Person:John Townsend (3)

Information on John Townsend

From "A Memorial to John, Richard and Henry Townsend and their Descendants", pg. 84:

John Townsend Settled in Oyster Bay, between the middle of January and the 16th of September, 1661. As he was living in Jamaica at the first date, and his name being upon the Mill grant, he must have been admitted as a Townsman in Oyster Bay before the last. There is an entry upon the Records, that he bought his house in South street in February, 1661, but the deed, in the possession of J. C. Townsend, is dated October.

(pg. 85) John Townsend must have been quite advanced in years when he settled in Oyster Bay ; having led a most active and laborious life since his emigration, he had made three different homes in the wilderness, if not four, before he found a final resting-place.

(pg. 86-88) His wife was Elizabeth Montgomery^[7]. He died in 1668, and was buried on his own place, probably the first person laid in the graveyard on Fort Hill. As he died intestate, his widow, according to a custom prevailing here, divided his estate, with the advice and consent of her older sons, and her husband's brothers.

We give this document below. The solicitude which she shows for the comfort and welfare of "the lads," as she calls her two younger sons, is very touching. (For more authentic spelling see, for example Oyster Bay Town Records.)

Will of Elizabeth Townsend, Wife of John Townsend

"These presents declare unto whom it may any wise concern, that I, Elizabeth Townsend, widow of the late deceased John Townsend, in Oyster Bay, in the north riding, on Long Island, because my said husband deceased without any will, I herein, with the advice of my husband's two brothers, Henry and Richard Townsend, and with the advice and consent of my two eldest sons, John and Thomas Townsend, all of Oyster Bay, above said, have together parted my said husband's estate amongst his six younger children, for their portions, instead of a will, by which will, each of the children, namely, James, Rose, Anne, Sarah, George, and Daniel may know what shall be, and what to claim for their portion of their father's estate, and this to stand firm and unalterable by me, or any through, or by me, but to remain for a settlement of peace between me and my children, which is as followeth.

Imp. 1st. Unto my son James, I give for his portion out of the estate, in present possession, in lands beside cattle and horses he have in hand already, first, three acres of land and three-quarters, lying on the south side of that was old Armitage's lot, in Oyster Bay, lying or adjoining to the highway on the eastward and western sides, with commoning and common privileges to it, of wood, land, timber, as other such lots have ; and he is to have the land upon part of his common right, that his father did improve, on the east side of Matinecock Creek, joining on the south of his uncle Henry's land, and two shares of meadow lying on the west side of the Creek, or Beaver Swamp, and one share of meadow on the east of the said Creek ; and he is to have the land his father fenced and improved on the west side of the Mill River Swamp, with the share of the swamp joining to the east side of it ; and he is to have six acres of Plains, and a quarter of a share of meadow at the south, and so much of the south side of the swamp at the rear of my house as proves to be mine, of which swamp Josias Latting hath a part.

To my daughters I do engage to give to each of them thirty pounds apiece, for their portion, and to my eldest daughter Elizabeth, although not above mentioned, yet she is to have, with what she hath already received, thirty pounds, all at such pay as passes between man and man, after the rate of Indian corn at three shillings a bushel, and wheat at five.

2d. To the said Elizabeth, or her husband, Gideon Wright, towards her portion, I give, with what her father had before given her already, first, two cows, ten pounds ; a young horse, five pounds ; a bed and furniture, ten pounds ; two sheep, one pound; one kettle, one pound ; in all twenty-seven pounds ; and Gideon, her husband, is to have three pounds more; and that will be thirty pounds in all.

3d. To my daughter Rose I give half a share of meadow at the south, with two cows and two calves she hath already received, and commoning in Oyster Bay, with twenty-six acres of land, and three pounds in Richard Townsend's hands, and a yearling mare colt, it all being called by us at thirty pounds.

4th. To my two youngest daughters, Anne and Sarah, their portions are to be thirty pounds apiece, out of the stock or in lands, as they may desire, if their mother decease before their portions are paid; but if they be disposed of in marriage while I remain a widow, I have liberty to pay to each of them their portion in cattle or land, as I see they have most need and I able to do it, or part one, part of the other.

5th. It is my will, and I do fully agree that my two youngest sons, George and Daniel, shall have these two homesteads I now possess, with the privileges belonging to them, after my decease, but they are to be mine and for my use, to possess and enjoy for my use and comfort, during my life, and at my decease to be theirs as above said, with privileges as follows : to each party is nominated his particular interest.

6thly. To my son George I give for his portion as above said, being the eldest, the house and house lot that I now possess, and orchard which then shall be on it, and two shares of meadow that lie in the Town of Oyster Bay, which was bought with the lot, and six acres of Plains, with commoning and common privileges, in the First Purchase of the Town.

7thly, To my youngest son, Daniel, above mentioned, after my decease above said, is to have the other lot, or that part of land lying between his brother James's lot and his brother George's lot. It was bo ught of old Armitage. I say, he is to have it, with the privileges belonging to it; namely, two shares of meadow lying on the north side of the town, which was bought with the lot of the said Thomas Armitage, and six acres of Plains, and twelve acres of land and common privileges.

And I do by this will and appoint, that if I decease before these my two youngest sons be of age, that two of their eldest brothers take them and bring them up, and to have the use of the boys' land and what other goods and chattels fall to them. The goods and chattels are to be priced when they receive it, and delivered back to the said boys the same price or value again, when they go from their brothers, whether they be of age or not; for I do appoint my brother, Henry Townsend, their uncle, to have the oversight of them if he outlive me, and to remove one or both to the rest of their brothers or sisters, with the lands and estates to make use of toward the bringing up of the said lads; but when they go away to have their whole principal returned to or with them, but not to remove them without their complaint to him on good grounds, for the said removal, of hard usage. And I do by this will and appoint that, at my decease, unalterable by me, or any through or by me, all my estate undisposed of, as goods, household stuff, and cattle, are all to be equally divided amongst all my living children ; and I further order and appoint that, if any one or more of my said sons or daughters die under age, undisposed of in marriage, the deceased's lands and estates are all to be divided equally amongst all my living sons and daughters ; but it is still to be understood that whoever have the bringing up of the two young lads, and the use of their estate towards their maintenance, their lands and houses is with fences to be delivered up in good repair as when they received it, and the property of lands and houses, and orchard, is not to be altered to or from either of the said lads, although the property of other goods or chattels may be altered upon just and honest terms.

And further, it is agreed that my eldest son, John, is to have such land at Hog Island, at my decease, or at south, if I leave any undisposed of, to my youngest daughters, Anne and Sarah, above said. But a lot on Hog Island, of the third division, number ten, my husband gave my son Thomas. Unto all the promises and engagements above mentioned, I do hereby engage to perform, under my hand and seal, the twenty-third year of the reign of Charles the Second, King of England, and the tenth day of the fifth month, 1671.

Before signing was enterlined in the fifth and eighth lines, ["]that I now possess["] as witness my hand and seal, " Elizabeth Townsend. " In the presence of us, "Moses Furman, "Benjamin Hubbard.

" I do own my brother Richard did consent to the substance of which is above mentioned, and with my advice also, as witness my hand. "Henry Tow^nsend. " And we consent to the above said. "John Tow'nsend, Jajvies Townsend, "Thomas Townsend, Gideon Weight."

Additional Information on John Townsend

From Margaret Behme, 7072 W. Coldwater Rd., Flushing MI 48433 (9/17/1985):

John Townsend and family were buried in Fort Hill, which is now the center of Oyster Bay, Long Island, off South Street. The south side of the old knoll fronted on his dwelling place, the old Armitage House which purchased in 1663. Had settled in Oyster Bay in Feb. 1661, bought first house on Oct. 5, 1661. There are no headstones marking individual cemetery plots, but a wooden fence surrounds them all and a marker placed by townspeople. It is surrounded by homes now and the backyards of some abut the burial grounds. John's wife was Elizabeth Montgomery? who survived him and willed house to son, Daniel. There is a record stating Elizabeth was visited by a 1st cousin, Gov. Thomas Donagan of early Limerick, Ireland. He could have been a cousin on her mother's side.

Subj:Re: Townsend family Date:98-06-28 18:18:14 EDT From:PM4853 To:Delijim

One of the very early family names in the Oyster bay area is the Townsend family. John Townsend with his younger brothers, Henry and Richard, came to Massachusetts in Governor Winthrop's vessel from the county of Norfolk in 1630.^[8] He had already settled in three different places before reaching Oyster Bay, having been converted to the Society of Friends in 1645^[9]; he is mentioned in a patent grant by Director Kiefft in that year, and in 1648 signed the famous Remonstrance in Flushing. In 1660, he left Flushing and settled finally in Oyster Bay, where Quakers were tolerated (Ref 4). I hope this helps Phil Mason pm4853@@aol.com

More Evidence Needed

1. ↑ Rootsweb - World Connect Project.
2. ↑ Behme, Margaret - Flushing MI 48433.
3. ↑ Cox, John, and George William Cocks. Oyster Bay town records, 1653-1878. (New York, New York: T.A. Wright, 1916-1940)
   1:44.

   "Oyster Bay ye 28th of November 1668. ... gift of medoes & Lands by my Husband John Townesand, in ye yeare 1660, to his Sun John Townesand ... I Elyzabeth, Townesand, mother to ye Sd John Townesand Junr. doe heere make good, what my Husband his ffather gave him ..." [this confirmation apparently required because John was deceased by this date]

4.   Cocks, George William. History and Genealogy of the Cock, Cocks, Cox Family: Descended from James and Sarah Cock, of Killingworth Upon Matinecock, in the Township of Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y. (Somerville, New Jersey: Unionist Gazette Association, 1914)
   368.

   "John Townsend, prob. son of Robert and nephew of Thomas of Lynn". This source uses the baptism of second son in 1642 to suggest a birth about 1610. On p. 365, the author says it is a "probability" that John, Henry and Richard Townsend, who ended up in Long Island, are sons of Robert, the elder brother of Thomas Townsend of Lynn. The reason given is that the "dates being convenient". [This Robert was bapt. 18 Jun 1591, so if this speculation is true, John's birth would need to be more like 1612-1615 than 1610?] [To further strengthen the suggestion that their father was Robert by removing an alternative possibility, "The Townshend Family", p. 29:101-2 of Source:The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, says that the mother of Robert and Thomas, Margaret (Forthe) Townsend, was buried in 1596, and there was no known issue of the father's second wife Anne. The will of the father, Henry Townsend, named his [second] wife Anne, son Robert, son Thomas and daughter Elizabeth, but no other children.]

5.   A Memorial of John, Henry, and Richard Townsend and their descendants. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1963).
6.   Bunker, Mary Powell. Long Island Genealogies. (Albany, New York, United States: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1895)
   118.
7. ↑ His wife's surname is stated in this source without proof. In the index of this source, compiled by Harry Macy, Jr., a prominent Long Island genealogist, the surname is flagged with a question mark.
8. ↑ Their emigration on the Winthrop fleet is highly unlikely and needs substantiation. The Townsend Memorial, p. 81, says "The time of their emigration cannot be precisely fixed." Besides their age, there are no records of them for about 10 years after this fleet arrived.
9. ↑ According to wikipedia, George Fox began preaching publicly in 1648. The Society of Friends grew out of his and other's preaching. Activity in 1645 would probably have been some other non-conforming sect, such as possibly the Seekers.