Solomon Townsend
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| Solomon Townsend | |
 Solomon Townsend by Ezra AmesOil on Canvas 1808
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| Born | 1743 Oyster Bay New York |
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| Died | 1811 |
| Known for | Ship's Captain, Iron Works, New York State Legislator |
Solomon Townsend (1746-1811) was a merchant ship’s captain during the American Revolution, owned an ironworks in New York State, and was a representative to the New York State Legislature. Stranded in London following the outbreak of hostilities, Townsend's passage back to America was facilitated by Benjamin Franklin. After the war he was a successful owner of an iron works plant, and a member of the New York State Legislature. One of his children followed him into the legislature and another was a founder of what became the New York Academy of Sciences.
[edit] Biography
Solomon Townsend was born in Oyster Bay (hamlet), New York in 1746, the eldest son of Samuel Townsend. At age 20 his father put him in charge of a brig which he owned. At the outbreak of the American Revolution Townsend was commanding the ship Glasgow, owned by Thomas Buchanan, which was berthed in London due to the cessation of trade between the two countries. Townsend made his way to Paris where he befriended Benjamin Franklin and was received at the French court. Franklin commissioned Townsend into the Continental Navy and helped him secure passage back to America on the Frigate USS Providence (1775) under the command of Commodore Abraham Whipple. Franklin provided Townsend with the following letter of safe passage:
“Passey, near Paris, June 27, 1778. I certify to whom it may concern, that Captain Solomon Townsend, of New York, mariner, hath this day appeared voluntarily before me and taken the oath of allegiance to the United Status of America, according to the resolution of congress, thereby acknowledging himself a subject of the United States. B. FRANKLIN" [1]
The Providence arrived in Boston in November 1778 from where Townsend traveled to the home of his cousin, Peter Townsend in Newburgh NY, proprietor of the Stirling Iron Works, creator of the Hudson River Chain which kept the British Navy from sailing up the Hudson River during the war.
Townsend married his cousin Anne, Peter Townsend’s eldest daughter and returned to the family home Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay Long Island in New York, currently preserved as a museum, the Raynham Hall Museum [2]. Some time later he purchased land near his father in law in Orange County, New York where he established an extensive iron works business in keeping with the family tradition.
Townsend spent his later years residing in the City of New York where he oversaw his extensive business interests. During this time he occasionally represented the City of New York in the New York State Legislature until he died on 27 March 1811.
Townsend left six children; Hannah, who married her cousin Isaiah Townsend, a wealthy merchant in Albany NY, Anne, who married Effingham Lawrence, a Queens county judge, Mary, married to Edward H. Nicoll, a New York City merchant, Phoebe, married to James Thorne, an Albany merchant, Solomon Townsend Jr. a state legislator, and Peter S. Townsend MD, a founder of the Lyceum of Natural History, now called the New York Academy of Sciences.
[edit] References
- ^ Thompson p 350
- ^ http://www.raynhamhallmuseum.org
Thompson, Benjamin F (1843). The History of Long Island from its Discovery and Settlement to the Present Time. New York: Gould, Banks & Co, 349-367.
