A Collection of Townsend Family Letters

Presented here is A Collection of Townsend Family Letters, Diaries, and Documents 1776-1957 Volume 2. Written primarily during the first half of the nineteenth century, this volume is from the second collection of material pertaining to members of a Philadelphia Quaker family. This volume contains 28 letters, two diaries, a memoir, a biographical sketch, an obituary, and two magazine articles by, or concerning, members of this interesting family.

In 1803 Priscilla Kirk (1785-1862) of York County, Pennsylvania, and Charles Townsend (1777-1859), a watch and clockmaker of Philadelphia, were married at Darby Meeting House in Philadelphia. In the ensuing twenty-three years Priscilla gave birth to twelve children, only seven of whom lived to adulthood. These were Elisha (1804-1858), Edward (1806-1896), Charles (1807-1866), John Kirk (1809-1851), Hannah (1812-1851), Mary (1814-1851), and Elizabeth (1824-1869). Of these seven adult children, Priscilla and Charles would outlive all but three of them: Edward, Charles, and Elizabeth.

Despite their sorrows and difficulties, members of the Townsend family were active participants in the major issues of their era: in watch and clock making, in the study of natural sciences, in the pioneering of professional dental practice and formal dental education, in prison reform, in the education of women and of the “colored” population, and, most significantly, in the abolitionist movement.

The writings of the Townsend family have been passed down to us by way of two children of Priscilla Kirk and Charles Townsend: Edward and Elizabeth. From Edward and Elizabeth these writings have passed through several generations of their descendants. The Townsend letters that comprise Volume 1 came by way of Edward's descendants. These in Volume 2, with the exception of the portion concerning Edward, have come to us through the descendants of Elizabeth. That this vast collection has survived through so many generations is extraordinary, as well as testament to the value the various generations of descendants have placed upon the lives of their forbearers. So that this collection can be shared, not only with family members, but with historians and researchers as well, it has been transcribed from the original documents and published, making it available to a wider audience.

 A Collection of Townsend Family Letters Volume 1, originally published in 2009, is now available in two parts in a second edition. The Diary of Priscilla Kirk Townsend was published in 2011. A second edition of  The Diary of Priscilla Kirk Townsend also is now available.  Volume 2, presented here, includes two diaries of Charles Townsend, as well as material written by, or pertaining to, Priscilla, Elisha, Edward, Charles Jr. and John Kirk Townsend. The Townsend Sisters of The Townsend Family Volume 3, published in 2018, contains material written by Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth, and a sister-in-law, Elizabeth Fawcett Townsend.

This voluminous collection provides a unique window into the habits and customs, the thinking and priorities, and the faith and familial bonds of a Quaker family of the period.

Dana Dunbar Howe
Richmond, Virginia 
February 2019