Prince Edward Island
Townshend Family Connection

5. William was a nephew of Lady Clan Ranald MacDonald and wrote letters to her. Hon Sir Charles James Townshend refers to these letters which he had in his possession.

6. Hon William A. Townshend bought Lot 43 (20 000 acres) on Prince Edward Island from Edmund Burke's widowed wife in 1799. Lot 43 was orginally owned by Admiral Sir George Bridges Rodney before Burke. Admiral Sir George Rodney knew both Sir Cecil Wray and Edmund Burke. Lot 43 was adjacent to Lot 56 that George, 1st Marquess Townshend recieved for his roll in the taking of Quebec in 1759. [See "History of the Wrays of Glentworth" by Charles Dalton, 1881] [See "Adam Matthew Publications on Edmund Burke papers collection.] [See, "Canada's smallest Province, A History of Prince Edward Island"]. Since the Burkes never came to PEI to see their own land William must have known them through Lord Sydney in order to buy it from them.

7. Hon Sir Charles James Townshend (1844-1924) did much family research and wrote a number of letters of his findings to relatives. He was one of Hon William T's youngest grandsons and was the son of Canon Rev George Townshend (1810-1895). He was a judge and was Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, was MP for Cumberland (Canada), Minister in Canadian Gov (without portfolio), and was Chancellor of King's College, Nova Scotia (1912-1922). He married Lady Margaret MacFarlane.

8. It is noted that William acted as Attorney/agent for George, 1st Marquess Townshend when he wanted to lease some of his land on LOT 56 to Joseph Coffin. William acted as agent for land that Sir Cecil Wray owned on Prince Edward Island. This would probably have occured before Edward Abell became agent for the LOT 56 when the land was passed on to George Townshend's son, Captain Lord James Nugent Boyle Bernard Townshend.

9. Captain Lord James Townshend (youngest son of 1st Marquess) inherited Lot 56, PEI from his father. Captain William Townshend (2nd son of Hon William Townshend) apparently built a store on "Abell's Cape" after retiring from the Navy. Abell's Cape was named after the notorious agent of Lord James, Edward Abell. See "Drama at Abells Cape" by Adele Townshend in "The Island Magazine, Spring 1979"

10. Unfortunately only political parts of the letter from William to Lord Sydney are quoted in "History of Prince Edward Island" by A.B Warburton (1923). The orginal of this letter still needs to be traced to establish if it refers to any family ties.

"My Lord:

. . . On 19th June last, I seized and forfeited a schooner of British plantation, built, owned and navigated, according to law. The causes of siezure were (1st), her cargo was imported direct from New York into this Island, contrary to the provisions of a late Act of Parliament, and (2nd) that bulk was broken before entry. the goods were landed in the night season at the farm of the late Lieutenant-Governor Patterson, near the entrance of his harbour, about three miles from Charlottetown [PEI]. Having recieved information of an extensive smuggling trade intended to be carried on between the late Lieutenant-Governor, his brother, John Patterson and a wealthy resident of New York, to whose daughter, John Patterson is married, and that this small vessel was to be followed by a large shipnamed the Kittyin the same disgraceful employ, I decided to seize this property and so stop the increase of so a ruinous a traffic. Accordingly, in the night following, I obtained a party of soldiers from the commanding officers here, went to the farms, and in company with the constables made a seizure of part of the smuggled effects, but before we could get them to the boats prepared for this purpose, the servants of the late lieutenant-Governor, aided by eight or nine other persons, who had been sent over the water by him to their assistance (being in all about twenty-five persons armed with various offensive weapons), wrested the property out of our hands. . . . .

. . . We were made prisoners as well as the soldiers and detained several hours. Soon after i was informed of another quantity of goods being on the farm, part of the same cargo. . . .

. . . I obtained another party of men fully armed, and again went to the farm in company with the controllers and seized the goods in a very artful place of concealment. We conveyed them to town and have since libelled them and the schooner in the Court of Admiralty as forfeited. . .."

11. William T is said to have been a friend of William Pitt "The younger" (written at the back of his portrait but not proved). Incidentally, Lord Sydney's daughter married William Pitt's elder brother, Col. Sir John Pitt (2nd Earl of Chatham) which shows a close bond between Sydney's Townshends and the Pitts.

12. William was a friend of Sir Cecil Wray who was definitely also a friend of Lord Sydney. Sir Cecil Wray wrote at least one letter to Lord Sydney and was related to him as well. This connection to Sir Cecil Wray was very specific to the Sydney Townshends and comes through Lord Sydney's mother, Albinia Selwyn. Lord Sydney shares Sir Christopher Wray and Albinia Cecil as ancestors. (ref 4.) [see "The History of Chislehurst, it church, manors, and parish" by Webb, Miller & Beckwith]

13. Col. DesBarres was a surveyor and was one of the three surveyors responsible for charting the St Lawrence River in Canada for the immenent assault on Quebec in 1759. The other two surveyors were Samuel Holland and Captain Cook. These three men knew and commented on the plans for taking of Quebec and would have known Wolfe's three brigadiers (including George, 1st Marquess Townshend) who came up with the plan. The Captain Cooke-Townshend connection is worth mentioning but will be dealt with at another stage.

14. See "Canada's smallest Province, A History of Prince Edward Island" - by Francis W.P.Bolger, 1991

15. Page 202 of Winston Churchill's "A History of the English-Speaking People" (Volume III) describes, in part, some of the William Pitt's administration (The Younger). It reads as follows; "In 1784 and 1785 Pitt was able to bring a degree of order into this chaos, and the first visible effect of his wide-ranging vision of tariffs was a considerable drop in smuggling".

16. The specific coat-of-arms of Lord Sydney shows the symbol denoting a "second son" (upside-down half-moon). One might argue that this is the symbol of his father who was a second son but this coat of arms was specifically Lord Sydney's. Two of these symbols exist in his arms - the one in the main crest (perhaps for himself) and one on the shoulder of the stag above the crest (indicating that he came from a line of Townshends decsended from the second son - his father). If my theory for the existance of this symbol occuring twice is correct then it would definitely indicate an elder brother.

17. The 1851 census records show that John Thomas Townshend's birthplace is at St James but this surely refers to his baptism rather.

18. Recent descriptions of William and Richard describe them as coming from Wales. This perpetuated fact is almost certainly an error as very early descriptions, biographies and obituaries refer to them as coming from "Wrexham, ENGLAND" and being "native to England". It now thought that "Richard of Wrexham" refers to Wexham, Buckinghamshire (previously refered to as "Wrexham"), as Rev. Sir William Ullithorne Wray (Sir Cecil Wray's cousin) was indeed the rector there in 1755.

19. William's original birth date is given as 1745 but this is surely incorrect noting the date of his youngest son and the birth date of his wife in 1767. Records at the PEI archives note his birth date as possibly being 1760. There is also a family of "TOWNSENDS" (note spelling) that arrive on Prince Edward Island. From this family (originating from Shrivenham, Berkshire) is a William Townsend born in 1745 which might be where our William's birth date is mistakingly assumed. This line of Townsends later (now in New Brunswick) changed their name to "Townshend" after the popularity of Canon Rev George Townshend, rector of Amherst for 60 years, Nova Scotia (near New Brunswick). Canon Rev George Townshend (1810 - 1895) was the youngest son of Hon William Townshend.

20. The obituary of Canon Rev George Townshend (1810-1895) is the only place that indicates that Hon William had a second name beginning with "A".

21. There is a newly rediscovered Richard Townshend, born in 1721 to Lord Charles Townshend and Lady Dorothy Walpole. This might be William's father as it is the only Richard that has been found that fits. However, William's apparent connection to Lord Sydney is ominous and suggests a different connection. In 1999 the baptismal record of a Richard Townshend was found at the Westminster City Archives www.westminster.gov.uk with the help of the LDS familysearch website www.familysearch.org. It was confirmed by Veronica Forcella at the records office, that this was indeed a valid baptismal record of a son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount. Lord Charles Townshend (Turnip Townshend) himself was christened at St.Martins-in-the-Field, Westminster and so were many (if not all) of his children. The reason why this particular record was never found before while all other children were, is a mystery.

Click here to see the record.

22. Richard's wife at this stage can only be speculated from certain IGI (International Genealogical Index) records. It is speculated that Richard married a Sarah Walmesley in 1756 at St James, Westminster (where this Richard was still a member). William was probably born to this couple in Yorkshire and was baptized in 1762 at St Michael's Church, Malton, Yorkshire (also sourced from a speculated IGI record).

Supporting this fact is that the known friends of Richard also come from Yorkshire. Sir Cecil Wray (b.abt 1734) was from Sleningford Hall (near Ripon), Yorkshire. Hon John Dalton's family also originates from that area in Yorkshire. Hon John Dalton, Sir Cecil Wray's brother-in-law bought Sleningford Hall from him or it was inherited from Hon John Dalton's son, Lt.-Col. John Dalton. Until now, this Yorkshire connection has been rather vague. It did not provide any reason to place Richard Townshend at the specific town of Malton. Looking deeper though, we find Sir Cecil Wray's mother's ancestral home, Langton Hall. Langton Hall is only three miles south of Malton! It passed from the Norcliffe family to the WRAY family and then to the DALTON family. Click here for further Langton Hall description.

Focusing further on Malton we find that Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797) is extremely significant in this theory. Edmund Burke, a very famous politician/philosopher, was Member of Parliament for Malton! William probably knew him because William bought Lot 43 from Burke's widowed wife in 1799. It is also known that Burke knew and admired Rt Hon Charles Townshend even though he opposed the 1767 Tax Act. From the philophies of Burke it seems likely that he could have been involved (or simply agreed) with the short-lived "Bill of Rights Society" (1769-1771) with which Sir Cecil Wray was associated. If Edmund Burke moved in the same circles as Sir Cecil Wray then this would strongly link Richard to the Lords Townshends and also link him to Malton and the 1762 record of William at the same time. Click here for biography of Edmund Burke external webpage.

23. Why is it now believed that William was born in 1762 (Malton, Yorkshire) when historical documents record 1745 as his birth date? Firstly, it is the only known IGI record of a William born to Richard Townshend. Secondly, we must question how the biographies of William get 1745 if they do not know his birthplace or any history of William before he arrives on Prince Edward Island. The following facts are relevant:

Fact 1: If William was born in 1745 then he would be at least 68 when his last child was born in 1810. Fact 2: William's birthdate of 1762 (IGI record) 'matches' his wife's birthdate of 1767. Fact 3: The PEI Heritage Foundation notes William's birth date as "1745(1760)" hinting that they also question William's 1745 birthdate. Fact 4: There is another line of Townsends that actually arrive in 1775 on the northern part of Prince Edward Island before William arrives in 1783. This other line originates from Shrivenham, Berkshire and appears to have no close family relationship with William's line. From this branch in Shrivenham there is a William born in 1745, which could be the cause of the date confusion. It should also be noted that if William was indeed born in 1762 then the chances of him being friends with William Pitt (b.1759), as is mentioned at the back of his portrait, is far more likely to be true.

24. Mary Wray ( ?? - 1807) marries (19 April 1769 at St.James's, Westminster) to Sir James Innes-Ker, 5th Duke of Roxburghe. See "Descendants of Sir James Innes, 3rd Baronet" at http://worldroots.clicktron.com/foundation/britain/jamesinnesdesc+1700.htm

25. John Selwyn (and Thomas Farrington, his brother-in-law and cousin) were the appointed gaurdians and trustees of Ann Casey (natural and reputed daughter of Sir Cecil Wray, 11th Bart and uncle of the Sir Cecil Wray commonly refered to on this webpage). Ann Casey became the wife of Rt. Hon. the Lord Vere Bertie. In this will of Sir Cecil Wray, John Selwyn is refered to as of the parish of St James, Westminster. Incidentally, Lord Sydney's younger brother, Charles (1734 -1799) became the heir to Lord Robert Bertie. See "Will Abstracts - Limerick co." at http://home.att.net/~cmlabath/limerickwills.htm