Townsend, John W., 1855-1939

John W. Townsend, industry executive and capitalist, local historian. Received his A.B., 1875 and A.M., 1878 from the University of Pennsylvania. Townsend was active in the steel business from 1891 to 1908 and served as Vice President of the Cambria Steel Company which was founded by (among others) his father, Edward Y. Townsend. John W. Townsend actively served in numerous Philadelphia organizations, as Vice President of the Philadelphia Y.M.C.A., Accounting Warden of the Holy Trinity Church, and as a member of the Board of Managers of the Glen Mills School. He was a member of the Union League Club and the Rittenhouse and Merion Cricket Clubs. Townsend authored The Old Main Line, a history of the development of the Main Line area, published in 1919.