Re: The TOWNSEND Society of America - Sarah Townsend
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In reply to:
Re: The TOWNSEND Society of America - Sarah Townsend
Lew Townsend 6/23/98
I have been reading about the connection of the Townsend/Underhill/Osborn families prior to coming to America,
Richard "Hopewell" Osborn b. abt 1618; m. abt 1637 Windsor, England , Elizabeth "Goody". They had 11 children,
Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut,
Chicago, J.H. Beers & Co., 1899.Page 768.(transcript)
Capt. Richard Osborn, above mentioned, did not remain long in MA,
He removed to Windsor with the first settlers and served in the Pequot War 1637.
Richard Osborn, m (2) Mary wid. of Bedient and Townsend.He was Mary's third husband.
They must have had a good relationship as Richard Osborn was Exector of Roger Townsend's will.
26 May 1674 gave land in Fairfield to his dau Priscilla wife of Cornelius Seeley ; and it was recorded, 25 nov 1678that Thomas Bedient had land by gift from his father-in-law Capt Richard Osborn.
He came to New Haven, 1639, and moved to Fairfield by 1652.
More notes:
Some of the Osborne families living in Jamestown, were probably some of his relatives because he stayed there for some time before he left for New England.
He went to Charlestown and then on to Hingham, Mass. which had been settled a year earlier. Richard owned some land there, but never lived there. However, he did enlist to fight against the Pequot Indians who were harassing the nearby towns and got them out of the area.He pushed them on to an unsettled western part of Mass. where the eventually absorbed into the local tribes.
When Richard reported to Windsor he mentioned a deep warter port near Quinnipiac (named for the Indians in the area.)A Rev. John Davenport went to Quinnipiac to make a settlement for his religious followers.He bought some land from the Indians and founded New Haven in November 1638.
Richard married Elizabeth (went by"Goody") in Windsor sometime around 1637. They had eleven children before she died.Richard then married Mary Bedient Townsend.They had no children.
When the land was laid out, Richard Osborn was given an 8 acre lot with 1.5 acres in the Neck and 2 in Meadow.Capt. Richard Osborn, was granted 80 acres of land that layed northwest of Fairfield for service in the Pequot War when he was discharged.By this time Richard had a wife and child.The second draw in this town gave him 8 more acres.
According to earliest town records he established a homestead somewhere on the edge of the 4 square areain Fairfield proper, referred to in records as "the house in town."There is no evidence that the Richard Osborn's lived in Sesqua Fields.
in 1682, Richard pulled up stakes for Westchester. He deeded all his Fairfield property to his son John, with the understanding that John would pay all his debts and see to it that the estate was properly distributed among family members.Richard left behind him a substantial land holding on which the Osborns would build in the years to come