GREENVILLE – The Fort GreeneVille Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and guests dedicated a marker in recognition of William Townsend, an American Revolutionary War patriot, on Tuesday night at Martin Cemetery.
“In remembering the past, we honor the men and women who gave their lives for the preservation of our freedoms and our future,” said DAR Regent Debbie Nisonger.
William Townsend was born in 1759, probably in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died September 4, 1824, in Darke County, Ohio. He is buried in Martin Cemetery. He served as a soldier in South Carolina under Colonel Brandon’s Militia. Townsend may have participated in the battles at Kings Mountain and Cowpens while serving in Brandon’s South Carolina Militia.
Townsend was the son of John Townsend. The family was Quaker, located in the Newberry District of South Carolina, and lived on Paget’s Creek. The family attended the Bush River Quaker monthly meetings.
On January 27, 1781, William and his brother Hames were disowned at the monthly meeting – “hath been found guilty of taking up arms and going out in a warlike manner, for which misconduct of theirs this meeting appoints.”
William and family moved to Warren County, Ohio, now Clinton, about 1808, with many other Quaker families from the Newberry District. In 1818, the family moved to Darke County, Ohio.
“We, the members of Fort GreeneVille Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, now dedicate this marker in grateful recognition of the service of William Townsend, a Patriot of the American Revolution,” Nisonger stated. “In honoring William Townsend, we also pay tribute to all men and women who have served our country with integrity and devotion. We dedicate ourselves anew to a faithful stewardship of the blessing we enjoy today.”
Steve Townsend, a 1976 graduate of Greenville Senior High School, attended the ceremony honoring his Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather.
“I appreciate the honor given to my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather,” Steve stated. I’m hoping to keep this lineage going to my son, Joshua, and my three grandsons, Tyler, Zachary, and JJ, who live in Houston, TX.
