Justine Van Rensselaer Townsend

Justine Van Rensselaer was born in Albany, New York, on September 18, 1828, to Stephen Van Rensselaer IV and Harriet Elizabeth Bayard. The Van Rensselaers were a prominent Dutch family; her father was familiarly known as the “Young Patroon” and “the last of the patroons.” In February 1853, Justine married Howard Townsend, an Albany physician. His father’s Stirling Iron Works forged the chain barrier that kept the British Navy from deploying up the Hudson River during the American Revolution. Dr. Townsend died in 1867, leaving his wife and four children.

Serving as Vice Regent for New York from 1876 to 1891, Mrs. Townsend personally funded the restoration of the large dining room after its ceiling collapsed in 1885. She also raised thousands of dollars for Mount Vernon’s endowment fund through performances in New York City of two productions, The Sleeping Beauty and The Mistletoe Bow. She financially supported the installation in 1878 of the “burglar alarm telegraph,” which linked the first president’s tomb to the bedrooms of several employees living on the estate.