Robert Townsend (captain) - Ancestry

Ancestry

Robert Townsend was born on October 21, 1819 in Albany, New York to Isaiah and Hannah Townsend. His father was an executive of the Stirling Iron Works which under his great-grandfather Peter Townsend forged The Great Chain which was strung across the Hudson River at West Point and prevented the British Royal Navy from threatening that important American base and potentially controlling the river. His grandfather was Captain Solomon Townsend who was a merchant ship captain before the American Revolution. Robert Townsend was descended from John and Henry Townsend, New York, among the first settlers of that area in the early 17th century.