Reverend Horace Crawford Townsend MC (643)
| Date of Birth: | 1870 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 1940 |
| Generation: | 7th |
| Residence: | Craigs, Co Antrim |
| Father: | Rev Canon Horace Webb Townsend [634] |
| Mother: | Crawford, Charlotte Anne |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table VI ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Reverend Horace Crawford Townshend MC
Horace was born in Abbeystrewry, Skibbereen, Co Cork.
Married 31 October 1899 (1). Mary Edith Grace Young (2) was the daughter of Mr. Young (3) of Kintullagh, Ballymena.
Horace was educetd at Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and was appointed Rector of Craigs (4), Antrim in 1903.
The April 1911 Irish Census records Horace as a Clerk in Holy Orders aged 41 living in Dunminning, Antrim with his wife, daughter, a relative named Catherine Kirkpatrick and a domestic. The house, owned by Catherine Kirkpatrick, consisted of sixteen rooms, a stable, a coach house and a further eight outbuildings.
Horace was appointed Chaplain 4th Class to the Forces in December 1915 and was on the Western Front from January 1916. Awarded the Military Cross (5) for gallantry in January 1917, a year later Horace was mentioned in despatches by Sir Douglas Haig (6). He relinquished his commission on 13 March 1918 (7).
(1) Entry in the diary of Agnes Townsend [334] - 'Oct 31 Rev Horace Crawford Townsend to Miss Mary E G Young'.
(2) Edith was born in Co Antrim in 1873.
(3) 'Slater’s Royal National Directory of Ireland, 1894’ records under the heading ‘Alphabetical Directory of Belfast’ - “Young William A. linen merchant (James & Robert Young), Kintullagh, Ballymena” and under the heading ‘County Magistrates for the Province of Ulster - Co Antrim’ - “Young William Alexander, Kintullagh House, Ballymena.”
(4) Slater’s shows that "Rev. Alexander T. Kirkpatrick MA" was the vicar of Craigs in 1894.
(5) London Gazette 30111 page 5484 dated 1 January 1917.
(6) Horace's gallantry is commemorated in the BALLYMENA 1914-1918 website.
(7) London Gazette 60642 page 4805 dated 19 April 1918.
Footnote
‘Slater’s Directory records under the heading ‘Dublin. The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Patrick. Prebendaries and Canons’ - “Very Rev. H. Townsend, A.M..” This could refer to Horace before he took up his appointment at Craigs. More likely it refers to another Townsend family.