Reverend Doctor John Hume Townshend (635)
| Date of Birth: | 4 Jul 1845 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 25 Feb 1932 |
| Generation: | 6th |
| Residence: | Tunbridge Wells & Newton Abbot |
| Father: | Edward Hume Townsend [626] |
| Mother: | Susan Townsend [5D09] |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table VI ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Reverend Doctor John Hume Townshend DD
John was born in Bombay where his father was Secretary to the Revenue & Forestry Department of the East India Company. The birth was recorded in the diary of Agnes Townsend [334] - 'July 4th 1845 Susan Townsend's son John born'
Married 18 June 1870 (1). Dora Joy (2) was the youngest daughter of Henry Holmes Joy DD QC (3) of Mountjoy Square, Dublin.
John studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and the TCD Graduation List Volume II records that he qualified BA in Winter 1868 and MA in Spring 1873. Horace Thomas Townsend [346] was an undergraduate at Trinity at the same time, whilst John's brother, Horace Webb Townsend [634], Richard Hungerford Townsend [5A02] and William Chambers Townsend [6B11] were graduate students and Rev Richard Townsend [337] was Professor of Natural Philosophy at the university.
John was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Limerick in 1871 and was curate of St Laurence and Holy Trinity, Limerick until 1872 when he was appointed vicar of Drumbanagher, County Antrim. Page 646 of the Calendar of Wills and Administration 1858-1922 in the National Archives of Ireland shows that John was living in Drumbanagher Vicarage, Antrim in 1874. The Calendar records that the will of "Katherine Townsend late of Weston Lodge Clonakilty", who died on 7 December 1873 was proved at the Principal Registry on 23 April 1874 by the oath of the "Reverend John Hume Townsend Drumbanagher Vicarage Antrim Clerk the Executor". Effects under £3,000. John's mother was a sister of Katherine and Henrietta Townsend (see below).
John transferred to the curacy of Holy Trinity, Tunbridge Wells in 1877 and in 1881 he was appointed vicar of St Mark's Church, Broadwater Down, Tunbridge Wells. A letter he wrote to "My Dear Cousin" (probably Richard Baxter Townshend [5D15]) is addressed 'Herne House, Tunbridge Wells'.(4) Page 666 of the Calendar of Wills and Administration 1858-1922 in the National Archives of Ireland confirms the matter. It records that the will of "Henrietta Townsend late of Weston Lodge Clonakilty County Cork Spinster", who died on 15 February 1887, was proved at the Principal Registry on 23 April 1887 by the "Reverend John Hume Townsend of Hern Lodge Tunbridge Wells Surrey Clerk the sole Executor". Effects £4,842 6s 4d.
John officiated at the marriage of his cousin Edward Mansel Townsend [630] at Ilmington Parish Church on 13 June 1890.
The Church and Parish Records of the United Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross by the Rev JH Cole, covering the period 1863 to 1903, were published in 1903 and represent a supplementary volume to William Maziere Brady's earlier work. John is shown on page xi amongst the list of subscribers living at “43, Broadwater Down, Tunbridge Wells”.
In a letter dated 6 May 1873 Edward Hume Townsend [626] wrote to his cousin John Townsend [622] about Dora's poor health - "We are in some anxiety about John Hume's wife, who is I fear in bad health; they are on the way to - if not arrived - at the Cumberland Lakes - where Dora's parents at present are. I believe that they will consult some London Physician before they return."
John wrote 'Life of Canon Hoare' (1895), 'Spiral Stairs, Studies in Church Seasons for the Year' (1895-60) and 'Still Upward' (1898). He later lived and died at 'Casalita', Highweek, Newton Abbot, Devon.
Page 172 of Volume II of the 'Cork Historical and Archeological Society' Journal 1896 records that the Council Book of Clonakilty was in the possession of the 'Rev J Hume Townsend DD'. This book is of great historical significance for it contains details of the proceedings of the Municipal Council between 1675 and 1802. The book is now housed in the museum at Clonakilty.
The daughter Isobel Margaret [653] spent her life in Newton Abbot.
(1) Entry in the diary of Agnes Townsend [334] - 'June 1870 John H Townsend married to Miss Long'(?).
(2) Dora died in 1924.
(3) He was a most eminent lawyer and wrote several books on legal matters. U.H. Hussey de Burgh's ‘Landowners of Ireland 1878' records "Joy, Henry H, Dublin - Antrim - 40 acres £765."
(4) RBT Papers 635/1.