Ralph Townsend was born on November 27, 1900The Department of State, Register of the Department of State Biographic Register 1932 (Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1932), 255. in Raynham, North Carolina to "one of Robeson county's oldest and most prominent families.""Townsend Faces Serious Charges," The Robesonian, 2 February 1942, 6. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com He was the son of Richard Walter Townsend (1859–1937) and Mara Aurora McDuffie Townsend (1866–1906). He had four sisters and brothers, including Dallas Townsend, Sr. After graduating from Mount Hermon Preparatory School in Massachusetts,Martell et al., 1411."Aged Schoolmaster Travels Over World Visiting Old 'Boys'," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 16 January 1934, 3. he attended Columbia University in New York City and in 1924 received his degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism."Son of Robeson Man Named Vice Consul at Montreal," The Robesonian, 29 January 1931, 4. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com He worked as a journalist in San Francisco for several years before returning to New York where he taught English at Columbia University from 1927 to 1930. On 11 November 1930 he passed the foreign service test and was posted to Montreal, Canada, as vice-consul on 20 December 1930."Pass Foreign Service Test," The New York Times, 12 November 1930, 48.The Department of State, Foreign Service List 1931 (Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1931), 62.
