The Towle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,156 people carried this name — #7,961 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 70,900 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (4,164).

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

93 families named Towle, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 557 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Towle, Toal, Tole, Toles, Toll, Tolles, Towl, Towles, Towls. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 53
Connecticut 10
New York 9
Maine 8
Vermont 4
Rhode Island 4
Virginia 3
Pennsylvania 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 265 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Towle in American newspapers,
1897–1910.

Newspaper page from Kingsbury County Independent carrying the name Towle
Kingsbury County Independent 1904-12-09
Newspaper page from The White Pine News carrying the name Towle
The White Pine News 1910-01-09
Newspaper page from The Bourbon News carrying the name Towle
The Bourbon News 1897-10-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 102,475 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Towle in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,628 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Towle. The most, 335, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,287
Victoria 850
Queensland 330
Western Australia 73
South Australia 52
Tasmania 15
ACT (Canberra) 1
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Towle.

Who carried it

People named Towle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Knapp Towle
    Samuel Knapp Towle 1829–1895 · politician
  • Edward Towle Brooks
    Edward Towle Brooks 1830–1897 · judge
  • George Makepeace Towle
    George Makepeace Towle 1841–1893 · writer
  • Loren Delbert Towle
    Loren Delbert Towle 1874–1923 · businessperson
  • Mary Rutter Towle
    Mary Rutter Towle 1876–1953 · prosecutor
  • Susan Towle d. 2013

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Towle,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States445 records

445 records of the Towle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 169
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 129
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 72
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 33
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 23
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Howard L. Towle

    Born 1917 in Maine. Enlisted 1941 at Boston, Massachusetts; cook. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gary Chester Towle

    Born 1942; from Concord, New Hampshire. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1969 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Towle

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1847 aboard the Monongahela from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 445 records for Towle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia61 records

61 records of the Towle name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 8
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Towle

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Surry, arriving 1831; certificate of freedom 1838.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Edwin C. Towle

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Swiftsure, aged 6; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William F. Towle

    Dr of medicine of Drysdale, Victoria; died 1892.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 61 records for Towle in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada27 records

27 records of the Towle name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 8
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Herbert Henry Towle

    Buried in 1970 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 50.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ethel Pearl Towle

    Died 1994; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Joseph Frank Towle

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 27 records for Towle in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Towle name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 8
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Towle

    Sapper, Royal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Towle

    Dorsetshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 9 records for Towle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Towle name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Stephen George Henry Towle

    Born 1951 in Portsmouth (Angleterre); died 2001 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Towle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Towle is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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