Gertrude Townsend (5A04)
| Date of Birth: | ca 1847 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 29 Apr 1885 |
| Generation: | 7th |
| Residence: | Queenstown, Cork |
| Father: | Reverend Thomas Uniacke Townsend [5A00] |
| Mother: | Carr, Elizabeth |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table VA ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Gertrude Townsend
Married 1866. Robert Uniacke Fitzgerald Townsend [531] (d 16 April 1911) was Gertrude's cousin and the 5th son of Dr Richard Townsend [517] of Queenstown, Cork.
Nothing anecdotal about Robert survives; nevertheless considerable detail about him is to be found in various records and almanacs between 1871 and the 1911 Irish Census which was taken on 2 April that year, just two weeks before Robert died. In summary, from these records and his biography, it is known that he was a Land Agent, a Justice of the Peace for the County of Cork, a Fellow of the Surveyors' Institute and a Governor of University College, Cork. He was also a member of the short-lived Primrose Club in St James, London; founded in 1886, it was aligned to the Conservative Party.
Fulton’s Directory 1871 City of Cork Street Directory page 183 shows ‘Townsend Robert F. Endsly House’ and ‘Townsend Miss Endsly Cottage’ living in Southern Road. Whether or not this is Robert and his sister, Katherine Townsend [532], cannot be verified.
The County Directory section of Francis Guy’s County & City of Cork Directory 1875-76 lists Robert as an Estate Agent on page 298 living at Ballynoe, Near Mallow. The birth certificate for his daughter Zeenie Townsend [556], born 13 April 1876, records that he was a land agent. However the Directory also lists a Robert Townsend living in Queenstown so there might be some confusion.
Francis Guy's City and County Cork Almanac and Directory for 1884 records on page 96 that Robert was living in Queenstown and was a Director of the Cork Theatre and Opera House Company Limited on Lavitt's Quay.
Guy’s City and County Cork Almanac and Directory 1891 contains several entries relating to Robert and shows him involved in various diverse enterprises. Page 78 records he was an Elected Member of the Committee of Management for Schools of Science, Art and Music in Cork. On page 92 he is listed as a Director of the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway and is shown as living at ‘Stoneview, Blarney’. The same page also shows him as Chairman of the Killard River Drainage Board and a Director of the Tramore River Drainage Board. Page 110 of the Almanac lists him as a Poor Law Guardian for Cork.
‘Slater’s Royal National Directory of Ireland, 1894’ records under the heading ‘County Magistrates for the Province of Munster. Co Cork’ - “Townsend Rbt. Uniacke Fitz-Gerald, Stoneview, Blarney R.S.O” and under the heading ‘Munster Parishes - Blarney , Private Residents’ - “Townsend Robert U. F. JP Stoneview.”
The last almanac in which Robert features is Guy's City and County Cork Almanac and Directory for 1907. In it he is listed as President of the Cork Poultry, Pigeon and Caged Bird Society on page 106 and a member of the executive committee of the Cork Ratepayers Protective Association on page 110. Page 158 shows that Robert was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1885.
The only other detail known about Robert is that the ‘Charter for University College, Cork’ shows him as a member of the Governing Body at Chapter 7.
The April 1901 Irish Census shows Robert, aged 62, as a Land Agent and Justice of the Peace living at house 3 Curraghnalaght, Blarney, Cork with four domestic staff; this must be 'Stoneview'. The house consisted of 10 rooms, a stable, coach house and 12 further outbuildings. The 1911 Irish Census records Robert living in a substantial 12 roomed house, called Ringville, in Queenstown with a housekeeper and one domestic servant.
Gertrude died in St Leonards on Sea in Sussex and is buried in Hastings.