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This person migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
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Tradition and family records inform us that Thomas Townsend came from London, and settled at Lynn, in the colony of Massachusetts Bay, about 1635, and as John Winthrop, his cousin, was governor of this colony, it is probable that his puritanical inclination caused him to select a home in New-England where many of his kinsmen and neighbors had emigrated a few years before.1 His wife was Mary, probably a sister of John Newgate or Newdigate, a merchant of Boston, who was born in Southwark, near London bridge, in 1590, and who in his will dated May 8, 1665, calls him brother-in-law, and leaves him a legacy of £10, to be paid him within one year after his decease.
1. THOMAS TOWNSEND was granted 60 acres of land with the Lord Brook and others by the town of Lynn, in 1638, and he owned other lands near the iron works and at Rumney Marsh, Chelsea. His town-house and lot of 7 acres was on the south side the mill street near the common, and next the Mansfiled property, and it was sold by his grandon Thomas, son of Andrew, to Daniel Mansfiled, of Lynn, July 25, 1702.
He was made a freeman March 14, 1639, calls himself husbandman in his well-drawn deeds of gift to his children, and from his serving the public on more than one occasion, seems to have been an important citizen, and from papers bearing his name, and his beautiful autograph, now to be seen in the secretary of state's office in Boston, we have sufficient evidence of his ability. He died in Lynn, Dec. 22, 1677, aged 83, and his wife Mary died of camp-fever, probably at the house of her son Andrew, Feb. 28, 1692.
- i. THOMAS, born about 1637.
- ii. SAMUEL, b. in Lynn about 1638.
- iii. JOHN, b. in Lynn about 1640.
- iv. ANDREW, b. in Lynn about 1642.
- v. ELIZABETH, b. in Lynn about 1644; m. Samuel Mansfield, of Lynn, Dec. 22, 1669.
A mass of circumstantial evidence to be embodied in a memorial volume when published has satisfied several expert genealogists and myself that Thomas Townsend son of Henry and Margaret was identical with the settler at Lynn.
- Thomas Townsend
- 8 JAN 1593/4 Bracon-Ashe, England
- 8 JAN 1594 Bracon Ash, Norfolk, England
- 8 Jan 1595 Devonshire, England
- 5 NOV 1629 Bracon-Ashe, England
- 1638 Lynn, Massachusetts
- 23 OCT 1660 Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, USA
- 22 DEC 1677 Lynn, Massachusetts (Essex)
- Place: Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts
- Sons immigrated to America before 1645.
- Townsend, Charles Hervey. The Townshend Family, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1897) Vol. 29, Page 102
- Agee, Nealon Rhea & Brown, Dorothy Louise Knox. Poindexter Family History Book, 4th Editon (Published November, 1995): Carol Wilkerson library
- W. A. Townsend, A Memorial of John, Henry, and Richard Townsend, and Their Descendants' (New York, 1865) Page 84-92
On June 11, 2012 L Fowlston wrote:
Ash, and after the sale of the Norfolk estates he resided at Gedding, County Suffolk, until his majority, when he moved to the neighborhood of London, where his uncle, Thomas Forthe, Esq. (of the Middle Temple, London, Jan. 10,^ 1590), resided, who was son and heir of Robert Forthe, D.C.L.. LL.D., deceased.
Tradition and family records inform us that Mr. Thomas Townsend came from London and settled at Lynn, inthe colony of Massachusetts Bay, about 1637-8; and as John Winthrop, his connection, was governor of this colony, it is probable that his puritanical relations aided him to select a home in New England, whence many of his kinsmen and neighbors had emigrated a few years before. His wife was Mary, probably a sister of Anne.l wife of John Newgate or Newdigate. a merchant and selectman of Boston, who had resided in Southwark, near London Bridge, and who in his will, dated May 8. 1665, calls him brothcr-in-law. and leaves him a legacy of £10, to be paid him within one year after his decease. Excerpt from Townsend-Townshend 1066-1909 The History, Genealogy and Alliances of The English and American House of Townsend COMPILED BY James C. Townsend, 1865; Hon. Martin I. Townsend, 1871; Charles Hervey Townshend, 1875; a Pamphlet by Hon. Isaac Townsend Smith, 1904, now NEWLY COMPILED REVISED AND ILLUSTRATED By Margaret Townsend copyright 1909 Public Domain
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No known carriers of Thomas's Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA have taken yDNA or mtDNA tests.
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On June 26, 2015 at 14:03GMT Chris Hoyt wrote:
Townsend Society of America DNA testing project has established that the Oyster Bay family is not related to Thomas Townsend of Lynn, MA. The county of origin in England for Henry, John and Richard Townsend is not known. https://en.wikipedia.org
Children (Thomas, Samuel, John, Andrew, Elizabeth listed in his bio are from: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,: Volume 29 1875
Thomas is 15 degrees from Kevin Bacon, 19 degrees from AJ Jacobs, 29 degrees from Gene Kelly, 17 degrees from Maureen O'Hara and 18 degrees from Queen Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth Realms on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.