27th Annual Reunion of the Towne Family Association, Inc.

Rebecca Nurse Memorial, Danvers

Descendants of William and Joananna Blessing Towne (colonists who came to Salem from Great Yarmouth, England, around 1635); Rebecca Nurse, Mary Estey, and Sarah Bridges Cloyse (two of whom were hanged in 1692); and Francis Nurse (a Danvers militiaman who responded to the Lexington Alarm in 1775); will gather on Boston's North Shore for the 27th Annual Reunion of the Towne Family Association, Inc. at the Peabody Marriott Hotel.

The family names involved also include Barton, Bowden, Cummings, Estey, Gould, Havens, Nurse/Nourse, and Perkins.

Each year, the TFA holds reunions all over the United States. This is the first time since 1992 they have held their reunion in Essex County, providing a rare opportunity for local residents to celebrate and learn more about their heritage.

Friday, September 14 Activities:
• Visit to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial where participants will lay flowers in honor of the victims and meet Rep. John Keenan (D-Salem) who is a descendant of Rebecca Nurse.
• Visits to Danversport and Topsfield to view the sites where Towne ancestors once lived.

Saturday, September 15 Activities:
• Visit to Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers (formerly Salem Village).
• Ceremony at Nurse Homestead Graveyard, featuring a musket salute by the Danvers Alarm List Company, readings by Rev. James Fletcher of the First Church of Danvers, laying of a wreath at the Rebecca Nurse Memorial, music by the Nurse Homestead Singers, cooking demonstrations in the Nurse House.

Saturday Evening Banquet
• Music by Poor Richard's Penny

Reunion participants will also be able to meet with family genealogists in a hospitality room provided by the Peabody Marriott Hotel.

The deadline for registration has passed, but you may still register for the Saturday Evening Banquet by contacting Lois Payne Hoover, 2007 Reunion Chair, lphoover@yahoo.com or by calling Arthur Towne at 978-468-4064. The cost for the banquet is $35. Please indicate your choice of scrod, sirloin tips, or pasta; for dessert, fruit plate or lemon tart.