TOW(E)

One of the biggest blocks in my research has been the Tow/Towe line prior to 1840. Who are John Tow and Anderson Tow, and how are they connected?

Based on census records, John Tow was born between 1810 and 1810. He married Priscilla Walser, daughter of Jacob Walser and Margaret Slagel, on 22 March 1837. In 1840, he and Priscilla are in Davidson County, NC, with sons William Henry (1837-1909) and John Harrison (1939-1914). Their youngest son, Albert Hamilton (Hammy), (1840-1926), soon follows. John died in July 1844 in Davidson County, per probate records found by cousin Bernadette Easter Higby.

In 1850, Priscilla and her three sons are in the Northern Division of Davidson County for the census. Next door is Anderson Tow, 50 years old, with (presumably) his wife, Mary, who is 52 -- they both report being born in North Carolina. Anderson works as a cooper.

Looking at census records: I found Anderson in Davidson County in 1840 -- he's in the correct age range, and it shows a female in the correct age range for Mary, as well as a male 20-30 years old and a female 15-20 years old.  1830 shows an Anderson Tow in Davidson County, age between 30-40, with a female 40-50 years old, so possibly not Mary. There are two children, a male 10-15, and a female 5-10. Anderson does not show up as Head of Household in 1820, so presumably he's still living with his parents. I suspect he may be in the Reuben Tow household in Buncombe County, since it shows a male 10-16 and a male 16 to 26, either of which Anderson could fall into.

I've found two marriage bonds in Rowan County for men named Anderson Tow. The first is dated 15 October 1817 to Elizabeth Freemon, and the second to Polley Freeman on 8 January 1818 -- these could be for the same woman, although the last name is spelled slightly different on each marriage bond.

Between 1850 and 1852, Anderson is now living with Priscilla (aka Prissey) and has moved to Carroll County, VA. I've found no marriage records in either county, but their son Francis Wesley (Frank) is born in May 1851/1852 in Virginia. Anderson has land transactions in Carroll County by 1853. He shows up again in the 1860 census with Priscilla, John, Hammy, and Frank, and William is married and living nearby. The last land transaction I found for Anderson Tow was in 1862, and he is not listed in the 1870 census, so he has presumably died. I've found no death or burial record in Carroll or Davidson Counties. Priscilla is living with Frank and his wife and two sons in Carroll County in 1870, and again in 1880. I've found no death or burial records for her, either. By 1900, Frank and his wife have joined son Charley in Douglas County, MO.

The big question: How are John and Anderson connected -- are they brothers or cousins? Who was Mary Tow, and who are the children listed with Anderson in earlier census records? I know that William and Hammy stayed in the Carroll County area, while John moved west to Russell County, then to Texas and Oklahoma, and Frank went to Missouri. Now there are members of these lines in California, Arizona and Washington - are there more Tow(e) descendants out there? The four boys decided prior to 1900 to change the spelling from TOW to TOWE -- a letter states it was to keep people from pronouncing it "toe". There are pockets of TOW families around -- even a small town in Texas -- are they also connected, way back in the hills of North Carolina and Virginia?

It started while looking for a book

I first started researching my family history in April 1984. I was almost 16 and we were visiting my mom's parents in south Arkansas. Being a voracious reader, I had brought a bunch of books with me, but I quickly ran out. I knew Grandma Gilson also read a lot, so I asked if she had any books. She gave me permission to go through boxes in the back bedroom. I found an old composition notebook and opened it -- it was a family history done in the early '70's by my uncle Donnie (I figured out the rough time frame based on me and my siblings being listed, but not several of my younger cousins). I asked Grandma if I could keep it, and she wouldn't part with it. I begged and begged Mom to take me to town for a notebook and pens (Walmart was about 7 miles away) -- she finally did, and I spent the rest of the day copying everything down, clarifying relationships and adding cousins, marriages and deaths.

The next week, I went to a mall and found a blank book -- the kind where you fill in your family history. I spent the evening putting all of the Gilson/Rekward family information in it. The next day, we drove down to the farm to see Dad's parents -- I didn't know ahead of time, but my three surviving great-grandparents were visiting. The three of them helped me fill in much of the data on Dad's tree -- I remember Grandpa Hull telling me he was the youngest of his dad's three marriages and his mom's two marriages. He knew his two brothers and about six half-sisters and -brothers, but knew some children had died or moved away (I later learned he had 15 half-siblings through his dad and 7 through his mom -- he actually knew more than he realized at the time, as I asked more questions). Grandma Hull's mother, my great, great-grandmother Rosie Woods Goodman, had contributed family history for hers and her husband's families to a book published in the 1950's -- so Grandma remembered a lot, too. Grandmother Towe had an incredible memory -- all of her sisters and brother were still living, and she started making phone calls for me when she got back to Kansas City.

I didn't do much more until after graduate school -- I wrote a few letters here and there (which was good, since those folks have past on), but when I finally got a computer and got all my data in there, I was able to start asking more questions. The advent of the Internet has helped tremendously, especially since I can contact so many more people quickly. Today, I have over 63,000 people and 21,000 families in my database -- I research not only my direct lines, but the collateral lines of brothers, sisters and cousins, as well as the families they married into. I have cousins who are related on two and three different branches (would you call that a tree or a bush?) and I have many friends I share cousins with. And it all started while looking for a book.....