Martin Ingham Townsend (February 6, 1810 – March 8, 1903) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

Townsend was born on February 6, 1810, in

Hancock, Massachusetts Hancock is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 757 at ...

. He was one of four children born to Nathaniel Townsend and Cynthia (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Marsh) Townsend. He moved with his parents to

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, in 1816. He attended the common schools, and graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1833.

Career

After his graduation from Williams, he studied law with

David Dudley Field David Dudley Field II (February 13, 1805April 13, 1894) was an American lawyer and law reformer who made major contributions to the development of American civil procedure. His greatest accomplishment was engineering the move away from common ...

in Albany, and then moved to

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

to become a clerk in the law office his brother, Rufus M. Townsend. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the following year in 1836, and commenced practice as a partner with his brother, later known as the firms of Townsends & Browne, when Irving Browne joined, then Townsends & Roche when W.J. Roche joined, Townsend & Roche upon the retirement of his brother, and Townsend, Roche & Nason. He was District Attorney of Rensselaer County from 1842 to 1845. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1867. In

1869 Events January * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – Elizabe ...

, he ran on the Republican ticket for

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

, but was defeated by the incumbent Democrat

Marshall B. Champlain Marshall Bolds Champlain (December 22, 1824 in Stafford, Genesee County, New York – March 7, 1879 in Cuba, Allegany County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. Personal life Marshall B. Champlain was born in 1824 to Dr. Gilbert B. ...

. He was a Regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state governmental umbrella organization that oversees all educational institutions, including schools, libraries, and museums in New York State. It is governed by the Board of Regents. D ...

from 1873 to 1903. Townsend was elected as a Republican to the 44th and

45th United States Congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

es, and served from March 4, 1875, to March 3, 1879. He was

United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York The United States attorney for the Northern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in 32 counties in the northern part of the State of New York (state), New York. The current U.S. attorney is Carla B. Freedman who was nam ...

from 1879 to 1887. He retired from legal practice in 1901. Townsend was affectionately called the "Gladstone of Troy" after

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, the British

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. He reportedly did not appreciate the nickname however due to Gladstone's support of the South during the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded fr ...

Personal life

In 1836, Townsend was married to Louisa Bacon Kellogg (1812–1890), a student at the

Emma Willard School Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women located in Troy, New York. Located on Mount Ida, it offers grade ...

and the daughter of Oren Kellogg, Esq. Together, they were the parents of a daughter: * Frances Kellogg Townsend (b. 1841), who married professor Henry Bradford Nason (1842–1895), on September 7, 1864. Townsend became gravely ill in December 1891, but recovered and lived for 12 more years. He died at his home in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, of bronchial pneumonia on March 8, 1903. He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Martin Ingham 1810 births 1903 deaths Williams College alumni Rensselaer County district attorneys Politicians from Troy, New York United States attorneys for the Northern District of New York Regents of the University of the State of New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Berkshire County, Massachusetts Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Troy, New York) 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives