Cornelius Townsend (139)
| Date of Birth: | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | dsp 1817 (1) |
| Generation: | 5th |
| Residence: | Bridgemount, (2) Macroom |
| Father: | Horatio Townsend [130] |
| Mother: | Richards, Anne |
| Spouse: |
|
| Issue: | None |
| See Also: | Table I ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Cornelius Townsend
Mary Tanner (Margaret?) was the daughter of Jonathon Tanner of Bandon, Co Cork.
According to 'An Officer of the Long Parliament', Cornelius inherited Bridgemount (Cahirkegan) from his father in 1764 but was forced to sell the property (3) having failed in his attempts at agricultural improvement. In 'An Officer of the Long Parliament' it states that Arthur Young in his 'Tour in Ireland 1776 - 1779' mentions that about 1778 Cornelius Townsend "fixed two Sussex farmers to improve a stony mountain. These men, Messrs Crampe and Johnson, bought very fine horses and brought over all their implements at great expense. Mr Townsend built the most handsome houses, barns etc for them. The land was so stony that £100 was spent in clearing one field of eight acres. The men were ruined and Mr Townsend suffered considerably". No trace of this quotation can be found in the 'A Tour in Ireland', by Arthur Young and edited by Henry Morley.
Horatio Townsend [5D00] referred to this incident in his book 'Statistical Survey of the County of Cork' (4). On page 682 he wrote - "In another part of the district under consideration occurred also an instance of the unfortunate result of injudicious enterprise. Cornelius Townsend, Esq. of Bridgmount, (a seat situated in a wild and rugged country between Macroom and Millstreet) several years since, induced two Sussex farmers (Cramp and Johnson) to leave their native country, and settle upon a part of his estate in that uncultivated and hardly cultivable region. Mr. Townsend had visited England at an early age, and, struck with the superior excellence of its agriculture, felt a laudable desire of introducing a similar style into his own country. But the difference of circumstances was too striking to escape any person of cool reflection. Youth and inexperience may excuse, but cannot justify transplantation so preposterous as that from the fields of Sussex to the wilds of Muskerry. Attempts, however, were made to assimilate the situations. Houses and barns, wholly unfit for the place, were erected at great expense. The formidable obstructions of rock and bog were endeavoured to be removed at an expense exceeding the fee simple of the ground, which, after all, was a miserable subject for farming operation. Market, as well as manure, was remote and inconvenient, and the roads of the country wholly unfit for the heavy draught of carts and waggons. The result was what might have been expected—ruin to the farmers, and very serious injury to the landlord."
Cornelius was admitted a Freeman of the City of Cork on 15 may 1770. Between 1710 and 1841, when the power of admitting Freemen only by birth or right ceased, a total of thirty three members of the Townsend family were admitted as Freemen.
An entry in the Church of Ireland Parish Records Ross Cathedral 1690–1823 records on page 53 under the heading 'Burials' - "1807 August 1st Mary Townsend of Benduff." This might refer to Cornelius' wife, Mary
(1) Cornelius died at Monmouth.
(2) Ordnance survey of Ireland. Discovery Series. 1:50,000. Map sheet 79, grid reference W294763.
(3) Forced to sell or not the property was subsequently owned by Horatio Townsend [607] whose father, Edward Synge Townsend [601], married Cornelius' sister Elizabeth Townsend [144] in 1766.
(4) Sponsored by the Royal Dublin Society and published in 1810 it covers historical sketches, agricultural and trade statistics, notices on education, fisheries, antiquities, manufactures, etc. A large appendix and section of addenda includes a variety of interesting documents, on matters social, scientific, political, religious and other matters. The book criticised the Roman Catholic clergy, particularly its role in education and this generated considerable controversy. A copy of the book can be found in the Trinity College, Dublin, library and the Library of Herbert Bell, Belfast.
'An Officer of the Long Parliament' Ch VIII p. 212-13 refers.