Person:John Townsend (28)

John TOWNSEND was born in the eastern part of Chester County in 1770, the fourth of eleven children in the family. Nothing else is known of him except he married a woman named Elviry, they had one child -- although there may have been more -- and they moved to Warren County, Ohio where both died at undetermined dates.

    When John was about seven years old, the War of Independence struck very close to home for the TOWNSENDS. Two major engagements led by General George WASHINGTON in the fall of 1777 were fought nearby. Although the location of the TOWNSEND homestead cannot be positively pinpointed, it is known they lived in East Bradford Township so the Battle of the Brandywine was probably fought only 5-10 miles to the south of them and the one at Germantown some 20-25 miles to the northeast. While suffering some of the heaviest casualties of the war, the Colonials lost both battles -- enabling the British to occupy Phildadelphia.
    Following these setbacks, General WASHINGTON retreated to Valley Forge, a short distance west of Philadelphia, to wait out the winter. As is well known, the ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-housed Americans suffered through several months of bitter cold. Only about half had shoes or socks. The TOWNSEND home was probably only some 10-20 miles from this grueling encampment.
    The family also undoubtedly followed with great interest the goings on in nearby Philadelphia. Before and during the war, that city was of course the scene of three historic meetings that gave birth to the new country. They were the first and second Continental Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, during which independence was declared and the provisions of a new government drafted. Pennsylvania and neighboring Delaware were the first two states to join the union.
    After growing up amid the momentous events taking place in the area, John TOWNSEND had reached 19 years of age by the time George WASHINGTON was chosen the first president in 1789. The war had put the country deeply in debt. But for the young man, the future no doubt appeared boundless. (Taken from: A Family Hitory, by Donovan Faust)

1. ↑ A. Donovan Faust (Foust). A Family History: The Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Faust. (1997).
2. ↑ The Quaker Collection; Jerry Richmond Files, 1999. (<invalid link - 12 May 2017>).