Joseph L. Downen 1856 - 1927
Joseph was the son of Timothy Downen (1830-1927) and Rachel Mills (1831-1866). He was born 13 March 1856 in Posey County, Indiana, USA.
He married Ellen Finch (ca. 1854 - 1878) on 8 April 1873 in Posey County. They had the following children:
Minnie Downen (1874-1948)
Walter Orville Downen (1878-1952)
After Ellen's death Joseph married Josie Gearien (1864-1925). They had the following children:
Urenea Downen (1884-1894)
Alvin P. Downen (1888-1951)
Joseph first appeared with his family in the 1860 census, living in Robinson Township in Posey County. (census image here)
Between the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Joseph's mother Rachel died and his father remarried Mary E. Keeling, who is found with much of the rest of the family in the 1870 census, still in Robinson Township. Three of Joseph's older sisters were gone; Lucretia had married David Wilson in 1867, Harriet married James Edwards (also in 1867), and Angeline married Charles Keeling in 1868. Mary brought along her daughters Julia and Amanda Powell, ages 10 and 8, from her previous marriage. (census image here) (View neighbors in html)
Joseph married Ellen Finch in 1873 and had two children with her
(the census records are conflicted, some indicate the kids were born in Illinois and some Indiana, I am now leaning towards the children being born in Posey County) but Ellen died in 1878 and at the time of the 1880 census Joseph was back with his father and stepmother in Posey County. His daughter Minnie is there with him, but Walter is not. From what I can tell from the census records, Walter was living with his grandaunt Jane Downen Moye in Gallatin County as of the 1880 census, he is referred to as a nephew to her but I have found it is common for more complex relationships to be simplified when the information was given to the census takers. Back in Posey County, Minnie was erroneously listed in the census as a daughter of Timothy's and not a granddaughter. (census image here)
Joseph married Josie Gearien in 1882, although I don't know where. I have a suspicion it was Missouri because Josie and her family appear to have been living in McDonald County, Missouri as of the 1880 census, and Joseph and Josie's son Alvin's birthplace was listed as Missouri in later census records.
Joseph and Josie next appeared in the 1900 census in Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, along with their son Alvin. (census image here)
I don't know what brought the family out that way, but 1910 found them in Elkhorn Township in San Joaquin County, California. (census image here)
I have not been able to locate Joseph and Josie in the 1920 census but I did find their son Alvin in Fort Bend County, Texas; he was married by that time and had been living there since at least 1917, when he registered for the draft there.
Josie died in Oklahoma City in 1925 and Joseph died in Harris County, Texas on 17 October 1927. Both are buried in Rosenberg Cemetery in Fort Bend County, along with their son Alvin and Joseph's son Walter.
Other Links
Joseph Downen page at Find A Grave
Contact us
Return to Mills-Miller Family Tree
Return to Online Trees Page
Return to Families Page
Return to Genealogy Pages
Return to Main Page