Henry Townsend was an early settler of the American Colonies.

Biography

Disagreement exists surrounding the facts of Henry Townsend's place of birth and his parentage. The work Ancestral Heads of New England Families from 1923 suggests that Henry Townsend was the son of Thomas Townsend

Thomas Townsend

Thomas Stewart Townsend was an Irish Anglican bishop in the Church of Ireland in the 19th century. He wasHe became Bishop of Meath in 1850. and died in post in Malaga on 16 September 1852. His Times obituary noted that “by his death the system of national education has lost an earnest...

 (1594-1677) and Mary Newgate (1595-1692).

These facts are disputed by findings of the "Townsend Surname DNA Project," conducted by the Townsend Society of America, a well-respected member organization composed of members with Townsend lineage. These findings suggest that Henry Townsend was not the son of Thomas Townsend and Mary Newgate and that these families have "completely different DNA" according to Townsend Society sources. Naturally this raises questions surrounding date of birth of Henry Townsend, and to the date that he and his two brothers Richard and John emigrated to the colonies. The work A memorial of John, Henry, and Richard Townsend, and their descendants published in 1865 is cited for more information on the topic.

While some disagreement exists surrounding origins, general agreement exists around other aspects of Henry Townsend's biography. Henry settled in Flushing, where his brother John Townsend

John Townsend (Norwich)

John Townsend was an early settler of the American Colonies who emigrated from England about 1630. Townsend was a signatory to the Flushing Remonstrance, a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights...

 (1608-1668) was one of the original settlers of that place, to whom the patent was granted by Gov. Keift in 1645. On account of political difficulties with the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant

Peter Stuyvesant

Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...

, the Townsend brothers moved to Warwick, Rhode Island

Warwick, Rhode Island

Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...

.

In 1656 Townsend and his brothers, Henry and Richard, again attempted to settle in Long Island, this time obtaining the patent of Rustdorp (now Jamaica). The following year in 1657 he was arrested, imprisoned and fined. Records of from 15 September 1657, show Henry Townsend was asked to pay £8 Flanders or depart the Dutch province within six weeks, "upon the penalty of corporeal punishment."

The source of Henry's trouble was his practice of allowing meetings of Quakers in his house. The Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant

Peter Stuyvesant

Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...

 had outlawed this activity, banning the practice of all religious activity outside of the Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church

The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...

.

Later a petition, known as the Flushing Remonstrance

Flushing Remonstrance

The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which several citizens requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of...

 was signed by Henry and many others on 27 December 1657. Stuyvesant rejected the petition. Henry Townsend who was arrested, imprisoned and fined £8 Flanders for harboring Quakers in his house.

In the following year, 1658, Townsend moved with his brothers to Oyster Bay, which was out of the jurisdiction of the Dutch. Here he spent the remainder of his life, and died at Oyster Bay, in 1695.

First Generation

John Townsend (1653-1705)

Rose Townsend (1648-1720), who fed her father through the bars of the window while imprisoned by the Dutch government; married Captain Joseph Dickenson.

Henry Townsend

Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay)

Henry Townsend was the son of Henry Townsend, an early settler settler of the American Colonies, and a member of the Quaker religion.-Biography:...

 (1649-1703) was the son of Henry Townsend and Anne Townsend. He married Deborah Underhill in 1657. Deborah Underhill (1659-1698) was daughter of Captain John Underhill

Captain John Underhill

John Underhill was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Province of New York...

 (1597-1672), another important figure in Colonial America who trained the militia of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

and served as magistrate of Flushing for a brief period of time, before settling on 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of land outside of Oyster Bay. Captain Underhill was converted to Quakerism by his second wife, thus making the union of Henry Townsend and Deborah Underhill the combining of two of the most influential Quaker families in Oyster Bay.

Susanna Townsend, married Aaron Forman, Jr. and had sons Aaron and Jacob.

Mary Townsend, married John Wright, son of Nicholas Wright, and had Rose, Eliphal, and Mary.

Elizabeth Townsend, died unmarried, September 13, 1680.

Robert Townsend, born June 3, 1667, bought land on Long Island from the Indians, died in 1687.

Second Generation

Henry Townsend (1670-1709) was the son of Henry Townsend and Deborah Underhill. He bought the mill his grandfather had built from his uncle John Townsend, and when his Uncle John died, he was elected town surveyor, being the third generation in direct descent engaged in surveying and to operate the mill. He married Eliphal Wright, daughter of his aunt Mary Townsend and John Wright.