GENERATION 12

GENERATION 11

Biography

The records of the parish of Hingham, in the county of Norfolk, in the eastern part of England, show that, "JOHN, child of ROBERT TOWER, was baptized May 14, 1609." This is the only written record of JOHN TOWER in England.

The early records of Hingham, Plymouth, MA, include the following:

"1637 - JOHN TOWER and Samuel Lincoln came from Old Hingham, and both settled at New Hingham."

JOHN was age 28 when he came to Hingham, MA. He seems to have had the means to pay for his passage, and to establish himself in the colony. When he arrived in Hingham he was not a stranger to the people of the settlement. Some were from his own parish in England.

JOHN was granted a three-acre house-lot about one-fourth mile from the meeting-house. The lot was located on Bachelor Street, now Main Street. Apparently JOHN decided not to buid a house on this lot, as in 1638 he sold the lot to Edward Cooper. In that same year, 1638, JOHN purchased the adjoining lot from Thomas Shaw. Thomas Shaw had built a house on the lot, but had then removed to Barnstable, in Plymouth Colony.

On Dec. 13, 1638, JOHN made application to be made a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Since only members of the churches could be admitted as freemen, it would appear that he had qualified himself for admission, as his application was granted on Mar. 13, 1638/39.