Thomas Townsend
Of Concord, Chester County, Pennsylvania, who made his will in 1732 naming his wife Sarah, his daughter Hannah Underhill, and land on Long Island and in Westchester County, New York. He probably came from the Long Island Townsends, but which of the many Thomas Townsends there he was is not known. Probably the father of Hannah (Townsend) Underhill, wife of Benjamin Underhill.
Life
- 1732Diedbet. 13 Aug and 20 Oct 1732
His will is dated "6 mo., 13, 1732" (the Quaker 6th month, before 1752, is August) and was proved 20 Oct 1732 (Chester County, Pa., Wills, Liber A, p. 384, abstracted in the Underhill Genealogy 2:94).
documentedprobable
Family
- Parents
- Spouse
- Sarah
Named in his will. The Underhill Genealogy calls her "Sarah (Pearsall)"; the surname is not shown by the will and is possible only.
documentedprobable - Children
Pedigree
Notes
Father of Hannah (Townsend) Underhill, and so great-grandfather of Sarah (Underhill) Frost. “Thomas Townsend of Concord, Chester County, Pa., made his will 6 mo., 13, 1732, which was proven Oct. 20, 1732, in which he mentions wife Sarah and among other children his daughter, Hannah Underhill; also land on Long Island and in Westchester County, N. Y.” (source, 2:94).
His land on Long Island suggests that he came from the Long Island Townsends; his daughter married Benjamin Underhill at Westbury in 1728, and in 1731 a Benjamin Underhill bought 265 acres at Hempstead “adjoining the property of Thomas Townsend” (2:95). Which Thomas Townsend he was, among the many of that name on Long Island, was not settled by the research. If he belonged to the family of Henry and John Townsend, who signed the Flushing Remonstrance in 1657, the Culper spy Robert Townsend of Oyster Bay would be a cousin; that was not checked.
Research: research/mcmillan/Frost_Underhill_Bowne_Feake.md.
Open questions
- Who he was: his parents, and when he left Long Island for Concord, Chester County. The will itself (Liber A, p. 384, on FamilySearch) would give all his children and the land.
- Whether his wife Sarah was a Pearsall, and Hannah’s mother.