Henry Townsend (1815–1886) was an Anglican missionary in Nigeria.
Early life Townsend was born in Exeter, in Devon, England on December 1, 1815. Nigerian Guardian website, Henry Townsend: A Visionary Leader, article dated December 8, 2019
Ordained in England in 1842, Townsend set off for Sierra Leone with Charles Andrew Gollmer and Samuel Ajayi Crowther,Justus Anglican website, The Book of Common Prayer among the Nations of the World (Chapter 1) landing there that same year; after working there only a few months, he was transferred to the Yoruba mission. He returned to England for a year, then travelled to Abeokuta in Nigeria.
Career From 1846 to 1867, he based his mission in Abeokuta. Thomas Birch Freeman was actually the first European to enter Abeokuta. He arrived there on 11 December 1843. When he returned to Badagry on 24 December, he met Rev. Townsend and they celebrated Christmas Day together sharing the Gospel in Badagry. According to Ajisafe, he was the first European person to enter Abeokuta, arriving there on 4 January 1843 and was 'given a grand reception' (Ajisafe 1924: 85).
Working with Samuel Crowther, a Yoruba Anglican priest, Townsend wrote several hymns in Yoruba and aided in the compilation of Crowther's Yoruba primer.JISC Archive website, Papers of Reverend Henry TownsendDictionary of African Christian Biography website, Townsend, Henry, 1815-1886, Anglican Communion (Church Missionary Society) Townsend was against Crowther, a native Yoruba, becoming a bishop.Church Mission Society website, Racial tension in mission: reviewing the Niger mission crisis (1875-97) and its implications for mission, article by Emmanuel A.S. Egbunu (2020)Wycliffe Translators website, Samuel Adjai Crowther
Townsend published a Yoruba newspaper called 'Iwe-Irohin' in 1859. This is said to have started off the print media in Nigeria, as the newspaper was the bilingual paper in Nigeria. The paper used 8 years before it demise.
In 1862, he opened an orphanageSedos Mission website, Missions in Seasons of Chaos: Lessons from Yoruba Civil Wars for Contemporary Christian Missions (2023) and several trade schools.
From 1871 to 1872 Rev Henry and Mrs Townsend were co-principals of CMS Female Institution Lagos Nigeria.Nigerian Finder website, List of Early Missionaries in Nigeria, article dated January 9, 2022
Townsend retired in 1876. His journals and letters are held at the University of Birmingham and Oxford University.UK National Archives website, Townsend, Henry, (1815-1886), missionary to Nigeria
Publications Townsend published several books including two Yoruba school-books and; Hymn Book in Yoruba Primer in Yoruba Book of Common Prayer in Yoruba Peep of Day in Yoruba
Family Townsend married Sarah Pearse in 1840.
See also Agiya Tree Monument Egba people
Notes
References
Freeman, Thomas Birch, Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku, and Dahomi in Western Africa,Third Edition Frank Cass and Co.Ltd. 1968 pp. 223-236
External links Brief biography Msingi Afrika Magazine website First Storey Building - Badagry, article by Chioma Phillips dated August 28, 2019