Henry Townsend (abt 1610/15–1695) was an early settler of the American Colonies.
Early life
Henry Townsend (1610/15-1695) was born to unknown parents. YDNA testing at the FamilyTree DNA Townsend Project on male descendants of both the Oyster Bay Townsends and Thomas Townsend (1694/5-1677) of Lynn, MA has conclusively proven there is no relationship between the two families. This long held and incorrect assumption that Thomas, barely 13 years older than the oldest brother John, was based on no evidence.
John Townsend (abt 1608-1668) was the older brother of Henry and one of the original settlers of
Flushing. Henry's younger brother was Richard Townsend (abt 1620-1670).
Career
Townsend settled in Flushing, where his brother
John Townsend was granted a patent by Gov.
Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft (September 1597 – September 27, 1647) was a Dutch merchant and the Director of New Netherland (of which New Amsterdam was the capital) from 1638 to 1647.
Life and career
Willem Kieft was appointed to the rank of director b ...
in 1645. Due to political difficulties with the Dutch governor,
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
, the Townsend brothers moved to
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...
.
In 1656, Townsend and his brothers, John and Richard, again attempted to settle in Long Island, this time obtaining the patent of
Rustdorp (now Jamaica). The following year in 1657, he was arrested, imprisoned and fined. Records from 15 September 1657 show Henry Townsend was asked to pay £8 Flanders or depart the Dutch province within six weeks, "upon the penalty of corporeal punishment." His penalty was handed out due to his practice of allowing meetings of Quakers in his house, which
Stuyvesant had outlawed by banning the practice of all religious activity outside of the
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
.
Later a petition, known as the
Flushing Remonstrance
The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which some thirty residents of the small settlement at Flushing requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precu ...
was signed by Henry, his brother John and many others on 27 December 1657.
[The Flushing Remonstrance is considered a precursor to the ]United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
's provision on freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
in the Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
. Stuyvesant rejected the petition. Henry Townsend was arrested, imprisoned and fined £8 Flanders for harboring Quakers in his house.
In the following year, 1658, Townsend moved with his brothers to
Oyster Bay, which was out of the jurisdiction of the Dutch. Here he spent the remainder of his life.
Personal life
In 1649, Henry Townsend married Ann Coles, with whom he had seven children:
* Rose Townsend (1648-1720), who fed her father through the bars of the window while imprisoned by the Dutch government; married Captain Joseph Dickenson.
*
Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to:
*Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England
*Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay
*Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815–18 ...
(1649-1703), who married Deborah Underhill in 1677. Deborah Underhill (1659-1698) was daughter of
Captain John Underhill
John Underhill (7 October 1597 – 21 July 1672) was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, where he also served as governor; the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Pro ...
(1597-1672), another important figure in Colonial America who trained the militia of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
and served as magistrate of Flushing for a brief period of time, before settling on of land outside of Oyster Bay. Captain Underhill was converted to Quakerism by his second wife, thus making the union of Henry Townsend and Deborah Underhill the combining of two of the most influential Quaker families in Oyster Bay.
* John Townsend (1653-1705)
* Susanna Townsend, who married Aaron Forman, Jr. and had sons Aaron and Jacob.
* Mary Townsend, who married John Wright, son of Nicholas Wright, and had Rose, Eliphal, and Mary.
* Elizabeth Townsend (d. 1680), who died unmarried.
* Robert Townsend (1667-1687), who bought land on Long Island from the Indians
Townsend died at Oyster Bay in 1695.
Descendants
Henry Townsend (1670-1709) was the son of Henry Townsend and Deborah Underhill. He bought the mill his grandfather had built from his uncle John Townsend, and when his Uncle John died, he was elected town surveyor, being the third generation in direct descent engaged in surveying and to operate the mill. He married Eliphal Wright, daughter of his aunt Mary Townsend and John Wright.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Henry (Norwich)
1626 births
1695 deaths
Townsend family
American Quakers
Converts to Quakerism
English emigrants
People from Oyster Bay (town), New York
People of New Netherland
People from Norwich
17th-century Quakers