Lawyer
Centurion, 1883–1924
Born 9 June 1858 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 25 May 1924 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Buried Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum
, Manhattan, New York
Proposed by Edward M. Townsend and Henry J. Scudder
Elected 7 October 1883 at age twenty-five
Archivist’s Note: Son of J. J. Townsend; nephew of Edward M. Townsend
Proposer of:
Century Memorial
Physical disability prevented John Joseph Townsend from achieving the place in the law which might have been his if full health had been his lot in the period of active life. He had served in the District Attorney’s office in the nineties, where his rapid yet careful work made him very useful in subordinate positions. Even when he returned to practice after long retirement, he made his impression as referee in bankruptcy.
He was a man of the world of quite the old-fashioned type. The two distinct sides of his personality were that of the participator in unconventional life, of the refined and tender individuality, religious without a creed, a lover of various out-of-the-way things in French literature, a conservative, a great believer in the value of convention. His lack of health and fastidiousness of taste prevented him from taking an active part in social life; but his interesting mixture of caustic, wise and sympathetic traits, with a great kindness of heart, drew him closely to those who knew him best.
Alexander Dana Noyes
1925 Century Association Yearbook