Daniel Townsend (1738 - 1775)

Born 26 Dec 1738 in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Zerviah (Upton) Townsend — married 24 Jan 1764 in Reading, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 19 Apr 1775 at age 36 in Menotomy, Massachusetts Colony

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Biography

Daniel Townsend served with Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Daniel Townsend was Killed in Action during the American Revolution.

Daniel Townsend is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A115582.

Daniel Townsend is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 306462
Rank: Private

Birth

Daniel Townsend (son of Daniel Townsend and Lydia Sawyer) was born December 26, 1738 in Lynnfield, MA, USA.

Parents: Daniel Townsend (1700 - 1761) Lidy Sawyer Townsend (1705 - 1749)

Marriage and Family

He married Zerviah Upham on January 24, 1764 in Reading, Middlesex, MA, USA, daughter of John Upham and Sarah Burnell.

Zerviah Upton Townsend (1744 - 1775)*

More About Daniel Townsend and Zerviah Upham: Marriage: January 24, 1764, Reading, Middlesex, MA, USA. Children of Daniel Townsend and Zerviah Upham are: Jacob Townsend, b. Abt. 1766. Lydia Townsend, b. Abt. 1766. +John Townsend, b. August 25, 1766, Lynnfield, MA, USA, d. March 25, 1825, WIlliamstown, Orange, Vermont, USA."^[1]

Military Service

From "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution" comes the following entry :

Daniel Townsend (1738--1775) of Lynn, private in Captain Nathaniel Bancroft's company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service two days.^[2]

Also account showing sums of money to be paid from the public treasury to sundry persons for losses sustained a battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, amounts allowed in Coucil, June 13, 1776; entry credits amount due administrators of said Townsend.

American Revolutionary War Soldier. He was killed during the British retreat from Concord on the first day of the American Revolution, one of fifty Americans either killed or mortally wounded on that day. He was thirty-six years old at the time of his death.

Death

Daniel's Nassr # P-306459 Revolutionary War Hero, Pvt Daniel Townsend was killed by British Soldiers on the 19 or 21 Apr 1775 in their retreat from Lexington and Concord along with Abednego Ramsdell and 2 others. These men were under the command of Capt Ezra Newhall of the Lynn Volunteers.

From "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution" comes the following entry : Also order on Honorable Henry Gardner, payable to Edward John son, representative for Lynn, Massachusetts, dated Lynn, February 3, 1777, signed by John Perkins, guardian of said Townsend's minor children, for money for articles lost in battle at Concord, Massachusetts, endorsement states that said Townsend was killed in battle, April 19, 1775.

From "History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts" comes the following information. Book was published in 1865 and included eyewitness testimony: 1775. On the morning of Wednesday, the 19th of April, the inhabitants of Lynn were awakened, by the information that a detachment of about eight hundred troops, had left Boston, in the night, and were proceeding toward Concord.

On receiving the intelligence that the troops had left Boston, many of the inhabitants of Lynn immediately set out, without waiting to be organized, and with such weapons as they could most readily procure.

One man, with who I was acquainted, had on other equipments than a long fowling-piece, without a bayonet, a horn of powder, and a seal-skin pouch, filled with bullets and buckshot.

The English troops arrived at Lexington, a little before five in the morning, where they fired upon the inhabitants, assembled in arms before the meeting-house, and killed eight men. They then proceeded to Concord, where they destroyed some military stores; but being opposed by the militia, they soon began to retreat.

The people from Lynn met them at Lexington, on their return, and joined in firing at them from the walls and fences. In one instance, says my informant, an English soldier coming out of a house, was met by the owner. They leveled their pieces at each other, and firing at the same instant, both fell dead.

The English had sixty-five men killed, the Americans fifty.

Anong these were four men from Lynnwho fell in Lexington: 1]Mr. Abednego Ramsdell ... 2] Mr. William Flint ... 3]Mr Thomas Hadley .... 4] Mr. Daniel Townsend. He was born 26 December, 1738. A stone has been erected to his memory, at Lynnfield, with the following inscription:

Lie, valiant Townsend, in the peaceful shade; we trust, Immortal honors mingle with thy dust. What though thy body struggled in its gore? So did thy Savior's body, long before And as he raised his own, by power divine, So the same power shall also quicken thine, And in eternal glory mayst thou shine.

Eye Witness Account

"Deacon Daniel Townsend (son of Daniel Townsend) b. 1738, m. Zerviah Upton, daughter of John Upton. They had 5 children. He and his brother Thomas joined the Minute Men of the Parish. Daniel was the first military casualty of the American Revolution. The minute men marched on Menotomy upon receiving news that the British regulars were marching on Concord to destroy arms. Timothy Monroe, a wounded survivor and witness recounts, “that he was standing behind a house with Daniel Townsend, firing on the British troops as they were coming down the road on their retreat toward Boston. Townsend had just fired, and exclaimed, 'There's another red-coat down,' when Monroe, looking around, saw to his astonishment that they were completely hemmed in by the flank guard of the British army, who were coming down through the field behind them. They immediately ran into the house and sought for the cellar, but no cellar was there. All this time, which was indeed but a moment, the balls were pouring through the back window, making havoc of the glass. Townsend leaped through the end window, carrying the sash and all with Him, and instantly fell dead. Monroe followed him and escaped." Daniel had been shot seven times. His body was carried back to Lynn. The Essex Gazette of May 2, 1775 said he was, "a constant and ready friend to the poor and afflicted, a good adviser in cases of difficulty, a mild, sincere and able reprover. In short, it adds, "he was a friend to his country, a blessing to society, an ornament to the church of which he was an officer." He was buried at Lynfield, April 2, 1775, where his monument now stands, with the following inscription; Lie, valiant Townsend, in the peaceful shades; we trust Immortal honors mingle with thy dust. What though thy body struggled in its gore. So did thy Saviour's body long before; And as he raised his own by power divine So the same power shall also quicken thine. And in eternal glory mayst thou shine. His wife never recovered from the shock and died a few months later on Oct. 19, 1775." ^[3]

Burial:

Old Burying Ground Lynnfield Essex County Massachusetts, USA

Maintained by: Ann Record added: May 31, 2003 ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ [(http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/j/o/h/Jone-B-Johnson/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0347.html)]
2. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 4 April 2024), "Record of Daniel Townsend", Ancestor # A115582.
3. ↑ [(http://humpherysfamily.org/images/persons/assoc/60.pdf)]
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #7519240

• From the records of the Second Parrish Church of Lynnfield and also the Lynn Historians and Lynn Vital Records.

• https://www.geni.com/people/Daniel-Townsend/6000000008573967025

• google book link

• http://members.valley.net/~townsend/Townsend_MA.html

• google book link

• http://patch.com/massachusetts/lynnfield/a-look-at-lynnfield-in-the-american-revolution

• Abbatt, William. The Dead of Patriots' Day, April 19, 1775, The Magazine of History with Notes and Queries (William Abbatt, New York, 1905) Vol. 1, Page 244.

• Wikipedia: Battle_of_Menotomy