The Boyd and Towne Families of Londonderry, New Hampshire 
(Source: Excerpts from the Nutfield Genealogy blog of Heather Wilkinson Rojo by Elizabeth Hanahan) 

A few years ago two portraits were donated by a descendant to the Londonderry Leach Library, and their story was printed in the Derry News. They were primitive style paintings of Robert W. Boyd and his wife, Mary Lund Towne Boyd painted by the itinerant portrait painter, Horace Bundy,in 1851. In the days before photography, it was common to hire these self-taught artists to capture the family on canvas.

Robert Boyd died only one month after sitting for his portrait. The Boyds are buried in the Valley Cemetery on Pillsbury Road in Londonderry. Robert Boyd and Mary Towne were married on 24 December 1812 in Londonderry, and were descendants of some of the original settlers of Londonderry. The Towne family removed to Londonderry from Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts. Mary was descended from Jacob Towne (William, Jacob, Jacob, Jabez, Jabez, Moses, Mary) . Mary's parents were Moses Towne and Charlotte Underwood who lived on Boyd Road right next to a small family cemetery at the corner of John Street and Boyd Road in Londonderry. 

On page 136 of a small book published by the Londonderry Historical Society in 1962, Early Londonderry, Volume II, it states ...the Towne Home, occupied by Jabez Towne, who lived to be over 90 years of age...across the field on the opposite side of the road, is the "Townes Cemetery" , just beyond the present Jackson place. It is the last resting place of the Towne and Boyd families.  Heather adds, Today, I can no longer see any Boyd grave markers. there appear to be many missing stones, and a third of those still standing are broken. There are eleven legible stones in this cemetery. The oldest stone in the cemetery is that of Moses Towne, who died in 1828. His wife, Charlotte, is also buried there along with a son, John, and a daughter, Charlotte Towne AMBROSE. 

To see the 11 headstones remaining, compliments of Heather Rojo, please visit the cemetery link. In addition to the family members named above, you will also find Charlotte Ambrose's husband, David, Betsey and Joseph REED , Sarah and Andrew ROBINSON , Jacob S. LEACH , Rebecca, wife of Cap. Joseph W. GRAMMER , Samuel and Martha DREW , and Susannah TOWNE , daughter of Jabez and Mary Towne .

Shirley Drury Patterson wrote a detailed About Towne article about the son of John Towns , who moved South and was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. To read that article,which contains extensive genealogical information about several generations of this family, click this link for Volume 27, No. 2. 
2007-2 June Vol. XXVII, P.21-40

You will find the article on pages 24-30. To read the full blog postings, click on the links below:


The Boyd and Towne Families of Londonderry 

The Towne Family Burial Ground in Londonderry, Part 1 

The Boyd and Towne Families of Londonderry, Part 2 

The Boyd Dairy Farm