Manly B. Townsend was born in Sidney, Maine on May 8, 1803.
He was a graduate of Waterville College and practiced law in Calais from 1831 to 1842 and in Alexander from 1842 to 1849.
A member of the Maine Senate from 1844 to 1846 he served as President of that body in 1845.
He died in Alexander, Maine on December 7, 1849 at the age of forty-six.
Perhaps a longer biography of Townsend’s public life could have been written had he lived longer but a different explanation may be discerned from a description of him given in "The First Century of the Bench & Bar in Maine": "Manly B. Townsend was a man of fine feelings and fair talents...but having married a wealthy lady, daughter of the late Abner Sawyer, he abandoned his profession, moved to Alexander, and engaged in agriculture..."
Whatever else Manly B. Townsend may have been it is obvious from the above that he was rational enough that, when presented the opportunity, he preferred the life of a country gentleman over that of a public servant.