Captain Thomas Hungerford Townsend (502)
| Date of Birth: | 20 Feb 1737 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | 6 Mar 1799 |
| Generation: | 4th |
| Residence: | Derry, Rosscabery, Co Cork |
| Father: | Captain Philip Townsend [500] |
| Mother: | Hungerford, Elizabeth |
| Spouse: | Unmarried |
| Issue: | None |
| See Also: | Table V ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Captain Thomas Hungerford Townsend
Aged 19, with his father, Philip Townsend [500], Thomas embarked for America at Cork in November 1756 as a volunteer in General O'Farrel's Regiment - 22nd of Foot (Cheshire Regiment). They arrived in New York on 11 February 1757 and served together in North America during the Seven Years War. In a letter (1) from aboard the 'Thornton transport, New York, 19 April 1758' Thomas' father wrote "poor Tom studies to lessen my expense...he has at last got a commission and Col Rollo, who is very good to him and to whom I think I am alone obliged for his preferment, has appointed him to my company, but while he is the youngest ensign he'll have no pay."
Thomas' father returned to Ireland sometime after June 1759 because of ill health whilst Thomas himself continued to serve with General O'Farrel's Regiment. He was present at the Capture of Quebec in September 1759 and at the Siege of Ravenna, Ohio. He was appointed Lieutenant on 10 March 1761 and was still in serving in 1763. He returned to Ireland some time after this, quite possibly that same year when the 22nd were ordered to the West Indies.
Thomas spent the rest of his life at Derry (1a) with his brother William Townsend [504]. The Derry Papers show that he leased the lands of Gurranaslotty from his father on 19 October 1769 (2) which he then leased to Andrew Keefe on 24 November 1790 for 21 years at £4 per annum (3).
Family tradition has always maintained that when Thomas' father, Philip, died in 1786 Derry passed to his eldest son, Dr Richard Townsend [501] and, according to 'An Officer of the Long Parliament', Richard then sold Derry to his youngest brother, Horatio Townsend [5D00], in about 1810. However Philip’s will, dated 3 June 1781 and recently transcribed (2010), shows that apart from legacies and bequests for his other children he actually bequeathed Derry to his sons Thomas and Horatio as tenants in common -– “all the rest and residue of my real estate that I have in the lands of Derry and all my personal fortune I give leave and devise to my two sons Thomas Hungerford Townsend and the Rev Horatio Townsend and their heirs forever”.
Appointed a Captain of the Battle Axe Guards (4) by Lord Townshend, Viceroy of Ireland 1767–1772, Thomas also commanded a Grenadier Company of 80 men (5) during the period of 'Whiteboy' violence in the early 1790's.
Thomas was a churchwarden between 1788 and 1790 at St. Fachtna's Cathedral, Ross.
Thomas' will is dated 1 June 1794. He died of a stroke and his will was proved in Cork on 17 March 1799. All estate real and personal, goods and chattels he left to his brother Horatio Townsend [5D00], who was the sole executor, except £600 to his brother Dr Richard Townsend [501], £400 to his brother Captain William Townsend [504], £400 to the children of “my late sister” Susannah [505] and £400 to sister Mary [506] (6).
An entry in the Church of Ireland Parish Records Ross Cathedral 1690–1823 records on page 49 under the heading ‘Burials’ "1799 March 6th Captain Thomas Townsend Derry."
(1) Letters in ‘An Officer of the Long Parliament’.
(1a) The entry for Derry in the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway Connacht and Munster Landed Estates Database records "Held in fee by Rev. Charles* Townsend in 1851 when it was valued at £44. A house and substantial farm still exist at the site." *Should be Chambre - NUI informed.
(2) Derry Papers DD/37.
(3) Derry Papers 502/1.
(4) The battle-axe-guards did duty in the public apartments of Dublin Castle.
(5) Hand written note in 'An Officer of the Long Parliament'.
(6) Derry Papers 502/2.
Was Thomas presented with a fine sword in 1797 in recognition of his service as Adjutant of the Royal Cork Volunteers? Click on his Scrapbook.
'An Officer of the Long Parliament' Ch XI p. 254-58 refers.