffolk, England3. He married JOANNE PREISTE4,5,6 October 15, 1569 in Somerleyton Parish, Suffolk, England7,8. She was born 1553 of Somerlayton, Suffolk, England8.

Children of JOHN BLESSING and JOANNE PREISTE are:

1. i. JULIAN2 BLESSING9,10,11,12, b. 1571, Somerlayton, Suffolk, England13,14; m. THOMAS GOOSE15,16,17.
2. ii. WILLIAM BLESSING18,19,20, b. 1575, Somerleyton, Suffolk?, England21,22.
3. 2. iii. ALICE BLESSING, b. 1577; d. Abt. February 1655/56, Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.
4. iv. MARGARET BLESSING23,24,25, b. 1580-159025; m. ROBERT BUFFAM26,27,28, August 23, 1613 at Great Yarmouth. She d. before 1634 when he remarried THOMASIN WARD. He d. August 06, 1669 at Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.
5. v. JOANNA BLESSING, b. 1594, m. WILLIAM TOWNE.

This source also supports 'John'

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/Towne.html

Joanna was the daughter of John Blessing (b. 1549) of Somerlayton, Suffolk County, England, and Joanne Preiste (b. 1553)

This source also supports 'John'

http://boards.ancestry.myfamily.com/surnames.towne/233.2/mb.ashx

Joanna Blessing's record of baptism is from the Caister Parish Register. She was baptized in The Holy Trinity Church in the town of Caister on-Sea, Norfolk Co. The record reads:

22 Jun 1595 Jone BLESSING daughter of John and Jone.

Joanna was the daughter of John Blessing (b. 1549) of Somerlayton, Suffolk County, England, and Joanne Preiste (b. 1553)

When Joanne [nee Blessing] Towne (b. 1594) came to the colonies her sister, Alice [nee Blessing] Firmage (b. 1577), and her brother-in-law, Robert Buffam, husband of her late sister, Margaret [nee Blessing] (b. 1580) (deceased) came too. Joanne Blessing was known as "Mother Goose." This was a misleading name, since it was her sister, Juliana [nee Blessing] (b. 1571) who married Thomas Goose. Juliana was the eldest daughter. William Blessing was their brother (b. 1575).

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/Towne.html

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~degroff/pafg235.htm#5005

In the book Death in Salem by Diane E. Foulds, published 2010 by Globe Peguot Press, the stories of Johanna Towne's daughters Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Cloyce, and Mary Easty in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are told. On page 68, Johanna is mentioned. The author states that, "all three were frequently reminded that their mother, Johanna Towne, had been a witch before them." A request to the author for further information has been sent, and this information will be updated as evidence is discovered.

Birth: 1594 Norwich Norfolk, England Death: 1682 Topsfield Essex County Massachusetts, USA

Joanna Blessing was born about 1595 to William Blessing/Blyssyne, according to her age given in a lawsuit in 1670. She was probably born near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but neither the record of her birth nor her baptism has been found. On April 25, 1620, Joanna married William Towne at the Church of St. Nicholas in Yarmouth. William and Joanna's first six children were also baptized at St. Nicholas.

William brought his family to New England before 1636, and they settled in Salem, where he was granted land in 1640. William and Joanna had two more children, Sarah and Joseph, born in Salem around that time. In 1651, William bought some land in the neighboring town of Topsfield. He sold his Salem land the next year and soon bought more land in Topsfield. On the occasion of his son Joseph's marriage in 1663, William deeded two thirds of his land to Joseph. William and Joanna probably lived with Joseph for the remainder of their days. William died in Topsfield on June 24, 1673, and his widow Joanna was named administrator. His estate wasn't probated until April, 1683, soon after the death of Joanna, when the estate was distributed among his children.

Three of William and Joanna's daughters were accused in the Salem Witch Trials. Two of them, Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty, were hung. Sarah Cloyes escaped from the Ipswich jail before she could be executed.

Family links:

Spouse:

• William Towne (1598 - 1673)*

Children:

1. Susanna Towne Hayward*
2. Rebecca Towne Nurse (1622 - 1692)*
3. John Towne (1624 - ____)*
4. Edmund Towne (1628 - 1678)*
5. Jacob Towne (1631 - 1704)*
6. Mary Towne Easty (1634 - 1692)*
7. Sarah Towne Clayes (1637 - 1703)*
8. Joseph Towne (1639 - 1713)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Pine Grove Cemetery Topsfield Essex County Massachusetts, USA Created by: Nareen, et al Record added: Sep 05, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 41604390

References

• http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Joanna_Blessing_(1595-1682)
• GEDCOM Source Parish Registers of Holy Trinity Church, Caister-on-Sea Page Name: Jone Blessing. Gender: female. Baptism/Christening date: 22 Jun 1595. Baptism/Christening place: Caistor-next-Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. Father's name: John. Mother's name: Jane. Indexing project (batch) number: I03609-0. System origin: England-EASy. Source film number: 1911696. Collection: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.
• GEDCOM Source: Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis. Page 487
  • Joanna Towne figured in a series of suits brought by and against Rev. Thomas Gilbert, the Topsfield minister, in 1670. Gilbert, by his own testimony and that of his wife, was a sick man and he was doubtless of erratic temperament, but some of his principal parishioners laid his acts and eccentricities to overindulgence in drink, and the court seems to have considered their suspicions credible. Most of the evidence produced dealt with a dinner at the parsonage between two Sunday services at which Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert had Capt. John Gould, Mr. Thomas Perkins and their wives, and old Mrs. Towne as their guests. A gold cup (surely a treasure in seventeenth-century New England) filled with wine was passed about the table and Mr. Gould alleged that Mr. Gilbert drank too freely therefrom. Joanna Towne (her age being given as seventy-five) testified that on Sunday Mr. Gilbert had administered the "sacrament swetly unto us" and that after the service "I was att dinner att M'ter Gilbert's table... and sat next to him on this right hand, and though some report that he drank too much of the sacrament wyn... I believe he is wronged, for I that then sat next him saw no such matter... and I can saifly take my oath that though our minister had the cup twyce in his hand, yet the first tyme he drank not one drop of it, but gave it out of his hand the second time and I am sure ther could not be much in it then (it may be two or three spoon-ful) and that he drank."
  • At the June term of court, 1673, Joanna Towne was appointed to administer the estate of her late husband, which fixes the approximate date of William Towne's death. The property was probably retained by her until her death, and it was not divided until 1682, when Mary, widow of Edmund Towne, Jacob Towne, Joseph Towne, Francis Nourse, Mary Estey and Sarah Bridges addressed to the court "the Humbell peticion of us whos names are under wrighten in way of the seatellment of a small esteat left to us by our Honored ffather deceased about tenn yers agoo who died and leaft no will," and requested that the real estate be assigned to the sons and the personal property to the daughters.
• GEDCOM Source: Book Title: A family history : recording the ancestors of Russell Snow Hitchcock : this includes the ancestral lines of Hitchcock, Andrews, Snow, Russell, Bardwell, Warriner, Pepper, and their allied linesFamily history : ancestors of Russell Snow Hitchcoc 1,61157::479883
• From http://stanleyhistory.net/descnarratives/blessingwilliam7662.shtml
• References: PH7:749; PH212:V3:485-487; FH6:1662; FH134:793.1:Pg1; FH209:13,17-18,21; TAG:V33:205-206.
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Blessing-3