Biographical Details
Date of Birth: February 19, 1820
Birth Location: Morganfield, KY, USA
Graduation Year(s): 1838
Degree(s) Earned: Bachelors
Date of Death: January 5, 1897
Death Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
James McGready Townsend
Life Experience
Moving to Indiana at age ten, James McGready Townsend was born in Kentucky, the third of four children. His father founded the town of Putnamville and helped to organize its first church. Townsend graduated from IU at age eighteen. During his life, he was a steward in the church, a teacher, and a farmer, and was engaged in church, temperance, and educational work in Indiana (and later in California). He died in 1897 in Los Angeles.
Marriage and Family
Townsend married Julie Somers. In 1857, Townsend’s father died. The Townsends had four children together: daughter Sarah (1855), namesake son James Jr. (1858), son Alfred (1862), and son Francis (1867). In 1871, Townsend’s mother died. In 1881, the family moved to San Bernardino, California. In 1898, son Alfred died from injuries suffered by falling off a 30-foot windmill. Wife Julie died in 1912, daughter Sarah in 1924, and sons James Jr. and Francis in 1931, all in Los Angeles County. Townsend has several living descendants.
Interesting Anecdote
In 1876, Townsend’s niece, Elizabeth Eaglesfield, daughter of his sister Margaret, graduated with a law degree from the University of Michigan. She subsequently became the first female lawyer in the state of Michigan (continuing to practice until age sixty-two) and was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade.
References
- Wylie
- Findagrave.com
- putnamcountymuseum.org/single-post/2018/12/22/The-History-of-Putnamville
- South Bend Tribune 06/25/1940