The Townes surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,067 people carried this name — #6,669 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 58,100 people counted. That is up 9% from 4,633 in 2000.

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In print

Townes in American newspapers,
1923.

Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Townes
South Bend News-times 1923-02-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Townes in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

251 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Townes. The most, 56, date from the 1940s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 97
Victoria 60
Queensland 56
Tasmania 13
Western Australia 12
South Australia 8
ACT (Canberra) 2
Northern Territory 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Townes.

Who carried it

People named Townes,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Harry Townes
    Harry Townes 1914–2001 · actor
  • Charles Hard Townes
    Charles Hard Townes 1915–2015 · physicist
  • Sandra L. Townes
    Sandra L. Townes 1944–2018 · judge
  • Marjorie Chapman Townes 1909–2006 · botanical collector
  • Henry K. Townes 1913–1990 · entomologist
  • Willie Townes 1943–2017 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Townes,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States296 records

296 records of the Townes name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 117
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 87
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 63
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 11
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Allen Townes

    Born 1921 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Baltimore, Maryland; sales clerk from Baltimore City, Maryland. Veteran; died 1962, buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Francis Townes

    Born 1952; from Middleboro, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, armor crewman; died of wounds 1972 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Townes

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1846 aboard the Halcyon from Liverpool and Londonderry, aged 19; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 296 records for Townes in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia14 records

14 records of the Townes name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record George Townes

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Recovery, sailing from Downs in 1837. Native of Suffolk.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry G. Townes

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Chowringhee, aged 31.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Townes

    Left Launceston in 1851 aboard the Wycliffe, bound for Melbourne, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 14 records for Townes in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada8 records

8 records of the Townes name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frederick Townes

    Died 1916 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hilda Townes

    Married 1907 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Frederick Eugene Townes

    Born 1908 in Central Economy, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 8 records for Townes in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Townes name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Gilbert Townes

    Buried in 1823 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 71.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Townes

    Royal West Kent Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hannah Townes

    Buried in 1818 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 53.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Townes in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Townes.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Townes is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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