John '3 Towns

  Noted events in his life were:

• Notes for JOHN TOWNS. John Towns was born at Asgarby, Lincolnshire, England, April 1841. He emigrated to Canada with brother George in 1868, followed by brother William Thomas in 1873. At home in England were seven sisters, one brother, three deceased siblings and the parents. George and John went to work for area farmers near Napanee, Ontario, in Jamestown Township, Lennox County, Ontario. John apparently worked on a fruit farm and was very successful.

John was married in mid 1873 to Caroline Laird, a 22 year old lady from Merrickville, Ontario, listed as being of German extraction. Their first child, John Alexander, was born in early 1874. In the 1881 Ontario census, listed children were John A. (7), William T. (5), Susan G. (3) and George L. (3 months). We now know that John A. was John Alexander, William T. was William Thomas, George L. was George Leslie and Susan G. was Susan Gertrude. John and family lived near George and his family, in the same Township, George moved to North Fredericksburg township sometime between 1881 and May, 1885.

John and his family moved to the Morden, Manitoba area about 1886., and grew excellent crops of wheat. However, they were unhappy as John's love was with fruit growing and they decided to return to Ontario. About 1890-92 they sold the farm for a good price and made arrangements to return to Ontario. John decided to take the money from the sale of the farm to the bank in Morden. Caroline asked him to pick up a lady who often helped her with sewing in order that she could assist Caroline with the packing. John fetched the lady and he then left for the bank. John never returned and Caroline became very worried. The Sheriff of Morden searched for him and George and Thomas Towns and some of the boys came from Ontario to assist with the search, but no trace of John was found.

After much thought and worry Caroline decided to take a house in Morden and she managed to get settled before the winter set in. Times were very tough and she took in washing and mending/sewing and anything else she could turn her hand to in order to make ends meet. Once he arrived in Manitoba in 1893, brother-in-law George helped her as much as possible and put her boys to work on his farm during the summer. They barely got by and that may be why Caroline appears under Salvation Army for religion on the Census. The children had a lot of sickness the first winter; the baby died of pneumonia and Susan Gertrude at age nine years died of diphtheria. The three boys, all that remained of the children. helped their mother as much as possible by cutting wood and delivering the laundered clothes to their mother's customers. Son John Alexander worked as a servant at the age of 17 on the farm of Charles Hallewell at Morden.

When he had completed school, William Thomas Towns got an apprentice appointment at a photo studio in Morden where he became a very good photographer, the other two boys worked for their uncle George, presumably at Ninga, but possibly also at Holmfield.

One night, probably in 1890-91, a policeman appeared at Caroline's door in Morden and asked her to accompany him to a local inn. At the Inn, Caroline met the owner who was on his deathbed and had a confession to make. He said that many years before John Towns had come to his place to meet some of his friends and say goodbye to them before he left with his family to return to Ontario. Before the friends arrived the Inn Keeper knocked John Towns over the head and dumped him into a railway boxcar. He was sure that John was dead. Caroline eventually went to a Judge and had John declared legally dead as he had been gone for over seven years; the innkeeper's confession helped in this regard. The Innkeeper had done a lot of remodeling to his Inn at the time John disappeared; he stated that he had taken all of John's money so the story seemed to be true. This explains why John's wife Caroline appears as a widow, aged 40, in the 1891 Morden, Manitoba Census, municipality of South Dufferin, along with Willie (William Thomas) aged 16, and Leslie (George Leslie), aged 10.

John's son, William Thomas Towns and his wife Blanche Mazie Wells eventually purchased a photography studio at Dauphin, Manitoba and Blanche also ran a boarding house. One evening (1903-1904) a traveling salesman was chatting with them after supper and asked if they had any relatives in the United States. He said that several years before he had been hospitalized in Omaha, Nebraska, when a badly injured man who had been found in a box car in the railroad yards was brought in for treatment. The man had total amnesia and did not even know his name. However, the name John Towns was written on an old crumpled envelope which was found in his pocket. He was treated at the hospital, got better and eventually left, promising to repay the hospital for the care given. He apparently went west as he sent a letter to the hospital from Colorado saying that he had work, and enclosed a small payment. This was continued until the bill was paid in full. After listening to this story, William got very excited. He and Blanche sold the studio, packed everything and took the train to the address where the hospital payment had been sent from; the large fruit farm of Dr. Morgan at Canon City, Colorado. There they found father John working as the foreman. He didn't know his son or the family but they knew him, and all got re-acquainted.

What a shock this must have been for John, to learn about his past, know that his wife was remarried, that the baby had died and his daughter Gertrude had died of Diphtheria at age 9. We will never know what he managed or did not manage to remember, or what he felt. What a series of tragedies!

William and Blanche moved to the United States and stayed close to John for the rest of his life. John and William both homesteaded in eastern Colorado on individual 320 acre homesteads. They built cabins on their half sections, broke ground and planted crops. From the sale of Corn, they were able to buy cattle. John planted a garden and was very successful with Melons and tomatoes. In 1909 he was known to have sold over $100.00 worth of tomatoes from his garden.

The above story was written in 1990 by Ella Mae Towns (Mrs. A. B. Smith), grand daughter of John Towns, at the age of 85 (about 1989). The whole story can be pieced together by reading the comments for Allan Towns, William Towns and Ella Towns.

Mrs. A.B Smith (Ella Mae Towns) from Victor, Colorado, occasionally visited the home of William Towns at Ninga, and referred to him as 'Cousin Will'. She apparently had children residing in Leadville, Colorado and Canon City, Colorado.

John Towns never remarried; in his later years he lived with son William Thomas and daughter-in-law Blanche Mazie until his death. He is buried in the cemetery at Kit Carson, Colorado, Cheyenne County, with a very visible white tombstone, along with granddaughter Gloria. (Cheyenne County is on the border of Colorado/Kansas, about halfway down the state of Colorado).

Just a history note: John probably traveled via train, and the railroad in the area was the Florence & Cripple Creek Railway, using 2-8-0 locomotives because of the steep grades, with engine number 318, the Goldfield, by Baldwin, being quite famous. (For those familiar with the Hank Snow song "The Hobos Last Ride", they may remember the line "he rode the Leadville narrow gauge in the days of Cripple Creek". Who knows, John Towns may have also ridden the historic Leadville Narrow Gauge.

Still trying to firm up dates for some of the events in John's life. It is known that he was not yet in Colorado for the 1885 Census, nor was Dr. Morgan at Canon City.

John married Caroline Laird Plester in Jul 1873. (Caroline Laird Plester was born in 1850 and died in 1920.)