Richard Wellington Townshend (April 30, 1840 – March 9, 1889) was a lawyer and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Born near

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population within the town limits was 652, although Greater Upper ...

, Townshend moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1846. He attended public and private schools. He moved to

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...

, in 1858. He taught school in Fayette County. He studied law. 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 ...

in 1862 and commenced practice in

McLeansboro, Illinois McLeansboro () is a city and the county seat of Hamilton County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,675 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. McLeansboro is part of the Mount Vernon, Illinois micropolitan area. Geog ...

. He served as clerk of the circuit court of Hamilton County 1863–1868. He served as prosecuting attorney for the twelfth judicial circuit of Illinois 1868–1872. He served as member of the Democratic State central committee in 1864, 1865, 1874, and 1875. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1872. He moved to

Shawneetown, Illinois Shawneetown is a city in Gold Hill Township, Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,054 at the 2020 United States census. It is the county seat of Gallatin County. Geography Shawneetown is located southeast of the cent ...

, in 1873 and resumed the practice of law. Townshend was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-fifth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1877, until his death in

, March 9, 1889. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy ( Forty-sixth Congress), Committee on Military Affairs ( Fiftieth Congress). Townshend said that the

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

era South (controlled by his fellow Democrats) had "turned her face to the sun of freedom". However, he accused supporters of Chinese immigration of supporting slavery and quoted bigoted views of the Chinese describing them as "debased" and describing Chinese cities as "abominations".13 Cong. Rec. 2214-2215 He was interred in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townshend, Richard Wellington 1840 births 1889 deaths Illinois lawyers American prosecutors People from Cairo, Illinois Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Shawneetown, Illinois 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

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