Washington TOWNSEND, Congress, PA (1813-1894)

TOWNSEND, Washington, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in West Chester, Chester County, Pa., January 20, 1813; attended a private school and West Chester Academy; engaged as a bank teller 1828-1844; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1844 and commenced practice in West Chester, Pa.; prosecuting attorney of Chester County in 1848; deputy attorney under Attorneys General Darragh and Cooper; cashier of the Bank of Chester County 1849-1857; delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1852; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860; elected as a Republican to the Forty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1869-March 3, 1877); chairman, Committee on Public Lands (Forty-third Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1876; again resumed the practice of his profession in West Chester, Chester County, Pa.; president of the Bank of Chester County 1879-1894; died in West Chester, Pa., March 18, 1894; interment in Oakland Cemetery, near West Chester.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present