Norton Strange Townshend
Encyclopedia
Norton Strange Townshend (December 25, 1815 – July 13, 1895) was a United States Representative from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

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Biography

Born in Clay Coton
Clay Coton
Clay Coton is a village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England.The village is dominated by the mediaeval former church of St. Andrews. Built in 1340, it fell into disuse in the 1950s and was renovated as a private house in 2000...

, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 (England), in 1830 he migrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Avon, Ohio
Avon, Ohio
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,446 people, 4,088 households, and 3,143 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.4 people per square mile . There were 4,291 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile...

. He educated himself by the use of his father's library, taught a district school for a short time, and was graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...

 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in 1840.

Townshend was a delegate to the World's Antislavery Convention in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1840, studied medicine in the hospitals of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, and Dublin, and in 1841 engaged in the practice of medicine in Avon, Ohio. He moved to Elyria, Ohio
Elyria, Ohio
-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...

, and was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 in 1848 and 1849. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention
Ohio Constitution
The Ohio Constitution is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had two constitutions since statehood was granted....

 in 1850, and was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1853).

In 1854 and 1855, Townshend was a member of the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 and during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 was a medical inspector of the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 with the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 from 1863 to 1865.

He engaged in agricultural pursuits near Avon, was director of the State board of agriculture from 1858 to 1869 and 1886 to 1889, was professor of agriculture in Iowa Agricultural College in 1869, and was appointed in 1870 as one of the first trustees of Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. He resigned in 1873 to become professor of agriculture in the new State college and served until his resignation in 1892, when he became professor emeritus. Townshend died in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 in 1895; interment was in Protestant Cemetery, Avon Center, Ohio.

The Norton Strange Townshend Family Papers are located at the William L. Clements Library
William L. Clements Library
The William L. Clements Library is a rare book and manuscript repository located on the University of Michigan's central campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan...

 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

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