William J. Downing

Florence Downing's father is my ggrandfather. I find him interesting and easily forgotten. My grandmother, Florence was very close to her mother but her father was often working at lumber camps and it took him away from home. My interest in him is that his family has been in this country the longest of all our relatives. His name is a concern. He is referred to as William J Downing and as John W Downing. Grandma's marriage license to Peter refers to her father as John Downing. We have a Social Security application filled out by Florence she refers to him as John. There is a wedding announcement found by Nancy Halli of in the Rathsman's Journal, June 21, 1882, that calls him JW Downing.

On Sunday, April 30, 1882 at Houtzdale by Rev. W.S. Wilson, Mr. J. W. Downing of Luthersburg and Miss Mollie Krine of Snow Shoe.

After some searching we found listed as a resident of the Rumbarger Cemetery. Here he is listed as William J. Downing 1856 - 1911. We didn't find him in the cemetery but in the listing at the library.
The reason it can be confusing is when searching for him we are not always sure of the data. In the 1860 census records he is five-years old and he is John. It took me a while to be convinced it is him but after searching all the Pennsylvania records, I am convinced it is him. When we see him with the same parents at forteen years of age, in the 1870 census, he is John W. Downing. I wonder if he was born John but preferred the name William. The Downing's have been in Pennslvania for a long time. Henry is his father. I do not find him in any of the previous census but interestingly enough I do have a John in this area having a nice size family and it is th 1790 census. I want to make a connection between Henry and this John. I would also like to see if this John served in the Revolutionary War.