"MILTON TOWNSEND, real estate dealer and retired merchant, is
one of New Brighton's most esteemed citizens. He is spending
the sunset of life, in his beautiful home, upon the knoll at
the lower end of Third avenue, enjoying every convenience and
comfort that could be desired. His residence is one of the finest
sights in Beaver county, Pa., being surrounded by spacious lawns,
lovely driveways and walks overlooking the valley below, and
overshadowed by towering mountains, sublime in their grandeur.
The subject of this sketch was born in Jefferson county, Ohio,
November 3, 1820, and can trace his ancestors back to the sixth
generation, the family being of English origin. He is a son
of Talbot and Edith (Ware) Townsend, and grandson of Francis and
Rachel (Fallett) Townsend.
Francis Townsend was born on April 15, 1740, was a son of
Joseph Townsend, Jr., grandson of Joseph Townsend, Sr., and
great-grandson of William Townsend, a native of Berks county,
England. Francis Townsend wedded, Rachel Fallett on July 8, 1762.
They belonged to that good old class of people, the Quakers, who
were such important factors in the settlement and early history
of Pennsylvania. In 1786, Francis Townsend and his family entered
the western part of Pennsylvania, settling at Brighton, which is
now known as Beaver Falls. Mr. Townsend at once engaged in business
by establishing an iron foundry and blast furnace for the manufacture
of pig iron. He was so successful in this venture for many years,
that in time, he became the owner of considerable land and much
valuable property in that vicinity. Like most of his creed, he was
a fine old man, actuated by just and upright principles, and lived
a life worthy of imitation by his sons. In the year 1800, he retired
from active business pursuits and removed to Fallston, where he spent
his last years with his sons, who had erected mills there. His death
occurred at Fallston. He and his good wife were parents of the following
children: David; Benjamin J.; Isaac; Francis; Talbot; Lydia, wife of
Evan Pugh; and one more daughter whose name cannot be recalled.
Talbot Townsend, father of Milton, was born in Chester county, Pa.,
and accompanied his parents west to Beaver county. In 1816, he went
down the Yellow Creek to Jefferson county, Ohio, and engaged in the
manufacture of salt for some time. In 1837, he located at New Brighton,
Pa., where he built a stone flouring mill, and carried on quite an
extensive business for those days. His mill was run by a splendid water
power. In dry seasons, people came twenty-five or thirty miles to have
their grain ground at his mill, coming, also, many miles by canoe.
Much of their flour was shipped to the Pittsburg market, and further
down the Ohio River. Mr. Townsend was a very successful miller, and
acquired much property in the vicinity of New Brighton. He lived
to the advanced age of eighty-seven years, and his most worthy wife
lived to be seventy-seven years old. She was, before marriage,
Edith Ware, a daughter of Asa Ware, of Salem, Ohio. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Townsend belonged to the Society of Friends. Their children were:
Milo, who married Elizabeth Walker; Eliza, wife of John Gammal;
Milton, subject of this sketch; Alfred, who died unmarried; Lydia,
wife of Edwin Morlan; Caroline, wife of Ebenezer Rhodes; and Alice,
wife of Samuel Junkins.
Milton Townsend succeeded his father in the milling business for
several years, until the mill burned. He then went into the transportation
business, owning some boats and leasing others, and doing a large
freight business up and down the canal for years, until the railroads
became so numerous that boating was done away with. He next became
agent for the Pittsburg & Cleveland R. R., after which he was clerk
of the post office in Pittsburg for a period of two years. Returning
to New Brighton, he conducted a shoe store very successfully for years,
after which he retired, and built a handsome brick business block on
Third avenue, where his father formerly resided. Mr. Townsend then began
dealing in real estate, - buying and selling. He purchased the Abel
Townsend estate, which consisted of a fine orchard called "Knob Lot," a
round knoll at the lower end of Third avenue. He first built a round
tenement house in the center of an orchard which contained the finest
and largest variety of fruit in that vicinity. Later he had the house
remodeled into a handsome dwelling, which he now occupies.
The subject of this sketch was united in marriage with Lavinia
Oakley. Mrs. Townsend was a daughter of John M. Oakley, of Brighton,
formerly of Baltimore, Maryland. She was born in 1823, and passed to
her final rest in 1892. She bore her husband three children, two of
whom were sons who died in infancy. The daughter, Emily O., became
the wife of Ernest Mayer, one of the two owners of the Mayer Pottery
Company, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania. In his political opinions,
Mr. Townsend first belonged to the old line Whigs, was later an
anti-slavery man and now votes the Republican ticket. In his younger
days, he was connected with both the Masonic fraternity and the Odd
Fellows. Mr. Townsend has closed a long career of toil and is now
enjoying that calm that comes after the struggle, untroubled by anxious
thoughts of what the future may bring forth. His age has already
gone far beyond that allotted to the average man, and he is fast
approaching the octogenarian mark, but he still retains much of his
youthful vigor. He has been identified with every enterprise worthy
of note - since his residence in New Brighton, and justly deserves
the esteem of all."
Source: BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES. This Volume Contains Biographical
Sketches of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
Buffalo, N.Y., Chicago, Ill.: Biographical Publishing Company,
1899, pp. 28-30
