John Selby Townsend
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
from the 8th district
In office
December 6, 1852 – December 3, 1854
Personal details
Born(1824-08-24)August 24, 1824
Morganfield, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 23, 1892(1892-04-23) (aged 67)
Albia, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationJudge and politician

John Selby Townsend (August 24, 1824 – April 23, 1892) was an American judge and politician. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Townsend was born on August 24, 1824, in Morganfield, Kentucky to James Townsend a planter and large slaveowner.[1] When Townsend was age four, his father freed all his slaves and moved with his family to Indiana.[1] Townsend studied at Asbury University (now DePauw University) and, subsequently, taught himself law, passing the bar exam in Monroe County, Iowa.[1]

In 1851, Townsend was elected the county attorney of Monroe County.[1] In 1852 he was elected to the Iowa General Assembly, sitting in the House of Representatives from December 6, 1852, to December 3, 1854.[1][2][3] From 1853 to 1863 he served as a district court judge, before going into private practice with Theodore Bolivar Perry, who had previously read law under him.[2][1] He retired in 1883.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Bench and Bar of Iowa: Illustrated with Steel and Copper Engravings. American Biographical Publishing Company. 1901. pp. 168–169.
  2. 1 2 "Senator Frederick Townsend". legis.iowa.gov. Iowa Legislature. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  3. ↑ John Selby Townsend, Iowa General Assembly Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine


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