Burr Ackley Towl (1868-1952), Burr Ackley Towl Jr. (1912-1991)

From the Westfield Leader, March 22, 1979.

  The city of Westfield, New Jersey has been helmed by over fifty mayors in its history, including a father-son pair possessing the name Burr Ackley Towl. The first of these men, Burr A. Towl Sr., was a native of Ohio who found success in business in both New York City and Cranford, New Jersey. In addition to his residency in those areas, Towl resided in Westfield, New Jersey, where he engaged in banking. He entered local politics with his election to the city council, and in 1928 was elected to a two-year term as mayor of Westfield. Born in Parma, Cuyahoga County, Ohio on July 2, 1868, Burr Ackley Towl was the son of Theodore and Sarah Lucretia (Ackley) Towl. 

   Little is known of Towl's early life or education, except notice of his graduation from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. In the early 1880s Towl's father, a manager with the Standard Oil company's tax and real estate department, moved to Brooklyn, New York. In the mid-1880s Burr Towl followed in his father's stead and joined Standard Oil, and by the time of his retirement in 1938 was the manager of the tax and real estate departments of three Standard Oil subsidiaries, the Buckeye Pipeline Co., the Northern Pipeline Co., and the New York Transit Company. 

  Burr A. Towl married in Brooklyn on April 20, 1892, to Lettie Mandeville Crane (1868-1956), their wedding occurring at the bride's home. The couple were wed for sixty years and had five children: Edwin Irving (1894-1918), Miriam Edith (1896-2000; lived to age 103), Elizabeth M. Towl Gilmour (born 1901), Burr Ackley Jr. (1912-1991), and Edwin Irving (1918-1962). 

  In the late 1890s, Burr Towl removed to Cranford, New Jersey, where he would reside for over twenty years. Early in his residency, he became a founding director of the Kyle Automatic Water Filtering Company, headquartered in Buffalo, New York, and was later president of the Cranford Board of Education for an indeterminate period. By 1921 he and his family had resettled in Westfield, and in the succeeding years, he experienced further business distinction, holding a directorship in the Westfield Trust Co. He later served as vice president of that concern and was a director of the Westfield Federal Building and Loan Association.

  Towl made his first move into city politics with his election to the Westfield city council in 1925 and served until 1928. Beginning with his time on the city council, Towl chaired a committee that planned the construction of a new YMCA building in town in 1927, work that continued following his election as mayor. Through Towl's early efforts, $300,000 in pledges were received to aid in its building, with the cornerstone being laid in May 1928.

  In March of the last-named year, Towl announced his candidacy for Westfield mayor, with his name being bolstered by the city Republican committee. In March 1928 write-up in the Westfield Leader, Towl was touted as "well qualified for the office", with the Leader noting:

"The Republican Executive Committee in presenting the name of Burr A. Towl, to the voters as a candidate for mayor believe it will meet with the approval of the majority of the people of the Town. Mr. Towl has served one term and is serving his second as a member of the Council. He has proven himself a man of resources, and has served upon important committees and his judgement has been sought by his collegues."

From the Westfield Leader.

  In November 1928 it was a Republican sweep in Westfield, with Towl winning the mayoral race, and four Republican nominees gaining city council seats. Sworn into office in January 1929, Towl announced his appointive officials and outlined what would be the important aspects of his term, including work on the Rahway Valley Trunk Sewer. Decades following his death Towl was lauded by the Westfield Leader as being  "an originator of an idea to cover all streams in town and provide drainage for surface water." Additionally, Towl noted the separation of "police and traffic work" and instead announced a committee to better handle the city's traffic problems. 

  Burr Towl declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1930 and implored Republican voters to cast their ballot for nominee Frederick S. Tipson. That November Tipson was elected, and he served one term. Several years after his term Towl returned to politics when he was re-elected to the city council, where he sat from 1936-39. 

  Active in other areas of Westfield public life, Towl held memberships in the Sons of the American Revolution, the Atlas Lodge No. 125 of Free and Accepted Masons, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Burr Ackley Towl Sr. died at his home in Westfield on November 24, 1952, aged 84. His wife Lettie survived him by two years, and following her death in 1956 was interred alongside him at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. 

From the Bridgton Courier-News, November 24, 1952.

From the Bridgewater Courier-News, January 3, 1961.

  In the decades following Burr Towl Sr.'s mayoralty, his son Burr Ackley Towl Jr. achieved political prominence of his own, being elected as mayor of Westfield in 1960. Like his father, Towl was connected with the Buckeye Pipeline Company in New York City, serving as its assistant general counsel for many years. Born in Cranford, New Jersey on March 2, 1912, Burr Ackley Towl Jr.'s early life was spent in Cranford before removing to Westfield with his family. A student in city schools, Towl graduated from the Pingry School in 1930 and later enrolled at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.

  Following graduation in 1934, Towl wed Morris County native Florence Sayre (1912-1984), their marriage occurring in 1936. The couple were wed for nearly five decades and had three daughters, Patricia, Carol, and Barbara. Towl began a long connection with the Buckeye Pipeline Co. of New York in the late 1930s, which continued until his retirement in 1977. He would serve that company as its attorney for over three decades, "specializing in city assessment and municipal problems." Desiring to pursue a law degree, Towl later enrolled at Fordham Law School, where he attended night classes and earned his degree in 1946.

   In 1960 Burr Towl Jr. announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for mayor of Westfield, and after clinching the nomination outlined his campaign platform, noting:

"I have steadfastly held the one objective of a town government which is responsive to the will of the people. I shall need and expect the best thinking of all civic-minded citizens." 

 In a November 1960 Westfield Leader article on his candidacy, Towl further explained what his administration would strive for, including:

• A town planning program "centered around a committee of town officials and qualified citizens" that would address zoning, traffic and parking facilities, and Westfield's "residential character."
• "Give close and continuing attention to a sound fiscal policy, thus keeping the tax burden at a minimum."
• "A town government responsible to the will of the people."

    

From the Bridgewater Courier News, January 3, 1961.

   Several days following that article's publishing Burr Towl defeated Democrat Arthur Fried and was sworn in as mayor in January 1961. Recognized as the first second-generation mayor in Westfield's history, Towl acknowledged his lack of political experience and how he had been called to seek political office:

" During the last few years I observed a lack of flow of information between the council and the people...It seemed to me that citizens were not as fully informed as they should have been about municipal matters, and some of my friends convinced me that I could help do something about it."

   Towl's mayoralty extended two terms (1961-1964) and during his administration, an $822,000 addition was made to the city's YMCA/YWCA facilities. Active in the civic life of his community, Towl was a former president of the Board of Trustees of the Fairview Cemetery, a member of the College Men's Club and Echo Country Club of Westfield, and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution Westfield Chapter. Additionally, he was a past commodore of the Shelter Island Yacht Club on Shelter Island on Long Island, New York. He and his wife were longstanding members of the local Presbyterian church, with Towl being a deacon, elder, clerk of session, and choir member.

  Widowed in 1984, Towl later remarried to Jeannette Palmer Enders (1920-2002), a graduate of the Julliard School and a past regent of the Westfield Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter. The couple was wed until Towl's death at age 79 on August 29, 1991, in Mountainside, New Jersey. He was survived by his wife, daughters, and stepchildren, and was interred at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.