William Fresh Downing (1838 - 1887)

Born 20 Apr 1838 in Lewis County, Missouri

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Elizabeth (Berry) Downing — married 23 Mar 1876 in Knox, Missouri

Descendants

Died 6 Jan 1887 at age 48 in Santa Clara County, California

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Biography

DOWNING ROAD Downing Road, which branches off of Calaveras Road in the hills to the east to Milpitas, isn’t really within Milpitas city limits, but it nonetheless commemorates a family and their ranch which was very important to Milpitas history.

The William F. Downing family came from Nevada in 1881 and bought land east of the Evans ranch and north of Laguna Valley, where Downing Road was later cut into Calaveras Road. The ranch was purchased from Henry Curtner and was part of Ranchos Tularcitos and Agua Caliente.

One of the first to rent land from the Downing's was Joseph Silva, who came to the area in 1886 and whose family continued to farm the land half way through the 20th century.

William F. Downing’s son, George Lucas Downing, (1879-1931) continued the tradition of tenant farming.

He encouraged the local Portuguese farmers, whose knowledge of farming and willingness to work he respected, to send for their relatives in the Azores Islands. He would give them a house, a barn, a cow, and a plot of land. Two thirds of their season’s profit would go to the tenant farmer, and the rest would go to Mr. Downing. As many as 30 tenant families farmed the Downing land, grateful for the opportunity to come the United States.

In 1903, Airpoint School was built at the corner of Downing Road and Calaveras Road, so that children of the Downing and other nearby ranches would have a school within reasonable distance of their homes. George Lucas Downing was a long-time trustee of Airpoint School.

George Lucas Downing and his wife Georgia had three children, Jerome and Lorraine, both of whom died young, and Suzanne, who grew up to marry the younger George Abel, the son of another pioneer Milpitas settler. March 1, 2012 by mhs

1880 United States Census, Milpitas, Santa Clara, California, William Downing, age 42, birth date abt. 1838, birthplace Missouri, white, male, head, married, spouse's name: Elizabeth Downing, Father and Mother's birthplace Maryland, occupation: farmer, household members: William Downing age 42, self, Elizabeth Downing, age 27, wife, George Downing age 1, son.

1880 United States Census, Spring Valley, Elko, Nevada, W.F. Downing, age 42, birth date abt. 1838, birthplace Missouri, white, ale, self, married, Father's birthplace Kentucky, Mother's birthplace Maryland, occupation: stock raiser.

California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898, William Fresh Downing, age 44, birth year abt. 1838, birthplace Missouri, residence year: 1882, residence place: Santa Clara, California.

Copy of the Great Register of Santa Clara County, William Fresh Downing, age 44, birthplace Missouri, occupation: land owner, local residence: Milpitas, California, Date of Registration: 03/20/1882.

Buried at Irvington Memorial Cemetery, Fremont, Alameda County, California.

Sources

Milpitas Historical Society https://milpitashistoricalsociety.org/milpitas-history/milpitas-street-names/downing-road/.

Ancestry.com: 1880 United States Census.

California, U.S. Voter Registers, 1866-1898.

Chronicles of The Builders of the Commonwealth Volume 3, Historical Character Study by Hubert Howe Bancroft. 1892.

Find-A-Grave website Memorial #25429761.