Founded in 1907 – Charted in 1909
It is earnestly hoped that descendants of John Tower and that all who may claim kinship, will be interested in joining the Society and in co-operating with it in its work, which should be to the advantage of all members of the family.
Taken from 1909 TGS reunion report
John Tower (bapt. Hingham, Norfolk, 14 May 1609) emigrated to New England in the spring of 1637 and became an early settler of New Hingham, Massachusetts.
His arrival was part of a larger movement from Hingham, Norfolk to the new town in Massachusetts; his friend and fellow emigrant from Old Hingham, Samuel Lincoln (later ancestor of President Abraham Lincoln), left England in the same season on a companion vessel. seekingmyroots.com
Voyage and arrival Primary transcriptions and printed passenger lists show the Mary Anne of Yarmouth (master William Goose) sailing from Ipswich in May 1637 and arriving at Boston on 20 June 1637. Later family and local histories place John Tower among the passengers or among those who landed in Boston and settled at Hingham that summer. The voyage took roughly six weeks under prevailing conditions and was one of several Ipswich/Yarmouth departures that year. ldsgenealogy.com
Companions and context Samuel Lincoln, also from Hingham, is reported in multiple genealogies as having sailed in 1637 with the Lawes household on the John & Dorothy (apprenticed to Francis Lawes). Though they appear on different ships, the two men are recorded together in Hingham settlement summaries of 1637 — showing they were part of the same Norfolk‑to‑New England migration. en.wikipedia.org
Hingham settlement & land Shortly after arrival, John Tower received customary allotments of house-lot, planting lots and marsh typical of early settlers; Hingham town records and later local histories record his house-lot grants and a 1641 deed in which he purchased additional property. He applied for freeman status in late 1638 / early 1639 per the colonial freeman rolls. These transactions establish him in the early fabric of New Hingham. mirrorservice.org
English origins Parish register entries for Hingham, Norfolk identify a baptism: John, son of Robert Tower, 14 May 1609 — the same individual later identified in New England records and the Tower family genealogies as the emigrant of 1637. For absolute confirmation, consult the Norfolk parish register original or certified copy. seekingmyroots.com
Concluding note John Tower’s passage on the Mary Anne and his settlement at New Hingham connect the Tower family to the larger story of the Great Migration from Norfolk in the 1630s; the fact that Samuel Lincoln emigrated in the same season (on John & Dorothy) underscores the tight local networks that moved together across the Atlantic. newenglandsettlers.blogspot.com
The Tower Genealogical Society 