Sarah (Sally) Townsend
birth: 1760
death: December 1842
burial: Fort Hill Cemetery - Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York (Find a Grave link)
father: Samuel Townsend (1717 - 1790)
mother: Sarah Stoddard (1724 - 1800)
unmarried
death: December 1842
burial: Fort Hill Cemetery - Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York (Find a Grave link)
father: Samuel Townsend (1717 - 1790)
mother: Sarah Stoddard (1724 - 1800)
unmarried
Sarah, who is believed to have had a flirtation with British Commander Simcoe when she was 18 years old (link to Valentine story) spent her entire life living in Raynham Hall with family, especially Robert, Phebe, and Phebe’s husband Dr. Seeley. After her father’s death in 1790 they shared the house until her death in 1842 at age 82. An original windowpane from the front of the colonial house was preserved, with a scratched message from a British officer describing her in her youth as “the adorable Miss Sally Sarah Townsend.”
Source: Raynham Hall Museum
Interesting note:
Historian Morton Pennypacker wrote in his book, "The Two Spies: Nathan Hale and Robert Townsend," that Sally Townsend overheard information from British officers that she passed on to her brother Robert Townsend that ultimately led to the capture of Benedict Arnold. Pennypacker does not source this information.