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William H. Townsend
William Henry Townsend (May 31, 1890 - July 25, 1964) was a U.S. lawyer, historian and author. Born in Glensoboro, Kentucky, into a staunchly Confederate family, he graduated from the University of...view moreWilliam Henry Townsend (May 31, 1890 - July 25, 1964) was a U.S. lawyer, historian and author. Born in Glensoboro, Kentucky, into a staunchly Confederate family, he graduated from the University of Kentucky Law School in 1912. Although he began early to collect Civil War materials, he was almost thirty years of age before he owned anything about former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. His second Lincoln book led to an acquaintance with its author, the late William E. Barton, and Mr. Townsend became a confirmed Lincolnian, amassing one of the largest private collections of Lincolniana in the United States.
He founded the Kentucky Civil War Society and in 1957 was appointed to the Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Mr. Townsend also served as a trustee of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.
He was the author of Abraham Lincoln, Defendant (1923), Lincoln the Litigant (1925), Lincoln and His Wife’s Home Town (1929), and Lincoln and Liquor (1934). He died in Lexington, Virginia in 1964, aged 74.view less