Hosea Townsend

Hosea Townsend (June 16, 1840 – March 4, 1909) was an American attorney and politician who served two terms as a U.S. representative from Colorado from 1889 to 1893.

Appointed by Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, he was a United States judge for the southern district of the Indian Territory from 1897 to 1907.

Early life and education Born on a farm in Greenwich, Ohio, his parents were Hiram and Eliza Townsend. Townsend attended the common schools and Western Reserve College, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1860. He contracted a case of typhoid fever and resigned in 1863 due to a disability. He practiced law in Memphis until 1881. Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907 and the Indian Territory court was closed. He remained in Ardmore and practiced law.

Personal life He married Anna Augusta Barnes on November 28, 1865 and they had two children, John Barnes Townsend and Anna Bell Townsend. After they moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma of the Indian Territory, Anna decided that the area needed a library and obtained funding from Andrew Carnegie about 1903. The Ardmore Carnegie Library was opened on October 1, 1906. Anna and Hosea donated 800 books for the library.

Death and burial He died in Ardmore, Oklahoma on March 4, 1909. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Norwalk, Ohio. Anna died in 1915.