Samuel Townsend (400)
| Date of Birth: | 23 Sep 1692 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 1759 |
| Generation: | 3rd |
| Residence: | Whitehall |
| Father: | Colonel Bryan Townsend [200] |
| Mother: | Synge, Mary |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table IV ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Samuel Townsend JP
Samuel's date of birth is taken from an entry, in contemporary writing, on the fly leaf of a copy of 'The Christian Pattern or Imitation of Jesus Christ' - London 1707 and this is confirmed in 'Pooles of Mayfield'. Judge John FitzHenry Townsend [250] shows Samuel's birth as September 1689/92.
Married ca 1725. Dorothea Mansel was the daughter of Sir Edward Mansel, 4th Baronet of Muddlescombe, Carmarthenshire. She was godmother to Mary Townsend [506].
Samuel's brother, Richard Townsend [201], stipulated in his will that if he died before his son Richard [213] had come of age, his wife Elizabeth was to act as the sole legatee and guardian of the children. If she were to die before young Richard came of age then Samuel and his brothers Philip Townsend [500] and Horatio Townsend [600] were appointed guardians. Richard died in 1742 and Elizabeth died the following year when her son Richard was about 17 years old. Thus Samuel and his brothers had responsibility for the children for the next 4 years when nephew Richard came of age in about 1747.
Samuel settled at Whitehall (1), formerly Rincolisky (2), a substantial property with stunning views overlooking Roaring Water Bay. The house previously belonged to Samuel's cousin, James Copinger, the son of Dominic Copinger and his wife Dorothea Townsend [112] but was forfeited by James in 1690 because of his loyalty to the Catholic cause. Thus it must have been strange for Samuel, the grandson of a Parliamentarian (Colonel Richard Townsend [100]), and his wife Dorothea, the grand-daughter of a man who died fighting for the Royalist cause, to own an estate that had been forfeited by Samuel's cousin.
Being a man of culture and taste, and much influenced by the prevailing Italian style following his extensive travels in Italy, Samuel made many alterations to Whitehall to reflect this - in particular a double staircase and pilasters painted to look like marble. A miniature painted in Italy shows he must have been a singularly handsome man looking very splendid in a blue velvet coat and powdered wig with large blue eyes and a short, proud upper lip.
Along with his brother Philip Townsend [500], Samuel was appointed a Freeman of Clonakilty on 3 October 1717. It was the last time that his father, a Burgess of Clonakilty, attended a meeting of the borough council. (3). Samuel's brothers Richard Townsend [201] and John Townsend [300] and kinsmen Francis Townsend [125], Butler Townsend [126], Cornelius Townsend [128] and John Townsend [129] were all also Freemen of Clonakilty at this time.
Appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1737, page 317 of Francis G Tuckey's "Tuckey's Cork Remembrancer" records that Samuel was High Sheriff of Cork in 1742.
In his autobiography (4) Edward Mansel Townshend [630] describes Whitehall as he saw it when he visited in 1882. “Whitehall, is a delightfully romantic old House, looking out to Cape Clear, from a Cove of Roaring Water Bay, amid ‘Carbery and its Hundred Isles’, The rooms are almost palatial in size, all of them 15 ft., high, on the ground floor, and the Drawing Room and Dining Room, each 25 ft., long, by about 18 ft., wide, preceded by an Ante room, about 15 ft. square and as high."
Samuel's will was proved in Cork in 1759 and Dorothea's was proved in 1768 (5).
(1) The entry for Whitehall in the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway Connacht and Munster Landed Estates Database records "Edward Townsend held this property in fee at the time of Griffith's Valuation, when it was valued at £22. Lewis noted it as the residence of S. Townsend in 1837. In 1906 it was owned by the representatives of Samuel R. Townsend and valued at £21. Bence-Jones indicates that it later became the property of the Alleyne family." Horatio Townsend [5D00] describes Whitehall on page 342 of his book 'Statistical Survey of the County of Cork' - "Whitehall, the seat of Samuel Townsend, Esq. stands on the east side of Rincolisky, or Roaringwater Bay. It enjoys every advantage of land and water, but from the nature of its situation is unfavourably circumstanced for the growth of trees. The upper part of the ground commands one of the grandest prospects to be found any where, an immense expanse of water extending from Cape Clear on one side to the Mizen-head upon the other. The depth of this great bay is proportioned to its breadth, its shores are diversified by many jutting points and headlands, on several of which are ruined castles, and its ample bosom is inlaid with a great number of verdant islands, of different sizes and shapes. The cape forms a fine termination to the land view on the left, and the rocky summit of Mountgabriel appears to great advantage in the back ground on the right. Some of the islands are large, and contain a great many inhabitants; others small, and used only for summer feeding, are remarkable for the richness of their pasture. Exclusive of these considerations, they are extremely useful in breaking the force of the sea, and forming many secure stations for vessels." The property was sold out of the family in the early 20th century by Piers Townsend Hughes-Townsend son of Charlotte Frances Townsend [422].
(2) In the Townsend family there is a legend of a tunnel connecting the house with the old castle. When one of the family tried to explore it two servant boys ran ahead and were lost in the darkness, never to be seen again.
(3) See page 80 of the Cork Historical and Archaeology Society Journal 1896.
(4) ‘A Protestant Auto-Biography by the Rev E Mansel Townshend'.
(5) 'Cork and Ross Wills 1548-1800'.
'An Officer of the Long Parliament' Ch X p. 230-32 refers.