| [Index] |
| William TOWNSEND (1711 - ) |
| Children | Self + Spouses | Parents | Grandparents | Greatgrandparents |
|
William TOWNSEND (1734 - 1817) |
William TOWNSEND (1711 - ) + Ellenor PHILLIPS |
Theobold TOWNSEND | ||
| Rebecca BRIGHT | ||||
| b. bef 19 Aug 1711 at Topsham, Exeter, Devon, England |
| m. 27 Feb 1731 Ellenor PHILLIPS |
| Parents: |
| Theobold TOWNSEND |
| Rebecca BRIGHT |
| Children (1): |
| William TOWNSEND (1734 - 1817) |
| Events in William TOWNSEND (1711 - )'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| bef 19 Aug 1711 | William TOWNSEND was born | Topsham, Exeter, Devon, England | 2 | ||
| 27 Feb 1731 | 19 | Married Ellenor PHILLIPS | 2 | ||
| bef 21 Sep 1734 | 23 | Birth of son William TOWNSEND | Alphington, Exeter, Devon, England | 2 | |
| 23 Oct 1817 | 106 | Death of son William TOWNSEND (aged 83) | Alphington, Exeter, Devon, England | ||
| Source References: |
| 2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Downunder, Title: Devon to Downunder, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997 |
| - Reference = 5 (Name, Notes) |
| - Reference = 5 (Birth) |
| - Notes: The first member of this branch for whom there is any definite detail is William
TOWNSEND, born sometime in the first part of the 18th century. This third child of Rebecca nee BRIGHT and Theobald Townsend was probably baptised at Topsham (pronounced Tops-urn) Devon on 19 Aug 1711. In this year the London Academy of Arts was established and the tuning fork was invented. Some of Queen Anne's subjects were quite delighted when she initiated horse racing at Ascot, but I don't suppose it mattered much down in Devon. |
| - Reference = 5 (Marriage) |
| - Notes: What did matter and is known for certain is that 20 years later at Alphington on
27 Feb 1731, William married 23 year old Ellenor PHILLIPS. Back in London a residence was built at No.10 Downing Street to become the official home of Britain's future Prime Ministers. Alphington, on Alphin Brook, was famous in the early 19th century for its horse and cattle fairs where gypsy women told fortunes while their menfolk traded. The whole area had been marshland but by 1620 was drained by a canaL Alphin Brook was subject to flooding and in July 1760 - during the time William and Ellenor lived there, a severe flood wiped out most of the com crop and destroyed a dozen or so houses and barns. The frequent floodings and ensuing muddiness of the roads no doubt accounts for a notice in the church asking parishioners to remove their 'pattens' so the congregation will not be disturbed by the noise! A patten was a kind of wooden clog or overshoe secured by an iron ring. Charles Dickens rented a cottage at Alphington for his parents about 1840. It is said that he wrote part of "Nicholas Nickleby" there and also caricatured a local IS a dignitary from Exeter, three miles away, to create the character of Pecksniff in 'Martin Chuzzlewit'. |