John Kirk Townsend manuscript

Collection

Identifier: MG 5090

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Essay and list of the birds of Oregon territory, written at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River (16 l.). Accompanied by a typed note from Reverend C.M. Drury describing the manuscript's discovery.

Dates

Creation: 11 April 1836

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Consult Head of Special Collections and Archives on permissions for use.

Biographical / Historical

John Kirk Townsend was born 10 August 1809 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Westtown School and trained as a physician and pharmacist. In 1833 he joined Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's second expedition across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean following an invitation from Thomas Nuttall. Townsend was appointed magistrate to the first public trial by Europeans in Oregon while at Fort William. During his travels, Townsend collected animal specimens during his travels and sent many back to John James Audubon. Audubon gave Townsend broad authority in naming the specimens he collected. Upon his return, Townsend wrote "The Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and a Visit to the Sandwich Islands." John Kirk Townsend passed away on 6 February 1851 of arsenic poisoning.

Extent

1 item

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Essay and list of birds of Oregon Territory.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

In 1935 Reverend C.M. Drury found Townsend's manuscript in the possession of L. Alex Mack, Montclair, New Jersey, the great-grandson of Reverend Samuel Parker, a companion of Townsend in Oregon. Drury provided a photostatic copy to the State College of Washington.