Person:Irene Townsend (1)

From the "History of Poweshiek County Iowa - A Record of Settlement, Organizations, Progress and Achievement" Vol. II written by Prof. L. F. Parker. Published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., in 1911, pp. 196-201: "The mother of our subject [James Fordyce Bailey] bore the maiden name of Nancy Bradish and was born in Cumminton, Massachusetts, her parents being Dr. James and Irene (Townsend) Bradish. Her mother was twice married, her first husband being Dr. Clark. They took up their abode in Floyd, Oneida county, New York, in 1802. Dr. James Bradish was a surgeon at the siege of Boston in the Revolutionary war. Irene (Townsend) Bradish lived to attain the age of ninety-two years. She was a twin sister of Nathaniel Townsend and a daughter of David and Irene (Loomis) Townsend. The Loomis, Townsend, and Bradish families have been traced to New England pioneers of very early dates. Deacon John Bradish, the father of Dr. James Bradish, served as selectman in 1775 and was a member of the Revolutionary committee of correspondence for Hardwick, Massachusetts, from 1774 until 1777. Robert Bradish, the emigrant from England, was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at least as early as August 28, 1635."

Right now, this is the only source I have for Irene who married James Bradish, being the dau of David Townsend of Hebron. David did have a daughter Irene in 1754, and "The English Townsends" genealogy claims that David had other children, including a son Nathaniel, who emigrated to Floyd, NY (where Irene ends up), but Nathaniel is not documented in the Hebron VR (at least that I've found so far). He certainly isn't a twin to the Irene born in 1754 in Hebron. And the author of the 1900 "The English Townsends" is so committed to tying his ancestry to prestigious Townsends of England that I don't fully trust his claims (and he doesn't document his sources). (Nor does the author list Irene as a daughter of David.)