Mass., and Milford, N. H. It has been intimated to me, that like many anti-slavery men in that day, he was not satisfied with the position of the churches in relation to slavery, on which question he took an early and decided stand, being its ardent and uncompromising oppoThere is preserved by his family a manuscript volume in his handwriting, recording the "Proceedings of the Boston Anti-Slavery Conference of Church Members, organized in April, 1835," from April 2, 1835, to February 17, 1836. It does not appear to be the official record. Throughout his diary his feelings on this subject are manifest. His friend, William Lloyd Garrison, Esq., the pioneer in the anti-slavery movement, and its leader till its final triumph, thus writes concerning Mr. Towne's position :

He was an early subscriber to the Liberator, and remained such till the close of its existence, taking a warm interest in its support and circulation; for several years voluntarily making an index for the same annually. While he sought no conspicuity in the anti-slavery cause, and was not a public speaker, he gave to that cause a zealous, persistent and generous support, truly remembering those in bonds, as bound with them, and nobly doing his part toward their emancipation. I hold his memory in fragrant remembrance.

He took a deep interest in the cause of education, to which he devoted much study. As an evidence of his practical interest in it, it may be stated that several young men obtained from him the necessary funds to defray their expenses in college, he taking the risk of being repaid after their education was completed. He was always a warm supporter and advocate of the interests of the Milford Free Public Library, of which he was appointed a trustee in 1869. In 1870 he was chosen president of the board, and continued to hold this office till 1874, when, his term of office having expired, he declined being again appointed a trustee. He enriched the library with many valuable contributions, and gave a great deal of time to the promotion of its interests.

He represented Milford in the New Hampshire legislature for the years 1873 and 1874, and was an influential member of the house.

On the 21st of August, 1871, he was chosen associate and trustee of the Milford Five Cents Savings Institution, and on the same day was appointed a member of the board of investment. He was elected president of the institution, September 16, 1872, and held the office till his death. He gave the institution the benefit of his best judgment in its management, and was always active in his efforts to promote its interests.

He was chosen a director of the Souhegan National Bank of Milford, January 9, 1872, and the same day was elected president, which office he held till his death, faithfully performing its duties. On the 20th of October, 1874, about three o'clock, masked robbers forced the cashier to open the vaults of the bank; and bonds and

other securities to a large amount, the property of the bank and individuals, were carried off. Mr. Towne was then in New York. He was at once notified of what had happened, and returning to Milford, he immediately instituted vigorous proceedings to discover who the robbers were, and prevent the sale of the stolen securities. After months of tantalizing labor and perplexing anxiety, during which he displayed remarkable sagacity, coolness and daring, he was able on the fourth of January, 1875, to return to Milford with all the securities, except such as were negotiable by simple delivery, namely, the cash and government bonds, and a one-thousand dollar bond which was subsequently recovered. But the strain on his nerves was too great for one who had been in feeble health for several years, and it was soon followed by nervous prostration, from which he suffered till his death.

C. S. Averill, Esq., of Milford, vice-president of the Souhegan National Bank, thus writes concerning Mr. Towne :

As a citizen he was highly esteemed for his probity and business energy, and for his active support of whatever tended to promote the interests of the town and its educational progress. He took a lively interest in the schools, and actively supported every measure for their improvement, advocating a generous expenditure in their behalf as a true economy. He was respected by his fellow townsmen, and his loss has been deeply felt by a large number who remember him by the many courtesies which he extended to them.

Austin Sumner, Esq., one of his partners in business, furnishes the following facts concerning his mercantile career:

The writer was associated with Mr. Towne in the dry-goods business, under the firm of Towne, Waldo & Co., in 1843, '4 and '5. At the expiration of the copartnership in December, 1845, the firm dissolved, Mr. Towne at the time being very ill and anxious to retire from business. During this period the amount of business would not compare at all with that of later years, and yet, with moderate expenses and a reasonable commission on our sales, it left a fair margin of net profits. Mr. Towne was very cautious in regard to credits, relying more on the real character of the purchaser than on his reputed capital, and was far more anxious to do a safe and moderate business than a large one with its additional risks. He took a lively interest in the welfare of the young men in our employ, which they were quick to perceive, and the result of which was mutually beneficial. Mr. Towne was not only a high toned business man, but a very agreeable person to be associated with, one whose name recalls many pleasant memories of an old friend and partner.

Wellington L. G. Hunt, Esq., another of his partners, writes:

My earliest recollections of Mr. Towne go back to about 1842, while I was in business in Westboro', Mass., of which town I was also postmaster. Mr. Towne frequently came up in the summer season for a short visit, stopping at Brigham's Hotel, which for ten years was my home. Many Boston families were there in the summer, among them Mr. Jeremiah Hill, whose eldest daughter Mr. Towne married.

In the autumn of 1847, I came to Boston to reside, being in business with my brother, of Hunt & Hathaway, 45 Milk street. In the winter of 1847-8, Mr. Towne and myself joined my brother and Mr. Hathaway, making a new firm, Towne, Hunt & Co. In less than a year the firm was dissolved.

Mr. Towne was unusually active, always on the move, prompt, very exact in everything and yet always honorable-a man of the strictest integrity and always purposing some good accomplishment. His intense and incessant activity was always too much for his nervous temperament and physical endurance. I feel sure that he was a true christian and a worthy follower of our divine Master.

The Hon. George C. Richardson, an eminent merchant of Boston, who for a short time was a partner in the firm of James M. Beebe & Co., while Mr. Towne held a position in that house, and who previously had had business transactions with him, writes as follows:

Mr. Towne, with whom I was acquainted for many years, was well known to the dry-goods trade as a man of strict integrity. He was a very exact and methodical man, and exhibited such peculiar ability in the adjustment of complicated accounts, that Mr. James M. Beebe, with whom he was a long time associated, entrusted him with this part of his business. During this connection, which lasted until nearly the close of Mr. Beebe's business life, he had the charge of various securities, real estate and other assets, requiring great skill and care in their disposal and conversion, in which he acquitted himself with great credit, and to the entire satisfaction of all parties interested.

Mr. Towne's brother, John Parker Towne, Esq., a lawyer of high standing in Edgerton, Wisconsin, furnishes these recollections of his brother:

Being some sixteen years my senior and having left home not long after my birth, my acquaintance with him is limited to his visits and our correspondence, which was uninterrupted from the time I was fourteen years of age till his death. The happiest moments of my young days were when the Nashua stage-coach rolled up to the door of our home and brought brother William for his summer visit. This was the great event of the year. All the family, hired men and all, welcomed him and he them with delight. In my memory, he seemed to think no tour so pleasant as the one to Milford, and no watering place so attractive as our humble home with its plain fare and rustic inmates.

While on his visits he habitually went into the field and spent a part of the day at work with us. He criticized our work in a friendly way, and inspired us with an ambition to improve our manner of labor. When work was over and play commenced he contrived to make our sports more attrac tive than ever. .. He frequently went in bathing with us, and one day taught us to swim. He led one at a time into the water nearly to our necks, put his hand under our chins to keep our heads above the water, and said, "Now strike out and swim." And to our great surprise and delight we did swim. Two or three efforts apiece enabled us all to

become swimmers.

While he took great pleasure in our games and pastimes, and often brought to our home useful presents, he never purchased for us toys, confectionery

or trinkets. He taught us self-reliance, and how to use what was about us for pleasure and profit rather than to depend on the luxuries that money can purchase.

He always manifested much interest in the welfare and happiness of every member of our large family, and all looked up to him as the embodiment of all the wisdom we needed in our undertakings. ... He took

a lively interest also in the welfare and success of his younger brothers and sisters, While he never told them his business affairs, said nothing to the family of his enterprises, successes or failures, he always interested himself in everything which concerned them, and gave them the best of counsel.

When I was in my teens, at work on my father's farm, with plenty of books to read and content with my situation, he frequently asked me, "Well, John, what business are you going to follow?" The invariable answer was, "I don't know. What do you think I had better do?" "I can't tell," he said. Finally when I had matured a plan to quit home and farming and gain an education, being without money or other resources, I went to him with my plans. After I had laid the matter before him, I said, I have no money and cannot do anything unless you help me. His only reply was, "Go ahead," in his usual quiet tone. That was enough, and was as satisfactory to me as his bond would have been. As he advanced me money he took my notes, thus teaching me to be independent and self-reliant, as well as to render to each his due. To his encouragement and aid, I owe my education and position in society; and he once quietly told me that I was not the only one he had assisted to the same extent.

So far as I could judge, he practised the most rigid economy, not for the sake of acquiring wealth, but to enable him to do the most good with his means. And in so doing, he seemed to be anxious that no one should know of his beneficence beyond the beneficiary. He well expresses this in a letter to me written in 1868, in which he says he is endeavoring to do good to all around him in a quiet, unostentatious way, without anything very great or good being accomplished.

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, president of the New-England Historic, Genealogical Society and of the American Pomological Society, of both of which institutions Mr. Towne was a vice-president, thus writes:

It was my privilege to be acquainted with Mr. William B. Towne for a long course of years, and I am most happy to state that during this long period I have never been associated with any gentleman in whose sterling worth and integrity I have had more confidence. In the discharge of various duties of honor and of trust, he had the same uncompromising regard for justice and for truth. As a merchant and as confidential clerk of one of the largest mercantile firms of this city, he was highly respected for his honesty and fidelity. This is also true in regard to the various offices which he held in this city, and later in New Hampshire, his native state. His love for historical and genealogical research led him to connect himself many years since with the New England Historic, Genealogical Society, in which he ever evinced a deep and lively interest by years of official services and constant devotion to its welfare. As an efficient working member of that society his loss was deeply deplored. His labors in its behalf were untiring and judicious. As treasurer for ten years, as member and chairman of the

finance committee, member of the publishing committee, and in many other positions, he rendered important services, frequently advancing money when the society was too poor to meet its wants. His interest in the welfare of the society, especially in the acquisition and investment of funds, led him to constant watchfulness of its financial affairs, and it is very gratifying to state that these investments have been securely made and yield regularly more than usual interest. In the acquisition of funds, Mr. Towne was a member of the committee to purchase and rebuild the Society's House, and to raise a fund for the librarian's salary. For more than three months Mr. Towne accompanied me most of the time in these solicitations. His donations to establish the Towne Memorial Fund, with the accrued interest, amount to over four thousand dollars. This fund will constitute an enduring memorial, not only to his name but to those with which it will be associated. The loss of Mr. Towne has been severely felt, and his memory will be gratefully cherished by all who knew him.

Albert H. Hoyt, Esq., now of Cincinnati, Ohio, for eight years editor of the HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL REGISTER, and for many years associated with Mr. Towne in the publishing and other committees, furnishes these reminiscences of his friend:

My acquaintance with the late William B. Towne began in the year 1867. He was then one of the most active and influential members of the Historic, Genealogical Society, and such he continued to be until his final sickness. His long business training and habits fitted him for usefulness in various departments of the society's interests, and he gave to them much time, labor and care. This is especially true of the financial department.

It was chiefly owing to his solicitations that I was induced to undertake the editorial management of the REGISTER, in 1868; and during the period of eight years following, he was one of my associates in the committee of publication. In that relation his coöperation, counsel and judgment were invaluable. He originated measures and cordially supported measures suggested by others, for the improvement and success of that periodical; and to him, as much as to any one, its present prosperity and respectable standing are justly due.

Of Mr. Towne's gifts to the Society and of his other services in its behalf, the fund which bears his name, other funds which were created in whole or in part through his agency or at his suggestion, the Society's House, the fruit of labors in which he took no inferior share, and the records of the society, furnish sufficient evidence. To him indeed in every way, the society, and the objects it seeks to promote, are largely indebted. He was, moreover, a friend to all kindred institutions, and a benefactor of several of them.

With very limited early advantages for education, and with scanty opportunities for self-improvement in after life, Mr. Towne acquired a more than respectable amount of knowledge of American history and of general literature. He bought many good books and read them with intelligence. He remembered also what he read, and formed very sensible opinions of their contents. He did not affect literary tastes or culture, nor parade his knowledge, but he often showed unexpected familiarity with literary and historical subjects of interest.

He had made very considerable progress in compiling, and some advance in printing, a genealogy of the Towne Family. To this end he visited