Jump to content

Charles E. Townsend

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles E. Townsend
United States Senator
fromMichigan
In office
March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1923
Preceded byJulius C. Burrows
Succeeded byWoodbridge N. Ferris
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromMichigan's2nddistrict
In office
March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1911
Preceded byHenry C. Smith
Succeeded byWilliam Wedemeyer
Personal details
Born(1856-08-15)August 15, 1856
Concord, Michigan
DiedAugust 3, 1924(1924-08-03)(aged 67)
Jackson, Michigan
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Michigan

Charles Elroy Townsend(August 15, 1856 – August 3, 1924) was an American lawyer who served as both aU.S. RepresentativeandU.S. Senatorfrom thestateofMichigan.He served in theUnited States Congressfrom 1903 to 1923.

Early life and career

[edit]

Townsend was born nearConcord, Michiganand attended the common schools in Concord andJacksonand theUniversity of MichiganatAnn Arbor.He taught school at Concord 1881-1886 and wasJackson CountyRegister of Deeds1886–1897. He studied law and was admitted to thebarin 1895 and commenced practice in Jackson.

Tenure in Congress

[edit]

Townsend was elected as aRepublicanto theUnited States House of Representativesfor theFifty-eighthand for the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1911.[1]

He was elected to theUnited States Senatein 1910 and was reelected in 1916, serving from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1923. In 1914 and while holding the office of Senator, he was on the Central Committee of the First National Conference on Race Betterment, a conference on eugenics held at the Battle Creek Sanatorium.[2]He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922. He was chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on Coast and Insular Surveyin theSixty-second Congress,the U.S. Senate Committee on Expenditures in the War Department in theSixty-fifth Congress,and the U.S. Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads in theSixty-sixthandSixty-seventh Congresses.

Career after Congress

[edit]

Townsend was appointed in 1923 as a member of theInternational Joint Commissioncreated to regulate the use of the boundary waters between theUnited StatesandCanada,in which capacity he served until his death in Jackson. He is interred in Maple Grove Cemetery, in Concord.

References

[edit]
  1. ^"S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903".GovInfo.gov.U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. p. 53.Retrieved2 July2023.
  2. ^"Proceedings of the first National Conference on Race Betterment, January 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1914. Battle Creek, Michigan".[Battle Creek, Mich., Gage Printing Company. 1914.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Schlup, Peonard. "Party Loyalist: Charles E. Townsend and the Vice-Presidential Election of 1912."Research Journal of Philosophy & Social Sciences(1992): 61–70.
[edit]
Party political offices
First Republicannominee forU.S. SenatorfromMichigan
(Class 1)

1916,1922
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Michigan
1903–1911
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Michigan
1911–1923
Succeeded by