Elizabeth Townsend (444)
| Date of Birth: | ca 1805 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 1889 |
| Generation: | 6th |
| Residence: | Italy |
| Father: | Captain Samuel Irwin Townsend [409] |
| Mother: | Thomas, Katherine |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: |
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| See Also: | Table IV ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Elizabeth Townsend
Nothing is known about Dr James Smith except that he came from Bath and died prior to 1863.
Similarly nothing is known about Elizabeth prior to 1863 when she settled in Italy. In her many letters (1) she frequently wrote about her daughter, Louisa -'Isa'.
In 1863 Elizabeth was living at 3 Via Maggio, La Piazzo, Florence and from there wrote to her cousin John Townsend [622] on 17 March 1863 to tell him of the engagement of her daughter, Isa, to Count Antonio Stocco, 'a Calabrian gentleman aged about 30 with estates at Nincastro'. Isa gave birth to a son on 15 March 1864 - John Antonio Townsend Stocco (2), and had several more children over the next few years (3).
Sadly, Elizabeth's brother Samuel Townsend [443] refused to have anything to do with her. This can be deduced from a letter dated 1 January 1875 (just 18 days after Samuel's death) to Aubrey Townsend [621] in which Samuel's second wife, Elise, wrote "I have received a letter from Mrs. Smith (Elizabeth [444]), which I hastened to answer. Sam's determination not to see her held out to the end. I lost no opportunity of pleading for peace and good-will and a souvenir of some sort which would gratify their feelings from 'entre tombe', and which soften so much discord. But he invariably said 'Certainly not,' and abruptly changed the conversation."
Between 1864 and 1877 Elizabeth rented several properties in the area of Sorrento, near Naples and a number of relatives visited her, including Elizabeth Townsend [5D18]. In a letter dated 28 May 1876, to her cousin John Townsend [622], she wrote that Mrs Smith (Elizabeth) was 'a bent, worn old woman, shrunken in face and figure … the same fine eyes, but so softened in expression, as is her whole face and with pretty soft grey hair resting in simple natural lines about it'.
After Elizabeth's death in 1889, her sister-in-law Elise Townsend [443] wrote to the daughter, Isa, 'a letter of condolence' and informed her that she would now receive an inheritance of £10,000 left to her by uncle Samuel.
(1) All letters quoted are from the Llanvapley Papers.
(2) Hand written note in 'An Officer of the Long Parliament' states that he was the only son and was killed at Messina. Was this in the Messina earthquake of December 1908? Connection here with Admiral Cyril Samuel Townsend [6C14].
(3) Hand written note in 'An Officer of the Long Parliament' shows them as Paulina, Norina, Beatrice and Francesca.