Julia was born the youngest of 13 children in Marlborough, N.H., on September 26, 1817. Her father died in 1823 when Julia was only 5 years old. In a letter she wrote to DAR in her later years, she says “it is evident my recollection must be very meagre [sic] of him and comparatively only a few times do I recall him with distinctness.” She lived with her mother until the late 1820s or early 1830s, when she enrolled in Topsfield Academy in Topsfield, Mass., where her brother had opened a medical practice. In Topsfield she met Ezra Towne; they were married in 1837. The Townes lived the next 30 years in and around New York City. They had four children: William, Charles, Mary and Edward.
In 1866, the Townes moved back to Topsfield and into Ezra Towne’s family home, where several relatives were already living. The correspondence between mother and daughter began when Mary moved to Chicago to seek employment. Being so far away from her home and her mother, Mary wrote of homesickness when she first came to the city. But she soon earned a license in teaching and gained a strong sense of confidence and accomplishment in making her own money. Julia’s letters attempt to comfort and encourage her only daughter during her initial concerns and then to celebrate her newfound courage. Julia also shares with Mary her own struggles to “fit in” in the society of Topsfield. She describes a life of domesticity that revolves around housework and the family.
In this letter to the DAR, Julia Stone Towne writes about her father and her family, saying, “Had I foreseen what my eyes now see there were opportunities to collect many relics and interesting remininces [sic] but as I am the last of my family there is no one left to inquire of.”
As the stories unfold in their letters, Julia and Mary unknowingly “offer a glimpse into the multiple worlds of women in the 19th century.” Mary, a single woman living in the city of Chicago, tends to write about major events in the country and the world, her work as a teacher, her roommates, travel experiences and finally her decision to marry and give up her independence. In contrast, Julia’s letters tell of small-town life, frustrations with the local society, her basic domestic routines, widowhood and her decision to move to the Nebraska frontier to live with her son. Through this correspondence, the modern reader is given an example of a woman’s life from young adulthood to old age, as well as a better understanding of the changing roles and attitudes of women.
Julia joined the Fort Dearborn Chapter in Evanston, Ill., in 1897. She was living with her daughter, who was also a member of the Fort Dearborn Chapter, in the last years of her life. She died in 1905 at age 87. Fortunately, a large portion of Julia’s life will be preserved in her own words and will continue to represent “all of those who are nameless in the annals of history.”