Towler, William (d1846)

Ministry

Petty records that William was with Thomas Proctor in February 1826 in the Cwm Circuit. Petty also records the efforts in missioning  New York and Canada. Petty describes William as follows.

“Mr Towler was a man of superior mental powers, of general information, and of accomplished manners. His preaching was instructive, animated and eloquent. Uncommon power frequently attended it, so that his audiences were sometimes as if electrified under his almost overwhelming appeals. But his fragile frame did not allow him to perform the amount of pastoral labour which was expected of him in common with his brethren, which produced unfavourable impressions concerning him among some who could not understand how the labours of a preacher could exhaust his strength.”

Family

William was born at East Witham, Yorkshire.

The family sett off for New York on 17 December 1845 arriving on 26 January 1846.

He married Mary Ann Phillips (1810-1870) in June 1830. The passenger list of arrivals in New York identifies seven children.

• William Henry (1832-1856)
• James Phillips (b abt1836) – a merchant  at Artemesia, Grey Canada West(1861)
• Mary Ann (b abt1838)
• Thomas Proctor (b1839)
• John Petty (b1841)
• Samuel Phillips (b1843)
• Charles (1845-1928) – died in Ontario, Canada

William died on 4 December 1846 at New York, USA.

Circuits

• 1827 Hopton Bank
• 1828 Frome (6 mths)
• 1828 Motcombe (6 mths)
• 1829 Brinkworth (6 mths)
• 1829 Bath (6 myths)
• 1830 Nottingham (6 mths)
• 1830 Winster (6 mths)
• 1831 S Shields
• 1833 Darlington
• 1835 Hexham
• 1837 Berwick
• 1838 Newcastle
• 1840 Brompton
• 1842 Manchester
• 1844 Oldham

References

J Petty, The History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion, 1880, p227, p389, p471f

W Leary, Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits, 1990

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers