Biography of Whitfield Townsend

Whitfield Townsend, born October 24, 1823, in St. Clair County, Illinois, became a prominent figure in Sumner County, where he developed a prairie estate in Wellington Township over seven years. He transformed the land, building a large dwelling and improving it with barns and an orchard. Married twice, his second wife was Annie Huseman, with whom he had five children. Townsend passed away on January 20, 1887, leaving behind a legacy of hard work and strong family values, deeply mourned by friends and family alike.

WHITFIELD TOWNSEND, whose portrait is presented was one of Sumner County’s well-known men. He was the owner of a fine estate in Wellington Township, which during his residence upon it of about seven years he developed from an unbroken tract of prairie land to a fine condition, erecting upon it a large frame dwelling, adequate barns and other necessary buildings; he further added to its value by planting an orchard, and in various ways embellish—Mr. Townsend was born in St. Clair County, Ill., October 24, 1823, and was a son of George Whitfield Townsend, who is supposed to have been born in Tennessee, from which State he removed to Illinois, becoming a pioneer of St. Clair County. There he bought a large tract of land and carried on the pursuit of agriculture quite extensively, continuing to abide in that county until his death. He of whom we write was reared and educated there, the school which he attended being held in a log house, with a fireplace and home-made furniture, the seats made by splitting logs, hewing them to a tolerably smooth surface on one side, and inserting wooden pins in the other side for legs. In this temple of learning, under the instruction of teachers whose curriculum comprised little else than the “three R’s,” he acquired all the education possible to be obtained, and developed the sturdy nature befitting the son of a pioneer.

Mr. Townsend assisted his father on the farm and resided with his parents until their death, and for a time thereafter continued to live on the old homestead. He then located on land adjoining it, added a kitchen to the small house that was already on the place, and made other improvements as rapidly as possible. In 1880, renting the farm, which is still owned by his family, he came to this county, where he had previously purchased three hundred and twenty acres of prairie land, comprising the west half of section 19, in Wellington Township. When he took possession the only improvements consisted of a small house and straw stable, but these were soon replaced by more substantial structures. On this now beautiful estate, which he brought to a high state of cultivation, Mr. Townsend breathed his last January 20, 1887, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, to whom his high moral and Christian character had endeared him. In the family circle he had been a loving companion and parent, and here his loss was still more deeply felt.

Mr. Townsend was twice married. His first wife, Jane Bradsby, so far as known, was a native of Illinois. She died on the home farm in St. Clair County, fifteen months after her marriage, leaving no children. The second matrimonial alliance of Mr. Townsend was contracted March 18, 1866, the bride being Mrs. Annie (Huseman) Cook. She was born in Bielefeld, in the Westphalen district of Minden, Prussia. Her father, Henry Huseman, was a native of the same place, and there followed the occupation of farming until his death, in 1845. The wife of Henry Huseman bore the maiden name of Wilhelmina Westerbeck, and was a native of the same locality, where she was reared by strangers, having been left an orphan at an early age. On the death of her husband she was left with four children to care for, and a few years later started with three of her brothers to America. While on board a Mississippi River steamer she was attacked with cholera and died, her remains, together with those of one of her brothers, being taken ashore and buried on the banks of the river. The surviving brothers—Phillip and Albert—settled in Burlington, Iowa. This was in 1853. Mrs. Townsend found a home with a family named Damke, in St. Louis, for a year and a half, and then spent six years with the family of Maj. Walker in the same city.

In that city, in 1861, Annie Huseman was united in marriage with Herman Cook, a teamster by occupation and a native of Germany. After their marriage they removed to St. Clair County, Ill., where Mr. Cook rented a farm, and where he departed this life in 1865. His widow later became the wife of our subject. To Mr. and Mrs. Townsend came five children—Thaddeus S., the first born, was with them only from December 17, 1869, to July 19, 1872; Virginia, James, Whitfield and Annie are still spared to their widowed mother. Mrs. Townsend possesses many womanly qualities and virtues of character, and is displaying good judgment in the management of her worldly affairs and the rearing of the fatherless ones who are left to her care. She is a member of the Christian Church, with which she united at the age of twenty-one years, and in which her late husband was an Elder for many years.