Timothy Downen 1777 - 1828
Timothy Downen was born in 1777 in what was then Pendleton District or Pendleton County, but the area is now part of Anderson County, South Carolina. He was the son of Josiah Downen (1740-1802) and Mary Elizabeth Smith (1747-1835).
Timothy married Jane (maiden name Brice or Lacey) (1782-1852) about 1804, probably in Tennessee. They had the following children:
George Tillman Downen (1805-1880)
Brice Martin Downen (1807-1876)
Elizabeth Downen (1808-1902)
Eletha Downen (1810-1884)
James H. Downen (1812-1880)
John Downen (1814-1872)
Thomas Downen (1816-1877)
William Downen (1818-1828)
Louisa Jane Downen (1820-1899)
Mary Downen (1823-Unknown)
I have not had a lot of luck finding Timothy in the census records, but fortunately there are other sources that document some of his life. His oldest son George was born in October 1805 in Giles County, Tennessee. According to the Downen genealogy wiki, Timothy moved to Kentucky about 1806 to join the rest of his family there, and paid $50 for 100 acres on Pond River in
Muhlenberg County, where his next three children were born.
In 1811 Timothy and several of his brothers moved to the southwest corner of Indiana, to what would soon become Posey County. In September that year he joined a militia company under William Henry Harrison and in November fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe against Tecumseh's forces, where he was badly wounded.
In 1815 Timothy served on the first petit jury in Posey County. In 1818 he was named Constable of Marrs Township in Posey County. In 1820 Timothy purchased 80 acres of land in Robinson Township in Posey County from his brother Josiah for $500. Timothy's farm was just south of what is now Blairsville, Indiana.
On 28 December 1828 Timothy was killed by a runaway horse. He was buried in the Timothy Downen Cemetery that is on property that was part of his farm at the time of his death. Jane died in 1852 and is buried there as well, along with other family members and relatives by marriage.
This is what the Downen Wiki has to say about the Timothy Downen Cemetery (this is more information than is on the Find A Grave page for the cemetery):
"Today, the Timothy Downen cemetery sits on private farm property, surrounded by a five-foot chain link fence erected by his descendants. A bronze plaque marks the site, and briefly describes the Downen settlement in this area. To visit the homestead site and cemetery, take Route 66 to Blairsville, Indiana. Take the gravel road heading south out of Blairsville, and go two miles. Turn right (west) onto the old "Downen Road" and go approximately one mile to the bronze marker on the left side of the road. The old cemetery sits in a grove of trees on the ridge of the field behind it."
One of Timothy's third great-grandsons was Glen Miner, who was a local historian of Gallatin County, Illinois. He mentioned Timothy in his book Cemeteries of Gallatin County, Illinois, Book 1, 1973-4 (Here is a link to an online copy of the book). The following is from page xxiv of the introduction:
"Josiah Downen, Jr. had entered this 160 acres (of land in Posey County) in 1814, sold the south half in 1820 to his elder brother, Timothy, who built a log house on the northwest side of the tract. George T., son of Timothy, purchased the other 80 acres including Josiah Jr's old home in 1831."
"When I decided in the early 1940's to search for the old place, the picture had changed, though Downen descendants still owned the farm. Only a pear tree remained from the orchard, the old house with the big fireplace had been gone for 25 years, the new house now old was filled with hay. The spring had been filled in, but it was found on a later trip. Its cool water had found another outlet much farther down the hill. The cemetery was near to where I expected to find it. It was on the ridge, perhaps 300 yards south of the George T. Downen home, and east of where I have heard the Timothy Downen home was located. The cemetery, almost forgotten, was covered with brush and briers and many of the stones were down, but it still told its story. Timothy's marker, (1777-1828), was the oldest, but there were many others, relatives and neighbors."
Other Links
Timothy Downen page at Find A Grave
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