David Wood Townsend

David Wood Townsend
Born July 18, 1844 (1844-07-18)
Mount Gilead, Ohio
Died March 8, 1912 (1912-03-09) (aged 67)
Wichita, Kansas

David Wood Townsend (July 18, 1844 – March 8, 1912) was an American builder.

Townsend was a business owner and builder in Western Iowa. Starting out representing Knapp, Stout & Co. Lumber, he later owned and operated several Townsend Bros. Lumber Yards both in Iowa and Nebraska. In 1882, he oversaw the building of the Plymouth County Bank building.[1] In 1884, Townsend and J. M. Starbuck contracted to build the Ida County Courthouse.[2] In 1884, Townsend was contracted to build the school house at Cherokee, Iowa.[3] In 1886, Townsend contracted and oversaw the building of the Marshall County Courthouse (Iowa) and the court house at Council Bluffs and built a hotel at Sioux City.[4] That same year he also added another story to the Sioux City Journal building in Sioux City.[5] In 1898, he contracted with Cutting & Willett and K of P Lodge at Oto, Woodbury county, Iowa to build a two story brick building with the lodge taking the top floor.[6]

Some of the buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa.

He also owned several general mercantile stores including one at Melrose, Iowa [7] and another one at Granville, Iowa.[8] He also owned and operated a mercantile establishment at Edgerton, Minnesota.[9]

In the 1890s, Townsend owned the ACME Real Estate and Exchange Co., of Cherokee, Iowa.

He also managed the Cherokee Brick and Tile Works in the 1890s after his partner John M. Starbuck left for the Klondike Gold Rush.[10] They supplied over 10,000,000 bricks for the Cherokee Mental Health Institute Insane Asylum.[11]

Early life & family

David Wood Townsend was born at Mount Gilead, Ohio, July 18, 1844, to Eli and Abigail Mosher (Wood) Townsend. Abigail was the sister of Samuel Newitt Wood and Stephen Mosher Wood. His parents and grandparents were involved in the Underground Railroad in Ohio. Townsend married Mary Ellen Brown on the 14th of April, 1868 and they were the parents of Glenn Eli Townsend, Clara Ellen Townsend, Charles Willis Townsend, Perry Townsend, Archie Townsend, Royal Wood Townsend, Mary Edna (Townsend) Adsit, and Elma Townsend. Mr Townsend married Sarah Maggie (Ellis) Cooper on the 14th of February, 1882 and they were the parents of Helene (Townsend) Smith and David Waldo Townsend. Mr Townsend married Mary Ann Bunford in 1906. He died in Wichita, Kansas on the 8th of March, 1912.

Townsend's grandson David W. Townsend was an Art Director for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in the 1930s.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Iowa Liberal, Le Mars, Iowa, Wednesday, April 12, 1882, Pg 1
  2. ↑ Building age, Volume 6, Carpentry And Building. Vol. VI.—1884.
  3. ↑ Le Mars Daily Sentinel, May 31, 1884, pg 3
  4. ↑ Engineering news-record, Volume 15, January to July, 1886
  5. ↑ Le Mars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, July 10, 1936, pg 7
  6. ↑ Sioux Valley News, September 15, 1898
  7. ↑ Le Mars Sentinel, December 20, 1889, pg 3
  8. ↑ Alton Democrat, November 8, 1890, pg 8
  9. ↑ Le Mars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, February 19, 1894, pg 3
  10. ↑ Fort Dodge Semi-Weekly Chronicle, January 1, 1898
  11. ↑ Sioux City Journal, November 22, 1896
  12. ↑ Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1935, "Crash Kills Film Expert, David Townsend, Art Aide, Dead and Three Injured as Car Falls in Canyon" pg A2

External links

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