James Townsend (c.1790 – 12 August 1866) was an English wine merchant, who in later life was a pioneer settler in New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. He was also an amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er.

Life

Townsend was born in 1788. or 1790/1.1841 census details online He played first-class cricket from 1821 to 1831. As a cricketer, he was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), of which he was a member. He made nine known appearances in first-class matches including four for the

Gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

. He was in business as a

wine merchant A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

, and was known for his interest in music. In the 1841 census, Townsend and much of his family were recorded as resident in the civil parish of

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...

. A purchaser of land in the Canterbury settlement, Townsend was listed with the address 21 Evershall Street, Mornington Crescent. A James Townsend, in the wine trade, from this area of north London, was being pursued by creditors in 1847, as reported in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

''. He was in prison for debt in 1848.

Settler

The Townsend family, with four sons and six daughters, voyaged to New Zealand as settlers in 1850 on one of the First Four Ships, the '' Cressy''. He was on the initial committee of the Canterbury Association, with Felix Wakefield and others. He also took part in the Zoological Committee of the settlement, raising funds in London for the importation of native British species. A high opinion of his trustworthiness was held by Jerningham Wakefield, who communicated it to John Robert Godley. Port Lyttelton by Mary Townsend, 1850

The Townsend family "formed one of the most popular and colourful groups in early Christchurch." In 1851 Townsend built a homestead, Ferrymead House, in what is now Ferrymead. It was described as "a fine house, with parallel twin gables, seven rooms, totara exterior walls lined with Tasmanian timber"; and went to the family of William Reeves. Townsend advertised his farm at Ferrymead for sale in 1853 but it did not sell. The Townsends moved in 1856 to Rangiora. In 1859 the Rangiora Cricket Club was formed. One team of the time was notable for having nine out of eleven players connected to the Townsend family. In 1860 Townsend put up his farm and its stock, at Southbrook, for public auction.

Family

Townsend married in 1820 Alicia Burges, daughter of Capt. Henry Burges of the East India Company. According to a note to the ''Journal of Edward Ward'', the six daughters on the ''Cressy'' were aged in 1850 from 13 to 25. They were: * Alicia, third daughter, married 1851 Charles Torlesse *

Mary Townsend Mary Townsend may refer to: * Mary Townsend (entomologist) (1814–1851), American abolitionist and entomologist * Mary Townsend (artist) (1822–1869), New Zealand artist * Mary Ashley Townsend (1836–1901), American poet * Mary Elizabeth Towns ...

, married 1851 Dr William Donald * Frances, married 1855 William John Warburton Hamilton * Marcia, married 1857 Hamilton Ward * Margaret, married 1857 Crosbie Ward * Priscilla, fourth daughter, married John Cowell Boys; he lived at Southbrook, worked as a surveyor, and married three times in all. The youngest son was Robert (1832–1886) of

Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...

, who married Jane Dicken in 1865. One of the sons did not come to New Zealand; Margaret Ward met this brother in Panama in 1867 where he was an officer on the HMS ''Scout''. Townsend retired to Lyttelton and died there on 12 August 1866 at age 78. He was buried at Lyttelton Anglican Cemetery. His wife died at Lyttelton on 5 February 1872 at age 75.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, James 1790s births English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers 1866 deaths People from Christchurch 19th-century English businesspeople