Townshend Family

Thomas Townsend (d.1677), son of Henry Townsend, married Mary Newgate and emigrated from England to Lynn, Massachusetts in 1635. Descendants lived in New England, New York and elsewhere. Includes ancestors in England to about 1066 A.D.

Thomas Townsend, son of Henry Townsend and Margaret Forthe, was born circa 1594-5 in Bracon-Ash, England. He married Mary (d. 1692). Thomas settled in Lynn, Massachusetts Bay about 1637-8 and died there on 22 December 1677. His probable ancestry is traced back to the 14th century in England. His descendants lived mainly in New England.

Thomas Townsend (ca.1594-1677), the Puritan, was a direct descendant of Sir Robert Townshend (Sir Robert was a brother of Sir Roger Townshend, the Puritan baronet of Raynham Hall). Thomas immigrated during or before 1639 to Lynn, Massachusetts, and was a liberal Puritan. The "h" was returned to the spelling of the surname by Charles Hervey Townshend (1833-1904), a direct descendant from East Haven, who was a ship captain and an historian, and who visited Raynhan Hall in England. Descendants and relatives listed lived lived chiefly in East Haven and New Haven, Connecticut, with others living elsewhere in Connecticut, and in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and elsewhere.

The history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend.