Abigail (Embree) Townsend (1711 - 1794)

Born 21 Mar 1711 in Tuckerton, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey

Ancestors

Wife of Charles Townsend — married 18 May 1730 in Burlington, Burlington, NJ

Descendants

Died 2 Aug 1794 at age 83 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Birth

Abigail Embree was born on the 21st March, 1711 at Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, to parents Moses and Mary Embree. She appears in a compilation of family records titled, Genealogy of Berks.^[1] She is also mentioned in the minutes of the Little Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting on a list of siblings from her mother's first and second marriages.^[2]

Marriage

Abigail married Charles Townsend in 1730 in Burlington (Monmouth), New Jersey.^[3]

At the East Nottingham Monthly Meeting of the 10th December, 1766, Charles and Abigail were granted a Certificate of Removal to return to their Philadelphia meeting. It was noted about the couple that, Charles frequented their meetings,"[t]h'o She but Seldom during their Stay among us...".^[4]

Death

Abigail died on 02 August, 1794 and was buried at the "Arch Street Cemetery ... formerly a Quaker Cemetery [at] the site of the Arch Street Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia."^[5] The Philadelphia Monthly Meeting Southern District maintained a membership index for the years 1784 to 1797 in which Abigail was recorded, the entry reads, "Townsend Abigail the widow of Charles". Her name was underlined according to the document's legend, to indicate that she had died within that time frame.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com,2014(). “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935”, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Genealogy of Berks; Collection: Quaker Meeting Records; Call Number: MR-PH 170, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2189&h=2647243&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=HKt21&_phstart=successSource),

   “Name: Abigail Embree | Birth Date:18 Feb 1711 | Birth Date on Image: 18 Twelfth 1711 | Marriage Age: 19 | Marriage Date: 18 Jul 1730 | Marriage Date on Image: 18 Fifth 1730 | Marriage Place: Burlington, New Jersey | Death Age: 83 | Death Date: 2 Aug 1794 | Death Date on Image: 02 Eighth 1794 | Death Place: Berks, Pennsylvania | Father: Moses Embree | Mother: Mary Embree | Spouse: Charles Townsend | Event Type: Death | Monthly Meeting: Exeter Monthly Meeting | Historical Meeting Data: --- | Type (Orthodox or Hicksite): Orthodox | Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting | Meeting State: Pennsylvania | Meeting County: Berks”.

2. ↑ Ancestry.com, (2014). “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935”, Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Births and Burials, 1693-1887; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2189&h=8378056&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=HKt25&_phstart=successSource). “New Jersey, Ocean, Little Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting Births and Burials, 1693-1887:

   Births,

   • Zabulon Spragg 18 10mo 17--
   • Mary Spragg 19 03mo 1703
   • Richard Spragg 02 12mo 1704
   • Abigale Ambere 21 01 1711
   • Martha Ambere 13 12 1712
   • Sarah Ambere 15 08 1717
   • Samuel Ambere 15 08 1717
   • Moses --- 26 11 1719
   • John --- 12 11 1721”
3. ↑ Ancestry.com, (2016). “New Jersey, Marriage Records, 1670-1965”, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersery, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61376&h=900258336&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=HKt18&_phstart=successSource),

   “Name: Abigail Emrie [Abigail Embree] | Gender: Female | Marriage Date: 1730 | Marriage Place: Monmouth, New Jersey, USA | Spouse: Charles Townsend |Film Number: 000802943”.

4. ↑ Ancestry.com, (2014). “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935”, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Removal 1764-1855; Collection: Baltimore Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: RG2/B/N681 3.5, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=2189&h=1107089314&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=2189),

   “Name: Abigail Townsend | Residence Date: 25 Oct 1766 | Residence Date on Image: 25 Tenth 1766 | Residence Place: Chester, Pennsylvania | Spouse: Charles Townsend | Event Type: Removal | Monthly Meeting: Nottingham Monthly Meeting | Historical Meeting Data: --- | Type (Orthodox or Hicksite): Pre-Separation/Hicksite | Yearly Meeting: Baltimore Yearly Meeting | Meeting State: Pennsylvania | Meeting County: Chester”.

5. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 04 January 2020), memorial page for Abigail Embree Townsend (18 Dec 1711–2 Aug 1794), Find A Grave Memorial no. 119829114, citing Mount Vernon Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by William DeCoursey (contributor 46613311).
6. ↑ Ancestry.com, (2014), “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935”, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Membership List, 1784-1797; Collection: Quaker Meeting Records; Call Number: MR Ph:431, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2189&h=3225901&tid=152515195&pid=112067191327&usePUB=true&_phsrc=gBu30&_phstart=successSource),

   “Name: Abigail Townsend | Death Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Spouse: Charles Townsend | Event Type: Death | Monthly Meeting: Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Southern District | Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting | Meeting State: Pennsylvania | Meeting County: Philadelphia.” ::“Townsend Abigail the widow of Charles”.