Horatio Uniacke Townshend (5B00)
| Date of Birth: | 28 Mar 1816 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 15 Feb 1897 |
| Generation: | 6th |
| Residence: | Rathmoyle, Abbeyleix and Blackrock, Dublin |
| Father: | Thomas Townsend [509] |
| Mother: | Uniacke, Martha |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table VB ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Horatio Uniacke Townshend. See also
Horatio was born in Mallow, Co Cork and christened on 30 March 1816.
Married 16 June 1841. Louisa Jane Clarke was the daughter of John Clarke of Wilfield, Co Dublin.
Alumni Trinity College Dublin from Co Cork and Kerry 1593-1860 in Dr Casey's Collection records that Horatio was taught by Mr Turpin before he entered Trinity College, Dublin, on 4 February 1833 aged 17 as a pensioner who paid a fixed sum annually for his studies. He was a pupil of Thomas Kearney, County surveyor for the East Riding of Co. Limerick and the TCD Graduation List records that he qualified BA in Summer 1839. Samuel Townsend [6B13], Horace Payne Townshend [5D12], Aubrey de Vere Townsend [621] and William Hotham Townsend [6B18] were undergraduates at Trinity at the same time.
After his graduation Horatio was appointed county surveyor for the North Riding of Co. Tipperary, having successfully sat the county surveyorship examination the previous December in 1838. In August 1845 he moved to Co. Laois where he remained until he retired, aged 67, in May 1883 on the grounds of age and ill health. After his retirement he conducted an enquiry for the Board of Works on the feasibility of a tramline from Skibbereen to Schull in Co. Cork.
Horatio gave evidence on 7 August 1857 to the Select Committee set up to 'Inquire into Duties, Functions and Remuneration of County and District Surveyors in Ireland'. Page viii of the Report, published on 13 August 1857, catalogued in the ‘Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland’, shows that Horatio was paid £7 for his expenses over three days. His evidence before the Committee can be seen at pages 107 to 115 in the Report.
Horatio was initiated into Eureka Masonic Lodge No. 47, Dundalk on the 13th July 1863; he resigned later that same year. His entry is on page 75.
During the time that he was County Surveyor Co. Laois Horatio lived at Rathmoyle, Abbeyleix, and when he retired he moved to Waltham Terrace, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, where he remained until his death. He was buried in the Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin.
Page 460 of The Calendar of Wills and Administration 1858-1922 in the National Archives of Ireland records that probate of the will of " Horatio Uniacke Townshend late of 31 Waltham Terrace, Blackrock, Dublin Esquire", who died on 15 February 1897, was granted at Dublin on 1 April 1897 to "Thomas Courtenay Townshend of 23 South Frederick Street Dublin Esquire”. Effects £706 5d 6d.
Burke's Irish Family Records shows Horatio's birth as 1826 - this is clearly wrong as he would only have been 15 when he married. His brother William Uniacke [5B01] was born in 1826.
Under the heading 'RATHMOYLE REVISITED' dated 15 April 2015 there are several references to the Townsend family including this paragraph about a daughter of Horatio who died young - "Up popped an old newspaper clipping, which recorded a sad event in the life of Horatio Uniacke Townsend and his family – that being the passing of their fourth daughter, Sophia Henrietta, at Rathmoyle. As far as I can determine, this event occurred in December 1872. And there was a further research bonus, as Horatio Townsend is described as ‘HU Townsend CE County Surveyor, Queen’s County".