§:”' I s
Q; ses ·  
§ was born near Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Charles Wesley =
g and Jennie Frank (Wilson) Townsend, His early education was
i received at the Johnson and the Dudley grammar schools in Lex-
§ ington and the Glenn Kenney in Paris, Kentucky. He studied at s
i Transylvania College, Lexington, between 1900 and 1906 and then
i spent one year at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts,.
E me married Grace Cole of Fayette County, Kentucky, December 4, L
Q 1915, and they have four dhdghtcrs. Ee is a member of the
[ Episcopal Church and politically is a Democrat. His residence
p Q is in Lexington, Kentucky.
{ John Wilson Townsend, is, perhaps, best known in his
,1 native state for his work in compiling and presenting the
j literary history of Kentucky for his biographies and mono-
? graphs covering the lives and the works of leading Kentucky
» authors and writers. Ee, himself has made literature his pro-
· fession since his college days. His first position was as a
Q professor of English at the Fishburne Military School, Waynes-
{ boro, Virginia, after which he spent two years as assistant
' librarian of the Lexington Public Library. He served as
ri associate editor of the Kentucky Historical Society Publications,
and from 1912 to 1917 was connected with Lexington newspapers, p
as an editorial staff writer on the Lexington Herald and as
K literary editor of the Lexington Leader. 9
During the long administration of Dr. Willard Rouse 1
Jillson as state geologist for Kentucky, Mr. Townsend acted as
editor of publications for the Kentucky Geological Survey and »
· he also was manager of the Graceland Book Shop in Lexington;
} For sometime past he has been devoting his efforts largely to
the writing of books and many articles which appear in news- p
papers and periodicals. He also gives much of his time to
research and to assembling of records on Kentucky history which
will be placed by the United States government in the New Z
Archives Building in Washington, and to making collections for g
libraries such as that at the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers 3
1 College at Richnond, Kentucky. f
l In addition to performing an outstanding public service
E as the state's foremost biographer of Kentucky men and women ‘
4 of letters, Mr. Townsend has made a noteworthy collection of
{ first editions, particularly those of Kentucky authors. `
{ CRITICAL ESTIMATES ,
g _ *‘i` his ELS.1r;¤2lai.sns..is_Ziilstsnnssn.-Li¢2.?ei¤rel_-*he L¤¤iS·  »
g ville C0urier—Journal of October 12, l907, states: "S0 few °
g reliable volumes concerning Southern literature exist, it is i
{ a pleasure to see authors directing intelligent effort to :
Q collect facts and prepare lists of Southern authors and their Y
g works. This volume by John Tilson Townsend covers in a con- Q
3