John Kirk Townsend was born 10 August 1809 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Westtown School and trained as a physician and pharmacist. In 1833 he joined Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's second expedition across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean following an invitation from Thomas Nuttall. Townsend was appointed magistrate to the first public trial by Europeans in Oregon while at Fort William. During his travels, Townsend collected animal specimens during his travels and sent many back to John James Audubon. Audubon gave Townsend broad authority in naming the specimens he collected. Upon his return, Townsend wrote "The Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and a Visit to the Sandwich Islands." John Kirk Townsend passed away on 6 February 1851 of arsenic poisoning.
Collection is open for research.
Consult Head of Special Collections and Archives on permissions for use.
In 1935 Reverend C.M. Drury found Townsend's manuscript in the possession of L. Alex Mack, Montclair, New Jersey, the great-grandson of Reverend Samuel Parker, a companion of Townsend in Oregon. Drury provided a photostatic copy to the State College of Washington.
FOR DOCUMENTS Author, Description or "Title" of item, date. Collection name, collection number, box, folder. University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives, Moscow, ID.
Essay and list of the birds of Oregon territory, written at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River (16 l.). Accompanied by a typed note from Reverend C.M. Drury describing the manuscript's discovery.