Lawrence Towneley Gent. (bef. 1563 - bef. 1655)

Born before 21 Apr 1563 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Jennet (Halstead) Towneley — married about 1597 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 12 Feb 1655 at about age 91 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Lawrence Towneley, Gent., of Fulshay and Stone Edge, Lancashire, was the son of Lawrence Towneley, Gent., of Barnside and Blacko, Lancashire, and Margaret Hartley.^[1][2][3] He is probably the Lawrence, son of Lawrence, who was baptized at Burnley, Lancashire at St Peter's on 21 April 1563.^[4][5]

Lawrence married Jennet Halstead, daughter of John Halstead, Gent., of Windlehouse^[2] and his wife, Elizabeth.^[1] The date and place of their marriage are unknown and are estimated. They had one son and six daughters:

• Margaret, wife of Thomas Riley^[1][2] was born probably before March 1599^[3]
• Elizabeth, wife of Richard Halstead, Gent., and of Christopher Smith, Gent., had issue;^[1][2] she was also born probably before March 1599 and died before 5 January 1679/80^[3]
• Lawrence, Gent., married first Alice (Dugdale calls her "Elizabeth") Calvert, second Ellen _____ and had issue with both wives.^[1][2] He was baptized 21 April 1611,^[3][6] and died before May 1674.^[1]
• Alice, wife of Richard Gray,^[1][2] baptized 12 February 1603/4^[3][7]
• Ellen, wife of Thomas Chatburne,^[1][2] was baptized 4 March 1605/6^[3][8]
• Anne, wife of Samuel Hoyle, Gent.,^[2] had issue; Anne was baptized 2 November 1608^[1][3]
• Mary, married Col. Augustine Warner, Gent.^[2] and had issue; Mary was baptized 15 May 1614,^[3] died 11 August 1662 in Virginia^[1]

Jenett was living on 20 June 1623, when she was named in a legal document^[3] granting lands in Barrowford on lease to John Woodhead.^[9][10] Her burial is possibly found in the parish registers of Burnley as the wife of Lawrence Towneley of Windlehouse on 12 August 1623. Windlehouse was Jennet's family's home, where her daughter Elizabeth resided at that time.^[3]

Lawrence Towneley was buried 12 February 1654/5 at Colne, Lancashire,^[1][3] at St. Bartholomew Parish.^[11][12] There was no will recorded for him.^[3]

Research Notes

Famous Family

Lawrence Towneley is not only a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Ros, as documented by Richardson (see Magna Carta Project section, below), but is also the direct ancestor of both President George Washington (see RF) and General Robert E. Lee (see RF).

Possible Illegitimate Son

It is possible that the Lawrence of this profile was father of Cornelius, base son of Lawrance Townley, baptized at Burnley, St. Peter, on 5 January 1587/8.^[13] Another possibility is that Lawrence's father was Cornelius's parent.

Lawrence and his father were not the only Lawrence Towneleys in the Burnley area around this time, and Cornelius's father may have been neither of them.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. V, pages 180-181, TOWNELEY 19.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} William Dugdale. The Visitation of the County Palatine of Lancaster, made in the Year 1664-5, volume 3, Chetham Society, 1873, page 314: Towneley of Stonehedge.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11} Mary Burton Derrickson McCurdy. "The Townleys and Warners of Virginia and Their English Connections." in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 81, no. 3 (1973): 319-67. Accessed March 26, 2021 at JSTOR.
4. ↑ "England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910," database, (FamilySearch: 13 October 2017), Lawrance Townley in entry for Lawrance Townley, 12 Apr 1563; citing Christening, St Peter's Church, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume, Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,689.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Lancashire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives. Pr 3027/1/1 image.
6. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 19 September 2020), Lawrence Townley, 1611.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 19 September 2020), Alicia Townley, 1603.
8. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 19 September 2020), Ellen Townley, 1606.
9. ↑ 'Townships: Barrowford Booth', in A History of the County of Lancaster, Volume 6, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 541-544. British History Online, accessed 28 March 2021.
10. ↑ The National Archives. "Surrender: Lawrence Townley of Stonyedg, co. Lanc. gent. & w. Jenet to John Woodhead of..." Reference: DDTO K 5/117. Surrender: Lawrence Townley of Stonyedg, co. Lanc. gent. & w. Jenet to John Woodhead of Pasture in Barowford in said co., husbandman; a barn, fold & land in Barowford in forest of Pendle during the lives of Margaret, wife of John Woodhead & Lawrence his son. Mentions Robt. Townley, br. of said Lawrence Townley. Date: 1623. Held by: Lancashire Archives.
11. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J8YM-5J5 : 16 March 2020), Law Townley, 1654.
12. ↑ Ancestry.com. Lancashire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives. PR 3172/1/2. image.
13. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, (FamilySearch: 18 September 2020), Lawrance Townley in entry for Cornelius Townley, 1588.

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. IV, pages 206-207, TOWNELEY 15.
• Roberts, Gary Boyd. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004). Online at Ancestry.com [$], pages 416-421.
• Tracing the Towneleys 2004, published online by the Towneley Hall Society, Burnley, Lancashire. (Original manuscript written by Christopher Towneley (1604-1674).
• McCurdy, Mary Burton Derrickson. "A Discovery concerning the Townley and Warner Families of Virginia" in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 77, No. 4 (Oct 1969). Online at JSTOR, pages 473-476.
• Cheek, Linda G. Ancestors and Descendants of Smiths. (Easley, SC: L.G. Cheek, 1987), page 142 (I will do look-ups in this book by request. Kitty Smith)
• Wikipedia: St. Bartholomew's Church, Colne

Acknowledgements

Click the Changes tab to see the edits to this profile. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Magna Carta Project

This 5-star profile was approved for the Magna Carta Project 7 June 2020 and was further developed 27 March 2021 by Thiessen-117. It was re-reviewed for the Project by Michael Cayley on 31 March 2021.

Lawrence Towneley Gent. is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry (vol. IV, pages 204-207 TOWNELEY) in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Mary Towneley and her nephews, Lawrence Townley and Edward Hoyle, to Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Ros. These trails were badged in March 2021 and are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails sections of the profiles of Mary Towneley and Edward Hoyle.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".