A Brief History of the Society
The Townsend Society of America (TSA) began as an idea in the summer of 1962 at a tea held at the Raynham Hall Museum (a Townsend family home) in Oyster Bay, New York. Town Historian Herbert Hale suggested that the Townsend family members attending this meeting create a permanent organization. Those present immediately approved the idea of an historical, genealogical and memorial society, to be organized by Mr. Hale, with its first meeting on October 28, 1962.
A bequest in 1980 from Helen Hart Townsend made possible the purchase of a Victorian home at 109 East Main St., Oyster Bay, NY to establish an office and museum honoring her ancestors Samuel and Rebecca Purdy Townsend. Additional donations established an endowment.
Regular newsletters, generally quarterly, were published beginning in October 1963. From 1963 to 1976 the publication was known as the Townsend Topics and from 1976 to 2001 The Townsend Newsletter. Both evolved into the Townsend Society’s current Townsend Genealogical Journal.
The first TSA website was established in 1999. Included on it are images of some of the original documents, digitized transcriptions of Bibles and other holdings, and various items of general interest. The transcriptions are a text version of the scanned documents and are searchable. CDs were developed in 2001, and one, Townsend Families in America, contains over 3600 surnames with over 49,000 citations from the newsletters.
In 2007, the museum was disbanded and the house sold.
Presidents of the Townsend Society of America:
Lewis A. Townsend Virginia 2000-2024
George P. Townsend Connecticut 1994-2000
Frank B. Townsend New York 1982-1994
Joseph L. Townsend, III New York 1972-1982
Rev. John H. Townsend Texas 1965-1972
Charles C. Townsend Jr. New York 1963-1965
