tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583877.post114389946431095212..comments2024-03-20T05:31:42.781-04:00Comments on Secondat: Diary of Lady Shelburne - 11th PostUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583877.post-24047367683080625372007-02-25T05:44:00.000-05:002007-02-25T05:44:00.000-05:00Hi, Anonymous. "Townshend" it is. You can do a G...Hi, Anonymous. "Townshend" it is. You can do a Google Book Search to see instances of this spelling in both vols (about 30) and the other (none at all). It's been a while since I wrote that post, but I recall spending quite a bit of time trying to sort out the Townsend/Townshends. I'm grateful for this full explanation. If I ever get into the archives at Bowood or Shelburne papers at the U of Michigan, I'll try to find out which member of the family Lady Shelburne refers to and whether Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice regularized the spelling while writing the biography.<BR/><BR/> JeffJeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08853204880593806973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583877.post-25669098925500600292007-02-25T00:03:00.000-05:002007-02-25T00:03:00.000-05:00Just a small note and one question...The third par...Just a small note and one question...<BR/><BR/>The third paragraph talks about Mr.Townshend and Mr.Sawbridge. I would be interested in knowing whether the original diary spells Townshend with an H or without.<BR/><BR/>As you may know, there were many Townshends in government at that time (second only, perhaps, to the Cornwallis family). These Townshends were all closely related (all 1st or 2nd cousins), except for the one associated with Sawbridge.<BR/><BR/>The Townshend associated with Sawbridge was a James Townsend who in 1772 became Mayor of London. He was the grandfather of Chauncey Hare Townshend, close friend of John Forster and Charles Dickens. Apparently Chauncey Hare Townshend reverted to the "Townshend" spelling which is why the spelling of his grandfather in Lady Shelburne's diary is intriguing. Incidently the newspapers of the time spell James Townsend without the "H". However, the Letters of Junius spell it as Townshend.<BR/><BR/>This Mr. James Townsend should not be confused with Mr. Thomas Townshend who was very closely tied to Shelburne. (It is not certain which Townshend visited Lady Shelburne on 5th Jan 1766, but I speculate Thomas Townshend rather than James Townsend.)<BR/><BR/>In 1782 Shelburne made Thomas Townshend his Home Secretary and also gave his office the responsibilities of Foreign Secretary. It was Thomas Townshend (and his junior David Hartley) who was responsible for the peace negotiations with America (through Benjamin Franklin) resulting in the preliminary agreement in November 1782. Thomas Townshend was rewarded by Shelburne for his efforts and made Lord Sydney. A few months later Shelburne was out of office (and Sydney too), leaving the wrapping up of the peace negotiations to the reluctant Lord North, who had retained David Hartley (who eventually signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com