[8] Luke Townsend – who was the au pair for James Townsend's daughter, Mary, prior to his emancipation – established the first Sunday School in Putnam County and is credited as the founder of the congregation that eventually became Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greencastle, Indiana, at one time the largest Black church in Indiana.

[11] According to a 1942 article in The Daily Banner of Greencastle, Luke Townsend was after death remembered as "one of the best citizens the county has had.

[8] One son, Robert Townsend, served in the 28th United States Colored Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War.

[13] Another son was among the witnesses who, in the late 1800s, testified against a man arrested for harassing Black youths playing in a field in Putnam County in what became the first case of a white citizen being criminally convicted on the basis of the testimony of a Black citizen in Putnam County.

[13] Luke Townsend's son Jay, who was still alive as of 1933, established a reputation as one of "Greencastle's most respected citizens".