Job Downen 1825 - After 1860
At the time I first wrote this page in 2011 I had believed that the Job Downen who married Mary Stockton in 1849 in McDonough County, Illinois, was the same Job Downen who married Ellen Coker in 1856 in Posey County, Indiana.
I have since realized that they are two different people. The reason for the confusion was pretty simple. They were first cousins who were born within a year or so of each other in Posey County. After doing more research on Johnson Downen's line I have determined that he and his whole family moved to McDonough County by 1840 and that is probably where his son Job Downen (the one who married Mary Stockton) died in 1855. There is a link to his page here.
Once I determined that I was dealing with two different Job Downens, that left me the question of who was the Job Downen who married Ellen Coker in 1856 in Posey County. Fortunately, this question was solved with a small bit of research.
That Job Downen was born in Posey County, Indiana, USA, on 8 February 1825. I don't have a source for that date but is it least a plausible date since the census records show Job was born circa 1825. He was the son of Josiah Downen (1780-1845) and Ann Barton (1792-1845).
Job married a Jane (maiden name unknown) before 1850, probably in Posey County. She either died or they were divorced before 1860, probably the former. No children are known from this marriage.
Job next married Ellen Coker (ca. 1839-After 1860) on 10 July 1856 in Posey County. The following child was born to that marriage:
William M. Downen (1857-1926)
I found Job and his first wife Jane in the 1850 census in Posey County. His surname was rendered as Downing in this census. In addition to the couple there is a Willis Barton (born 1850) living there. Job's mother was a Barton, his brother William married a Barton, and for all we know his wife Jane was a Barton or a descendant of a Barton, so Willis was probably related to Job or Jane or both of them. A link follows to a copy of the census on Family Search Dot Org (registration required but absolutely free as of 2019). census image here
Job only appeared one more time in the census records (along with Ellen and William) in the 1860 census in Lynn Township of Posey County. (census image here)
Job and Ellen dropped off the map after the 1860 census. There are related Downens found in Illinois and Missouri after that, so Job and Ellen may have just moved away. There is also a marriage record of a Job Downen marrying a Hariet Crunk in Posey County in 1864, but I believe this was another cousin of his who was born in the early 1840s.
In any event, Job and Ellen's son William showed up in the 1870 census living in the household of his uncle William Downen in Robinson Township of Posey County. The fact that their son was living with an uncle in 1870 at age 12 strongly implies that Job or Ellen or both of them were dead by then. They may not have died in Posey County but I can't find them anywhere else after 1860. It is of course possible that Job died and Ellen remarried, but if that happened I have no idea what her surname would have been after that, making it difficult to say for sure what happened to her
When I first wrote this page since I was confused about the two different Jobs, I had thought that the William Downen that their son William was living with in 1870 was his first cousin twice removed, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. Since I sorted it out and figured out he was an uncle, it makes a lot more sense. And once again Occam's Razor emerges triumphant ...
In any event, not knowing where or when Job or Ellen died, obviously, I also don't know where either one of them is buried.
Other Links:
Job Downen page on Family Search Dot Org
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