James Townsend (August 31, 1786 – November 3, 1851) was an American farmer, politician, and abolitionist who was among the early pioneers of Putnamville, Indiana.
James Townsend | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 31, 1786[1] |
| Died | November 3, 1851 (aged 65)[1] |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Spouse | Katherine Davis |
| Relatives | John Selby Townsend James Robert Townsend |
Biography
editTownsend was descended from Richard Townsend, who emigrated from England, settling in Jamestown, Virginia in 1620. He was raised in Snow Hill, Maryland and married Katherine Davis, a cousin of the Radical Republican Henry Winter Davis.[2] In 1808, Townsend left Maryland and established a plantation near Henderson, Kentucky, operated by 30 slaves he had inherited.[2]
Around 1830, according to later recollection by his grandson, Townsend, "a man of strong religious convictions, becoming convinced of the evils of slavery, liberated his thirty slaves".[3][4][5] He exhorted them to follow him in an exodus to Indiana – a free state – pledging that he would build houses for any who chose to accompany him, while those who opted to remain in Kentucky would instead be paid a cash settlement.[6] Eight of his former slaves ultimately traveled with him to Indiana and assumed Townsend's surname as their own, as was customary at the time.[6][a]
In Indiana, Townsend worked as a merchant and donated the land for the establishment of the Putnamville Presbyterian Church.[4][8] Townsend was financially ruined by the Panic of 1837.[4] In 1838 he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives and later moved to Clay County, Indiana.[9][1] He died in 1851.[1]
Among Townsend's children was John Selby Townsend.[10] His grandchildren included James Robert Townsend and James Layman, who sat in the Indiana State Senate.[2][11] James Robert Townsend's son, also James Townsend, was one of the original 1,000 participants in Lewis Terman's Genetic Studies of Genius.[12]
The Townsend/Layman Museum in Putnamville is named after Townsend.[6]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ According to the New York Public Library, "Originally slaves had no surnames, only given names, and did not take a surname unless need for a certain type of documentation or after manumission. Some enslaved people or newly freed people may have taken the name of the slave owner, or if they were on multiple plantations it could be the name of a previous slave owner, or once freed taken a different name entirely".[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Wilmot, Kathryn. "James Townsend Store Ledger" (PDF). indianahistory.org/. Indiana Historical Society. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c Commemorative Biographical Record of Prominent and Representative Men of Indianapolis and Vicinity. University of Wisconsin. 1908. p. 249.
- ^ Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of Iowa: Reunion of 1896. Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of Iowa. 1900. p. 70.
- ^ a b c Lehman, Christopher P. (2011). Slavery in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1787–1865. McFarland. p. 106. ISBN 978-0786485895.
- ^ Weik, Jesse (1910). History of Putnam County, Indiana. Bowen & Co. p. 200.
- ^ a b c "The History of Putnamville". putnamcountymuseum.org. Putnam County Museum. December 22, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ "African American Genealogy: Surnames". nypl.org. New York Public Library. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
Originally slaves had no surnames, only given names, and did not take a surname unless need for a certain type of documentation or after manumission. Some enslaved people or newly freed people may have taken the name of the slave owner, or if they were on multiple plantations it could be the name of a previous slave owner, or once freed taken a different name entirely.
- ^ "Putnamville United Methodist Church". hmdb.org. Historical Marker Database. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ Rike, Dorothy (1960). Indiana Election Returns 1816–1851. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau. p. 243.
- ^ The Bench and Bar of Iowa: Illustrated with Steel and Copper Engravings. American Biographical Publishing Company. 1901. pp. 168–169.
- ^ McGroarty, John Steven (1921). Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea. American Historical Society. p. 503.
- ^ "James Robert Townsend" (PDF). Earth and Space Sciences Alumni Newsletter. UCLA. December 1992. Retrieved January 11, 2024.