John
Townsend
Born about in Bracon Ash, Norfolk, England
Son of Unknown Townsend
and [mother unknown]
Brother of
Richard Townsend and Henry Townsend
Husband of
Elizabeth (Montgomery) Townsend
— married
1630 in New England, America
Descendants 
Father of
Rachel (Townsend) Wright, Thomas Townsend, Elizabeth (Townsend) Wright, John Townsend, James Townsend, Rose (Townsend) Hayden, George Townsend, Elizabeth (Townsend) Ludlam and Daniel Townsend
Died
at about age 60
in Oyster Bay, Nassau, Long Island, New York colony
Profile managers:
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| Created 6 Aug 2010
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| John Townsend was a New Netherland settler. Join: New Netherland Settlers Project Discuss: new_netherland |
Contents |
Biography
John Townsend is Notable.
John is thought to be the same John Townesend who was an original patentee of Flushing, New York, named in a grant ordered by Gov. Kieft of New Netherlands on 10 October 1645.[1]
John and his two brothers Henry and Richard were Quaker sympathizers. Frost's book on page 494 cites Thompson in "History of Long Island, Vol. 2, p. 344 where it says they were "temporarily in Boston and Providence." Frost continues, that it is certain "that as early as 1642, John had located in New Amsterdam," since one of their sons, Thomas, was baptized that year.
John Townsend's name is found among those listed in the October 10, 1645 Patent of Flushing, Long Island, where he and his family lived. In 1648 he and other men were called before the Council where they were to give reasons why they should not help to support the minister and why he was against those nominated as sheriff. He would not support these things, so legal actions would be taken against him. As a result John moved to Warwick, Rhode Island. There he served as Commissioner to the General Court in 1652 - 1654. He returned to Long Island - Jamaica in 1656 where, along with his brothers Henry and Richard, he was the first to buy land but by 1658 he was again a resident of Flushing. There officials scrutinized him about the probability he was a Quaker and he was instructed to give bail. He was in Jamaica on January 20, 1661 then on February 15, 1661 he was cast out. Frost on page 495 says, "March 3, 1661, he asks relief from the soldiers quartered on him because he would not inform against the Quakers." He did not receive the requested relief. By the 5th day of 10th month, 1661, John Townsend purchased Jonas Halstead's land at Oyster Bay; but he was living there before 1661, and he continued to live there until he died. Frost indicates he "was the first person to be buried in the graveyard on Fort Hill, which was on his own property.
John Townsend settled in Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY sometime between the middle of January and the 16th of September, 1661. He bought his house on South Street in February, 1661.[2] Later returned to Warwick, Rhode Island.
Occupation
His occupation was Tanner. Tanner Collect (where City Hall in New York City now stands) [3]
Immigration
- 1643 Lynn, Massachusetts
- Family Members: Brothers Henry and Richard
- Primary Immigrant: Townsend, John
- John Townsend from Norwich, Norfolk, England migrated to New England with his two brothers Henry and Richard Townsend.[4]
Residence
- 1609 Raynham Hall, Norwick, Norfolk, England
- 1610 Norfolk, Norwich County, England
- 1637 Boston, Massachusetts
- 1668 One Of Three Brothers Who Were The First Settlers
Marriage
John married Elizabeth, referred to as Elizabeth Montgomery in some sources, but a primary source has not been found. What is known about Elizabeth is that she made a deed dated May 10, 1671 naming their children. (see below).
- No original record or primary informant is known that gives the maiden surname of wife Elizabeth. While most sources state she was "Elizabeth Montgomery," the origin of this claim is currently unknown. An alternative claim dating back at least as far as the late 1800s was that she was Elizabeth Coles, daughter of Robert Coles.[5][6]
Children
- John Townsend b. abt. 1640, the parent's eldest child. M. (1st) Susannah, daughter of Richard Harcourt. She d. bef. May 2, 1696 but was the mother of his children. He m. (2nd) Phebe (_____). After his father's death, his home at Oyster Bay was sold and he was one of the first who purchased land at Jericho, Long Island. He was still living in 1715. Children: Solomon, James, Thomas, Nathaniel, and more than likely there were 3 daughters. James m. Audrey daughter of Job Almy of Rhode Island. He held the position of Town Surveyor of Oyster Bay although he was from Jericho from 1711 through 1736 and on until his death. Children: Mary, Deborah, Jacob, Nathaniel. Jacob b. Jericho, Long Island in 1692, m. Phebe, daughter of Benjamin and Martha (Titus) Seaman. He made his will on June 13, 1739 and it was proved September 9, 1751. They had four sons Samuel, Jacob, Benjamin, James and daughter Almy. His will left a negro woman and boy to Phebe and a negro girl to daughter Almy. Phebe died of small-pox April 14, 1774, aged 75 years.
- Thomas Townsend abt 1642 in Hempstead, Long Island, New Netherland
- James abt 1642 Hempstead, Long Island, New Netherland
- Rose abt 1652 Hempstead, Long Island, New Netherland
- Anne
- Sarah
- George abt 1656
- Daniel about 1663 in Oyster Bay, Long Island
Death
- 5 OCT 1668 Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York
Burial
- Cemetery: Fort Hill Cemetery, Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York [7]
Research Notes
Sometime after John's death in 1668, his widow sent a petition to Governor Andros saying "many years past her husband owned eight acres of land lying and being at the Fresh Water (Collect), New York, then called New Amsterdam, where he did build and make large improvements and peaceably enjoyed the same divers years in the time of the great calamity, being daily alarmed by Indians" so her husband left that home and "hew a small fortune out of the thick wood with his own hands, for himself, wife and children." Frost in her book about the Townsend brothers says, "The Townsend Memorial states it was 30 years before she tried to reclaim it and her petition was not granted."
In the deed of May 10, 1671, Elizabeth divided John Townsend's property between her children. In it she mentions her younger children who were not "of age" and says their uncle Henry was to have oversight of them if she dies before they come of age. They were: James, Rose, Anne, Sarah, George, Daniel. Before making the deed she sought the consent of her husband's two brothers, Henry and Richard as well as the advice of her two older sons, John and Thomas. Elizabeth and John's son John was to receive the land at Hog Island at Elizabeth's death.
Sources
- ↑ O'Callaghan, page 48
- ↑ The Poindexter Family History Book, pp. 474-8.
- ↑ WorldTree Database: "Townsend Genealogical Database". Author: Tom Townsend. Publication: 25 March 2004, Ancestry.com
- ↑ Josephine C. Frost. "Ancestors of Henry Rogers Winthrop and his Wife Alice Woodward Babcock" Brooklyn (1927). p. 495-502.limited, 1 hour view for members
- ↑ Obituary for James Cock Townsend, M.D., The New York Genealogical & Biographical Record 14 (1883) page 51.
- ↑ Robert B. Miller, "Hawxhurst Family" The New York Genealogical & Biographical Record 32 (1901) page 174.
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 25 April 2023), memorial page for John Townsend (1608–5 Oct 1668), Find A Grave: Memorial #25142988, citing Fort Hill Cemetery, Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA; Maintained by tony mazaitis (contributor 46980954).
- O'Callaghan, E. B. Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, 1638–1674 (Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsons, and Company, 1868).
- Townsend, W. A. A Memorial of John, Henry, and Richard Townsend, and Their Descendants (New York, 1865) Page 84-92.
- Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend. by Tagliapietra, Margaret (Townsend) [from old catalog] comp; Townsend, James C. [from old catalog]; Townsend, Martin Ingham, 1810-1903. [from old catalog]; Townshend, Charles Hervey, 1833- [from old catalog]; Smith, Isaac Townsend, 1813-1906. Press of the Broadway Publ., New York, 1909 Pages 68-71
- Reynolds, Cuyler, editor, Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley, Vol. 3, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company (1914), 1115, Google Books (Digital Library).
- Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
- Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co., New Haven, Conn., 1930)
- Josephine C. Frost. "Ancestors of Henry Rogers Winthrop and his Wife Alice Woodward Babcock" Brooklyn (1927). p. 495-502.limited, 1 hour view for members
- Tagliapietra, Margaret (Townsend) comp; Townsend, James C.; Townsend, Martin Ingham, 1810-1903.; Townshend, Charles Hervey, 1833-; Smith, Isaac Townsend, 1813-1906. Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend, New York: Press of the Broadway publishing company, 1909. p 68-71].
- Mary Edith Shaw, The Descendants of Francis Muncy I with Allied Families.
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Images: 1
John is 19 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 19 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 19 degrees from Maggie Beer, 41 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 27 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 22 degrees from Michael Chow, 18 degrees from Ree Drummond, 21 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 20 degrees from Matty Matheson, 19 degrees from Martha Stewart, 30 degrees from Danny Trejo and 25 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Neither of these profiles seems to be based on reliable sources (content may be traceable to reliable sources, but that is not apparent from the profile text) and neither one makes effective use of footnotes or other inline citations to indicate where specific profile content came from. Attention to identifying sources and attempting to trace the facts to primary records (etc.) is likely to help reconcile the discrepancies here.
1. The children described or linked on the two profiles are different. (Even though both have sons named John and James, the life dates of those sons are noticeably different, and the son James has different wives on the two profiles.)
2. Although both of them have an origins story involving three brothers, I note that the names of the brothers are different Townsend-39 has brother Robert, whereas Townsend-8503 has brothers Richard and Henry.
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005773014
that Thomas Townsend who came to Lynn during PGM was the son of Henry. And there is a nice article from The Essex Genealogist in 1993
https://www.americanancestors.org/DB396/i/12784/152/144182338
in which a certified genealogist reviews the evidence and concludes again that the connection seems probable.
Now to the changes log here: Norm Dilts, the creator of the Robert profile, prevented a merger of two John Townsends on 1 July 2016 with a comment, still on the profile below, "John Townsend is the son of Thomas and Mary (Newgate-1) Townsend-133 . Thomas Townsend-133 is the son of Henry and Margaret (Forthe-1) Townsend-134, and for that reason I cannot in good faith approve this merge." I don't know if his John Townsend was the son of Thomas or the other profile that he didn't want merged into the son of Thomas.
On 21 October 2017, the unmerged match was removed, with no comment that I see in the changes log, then the merge was reproposed and immediately performed by a second person, with the comment "Clear Duplicates." That is unfortunate, since it seems they had not been the previous year.
Then a couple of days later, Henry Townsend, the father of Robert, was removed as a father from John. I don't know how he got attached as a father for John, since Henry had no son John that I can see. His son Thomas who came to Lynn had a son John, and there were other changes and comments related to confusion between that John and "this" John. So all I can guess is that someone had accidentally skipped a generation and attached Henry's grandson John to Henry by mistake, then the profiles were merged, and then Henry was removed. But I don't know if it is possible to tell what really happened now.
Anyway, when Henry was removed as the father of John, he was *also* removed as the father of Robert that same day. I see no reason why this was done, since again, there is a baptismal record, a will, and then also a marriage record of dubious assignation that is at least still commonly associate with Robert son of Henry and was also associated with Robert's profile on Wikitree. It is clear that he was created as the son of Henry. So I went ahead and reattached Robert back as a son of Henry, so he no longer shows as a brother of this John -- Henry had no son John. I guess that means point 2 is resolved. I haven't looked yet at point 1.
I'll note that of the brothers John, Henry, and Richard, the Great Migration Directory lists Henry and gives two sources -- the records of Portsmouth, R.I. and the compiled genealogy by Frost used as the source on the Townsend-8503 that has just been marked as an unmerged match to this one. So Anderson gave some credibility to that source, although I don't know if he gave credibility specifically to the notion that he had brothers named John and Richard.