author
Martin I. (Martin Ingham) Townsend
1810–1903
A respected New York lawyer and public servant, this 19th-century congressman moved easily between the courtroom, state politics, and national office. His long career offers a window into the civic life of New York across much of the 1800s.
1 Audiobook
Prehistoric Structures of Central America: Who Erected Them?
by Martin I. (Martin Ingham) Townsend
About the author
Born in Hancock, Massachusetts, on February 6, 1810, Martin Ingham Townsend grew up in Williamstown and graduated from Williams College in 1833. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and settled in Troy, New York, where he built a successful legal career.
Townsend became well known in public life as well as in the law. He served as district attorney of Rensselaer County in the 1840s, took part in New York's constitutional convention in 1867 and 1868, and was later elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1875 to 1879.
After his time in Congress, he continued in federal service as United States attorney for the Northern District of New York. Remembered as a prominent lawyer and politician in Troy, he lived to the age of 93 and died there on March 8, 1903.