Timothy Downen 1830 - 1898
Timothy was the son of George Tillman Downen (1805-1880) and Lucretia Culley (1805-1845). He was born 22 November 1830 in Posey County, Indiana, USA.
He married Rachel Mills (1831-1866) on 1 March 1849 in Posey County. They had the following children:
Lucretia Downen (1849-1920)
Harriet Downen (1851-1875)
Virgil Downen (1853-1853)
Angeline Downen (1854-1919)
Joseph L. Downen (1856-1927)
Felix Downen (1858-1900)
George T. Downen (1860-1932)
John "Bush" Downen (1862-1937)
Esther Downen (1864-1912)
Romelia J. Downen (1866-1921)
After Rachel's death Timothy married Mary E. Keeling (1833 - 1894) on 26 September 1867 in Posey County. They had the following children:
Sarah Jane Downen (1868-1936)
James Downen (1870-1936)
Mark Downen (1872-1947)
Timothy and his family first appeared in the 1860 census, living in Robinson Township in Posey County. (census image here)
Between the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Timothy's wife Rachel died and he remarried Mary Keeling, who is found with him and much of the rest of the family, still in Robinson Township. The three oldest girls 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. In addition, the last child Rachel had before she died, Romelia, was not living with his father and stepmother at this point, he was staying with Thomas and Lucretia Barton Mills, neighbors and relatives who also lived in Robinson Township (Thomas was the brother of Rachel Mills Downen and Lucretia was Timothy's first cousin). The only problem with that arrangement was that Romelia was mistakenly reported by the census as a Mills instead of a Downen. (census image here) (View neighbors in html)
By the 1880 census, there were several new additions to the family and a couple of losses, although the losses were fortunately due to marriage and not death. Mary's daughter Julia Powell married Otis Mills in 1879. Esther Ann married John Allyn in 1878 and Felix married John Allyn's sister Catherine in 1880. Amanda Powell was still living there, although she was listed as a Downen (and yes, Romelia was back in the house and counted properly as a Downen, not a Mills). In addition, a granddaughter was living with them as well, although she is erroneously listed as a daughter. Minnie was the daughter of Tim's oldest son Joseph and Ellen Finch Downen, but Ellen died in 1876 so presumably Joseph moved back into the house to have help taking care of his infant daughter. (census image here)
Mary died in Posey County in January 1894 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery near Mount Vernon in Posey County. All of the younger children were married off by the time of Mary's death except for Mark (or Marcus) who married Cassie Wade in December 1894. Timothy died at Oliver Station (also known as Oliver) in Lynn Township in Posey County on 26 June 1898 and was buried next to Mary.
Other Links
Timothy Downen page at Find A Grave
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