John Downing (abt. 1650 - abt. 1698)

Born about 1650 in Wicomico Parish, Northumberland, Colony of Virginia

Husband of Elizabeth (Hughlett) Downing — married after 24 Feb 1671 in Fairfield, Northumberland, Virginia

Descendants

Died about May 1698 at about age 48 in Fairfield Parish, Northumberland, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

John Downing is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

John Downing was a Virginia colonist.

Native Virginian

John Downing^[1] was born in Northumberland, Colony of Virginia. He married Elizabeth Hughlett in about 1665. (Source needed. John would have been about 14 -16 years of age if birth estimate is close.)

Note that this marriage date certainly conflicts with the British baptism of one John Downing (son of William Downing) recorded at Silkstone with Stainborough, All Saints, West Yorkshire, England, recorded on 14 August 1659. It would seem to eliminate the John Downing of West Yorkshire as a match (found on Ancestry.com) for this profile.

John Downing died in 1698, not long after his youngest son, John B. Downing, III, was born. ^[2] His will was proved 18 May 1698.^[3]

Parents

John Downing was the second son, second child of William Downing and his wife Margaret of Northumberland, Virginia. Margaret's maiden name is unknown. His birth year is estimated to be 1650 because he is said to be the second son, and his brother William, Jr. is described elsewhere as having been born in 1649. Both boys received a gift deed from their father on 27 Jan 1668. No mention is made during the discussion of this gift as to whether either son was of age or not.

The narrative in The Downings of Northumberland County by Mrs. O. A. Keach is not clear to me in the third paragraph on p. 189 regarding the date of marriage of William and Margaret. Clearly, he already had at least three children by January 27, 1668/69 as demonstrated in the second paragraph which told of gifts he made to his children, but the third paragraph says that he married Margaret ____ 7 Jun 1679. The fourth paragraph, same page, then lists seven children, saying the last, Charles, was by a second marriage, yet Margaret Downing was clearly the widow of Capt. Downing who died about September 1683. Perhaps Charles was indeed born of a second marriage, and that marriage was to Margaret, married in 1679. Who then, was his first wife and mother to the other six children? Reading between the lines, one might surmise that the sixth child, "probably a daughter" died in childbirth as did her mother. On the other hand, in John Downing of Fairfields, Northumberland County, Virginia, and his Descendants, Ms. Keach names seven children, with Charles' being mentioned fifth, and two daughters, with names and husbands. Charles' being named fifth may well be a function of her listing the sons first, followed by the daughters.

John's father is described as "Captain William Downing of Great Wicomico River, planter." A look at a map shows that the the Great Wicomico River and the LIttle Wicomico River run about parallel to one another within the bounds of present-day Northumberland County, in a northwesterly direction. The Great Wicomico is 15-16 miles long, and the LIttle Wicomico is 9-10 miles long. At times, researchers have taken this description of William to mean that this family was seated in Wicomico, Virginia which is an unincorporated community over 50 miles to the south in Gloucester County. So, even though Northumberland County was parent to over 100 other counties over time, the rivers (streams officially) never moved and are contained within the current bounds of Northumberland County. It can be said, over the course of time, that the area was known as Wicomico Parish. If fact, the area represented by the zip code 22579 is called Wicomico Church. The zip code for Wicomico, the unincorporated community, is 23184. Also see, "Parishes of Virginia".^[4]

Marriages

(1) by implication, p. 42 of John Downing, Part I, he may have married the widow of Andrew Cockrill, and served as guardian to John Cockrill, Andrew's son.

(2) Elizabeth, p. 42. The will of Mrs. John Downing was presented in court 15 Oct 1715, by her executor, Mr. Thomas Hughlett.

There is an implication that Elizabeth was the mother of John and possibly a younger sister, Ann. John's widow was suing Hughletts on behalfof her son John, pesumably regarding his interest in "maternal inheritance". Why was his older brother Samuel not party to that suit?

Other points of interest

On November 19, 1684, John Downing was serving as attorney to Mr. Samuel Typton.

He served as church warden of Fairfields parish and was a member of the house of Burgesses in 1693^[5] and a Justic of the Peace in 1694 and succeeding years.

In May 1695, his half brother, Charles, chose Mr. John Downing his guardian. Charles was likely born between 1680 and 1683,

Death

The will of Mr. John Downing was proved 18 May 1698 by the oaths of David Spence, Thomas Hobson and John Simpkin. Mrs. Elizabeth Downing, his widow, was his executrix.

Sources

1. ↑ Downing, John - A2307; died 1699, Northumberland Co.: 1693 (Burgess). accessed 29 July 2021
2. ↑ Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly. Vol. II. Cobb-Hay
3. ↑ Keach, Mrs. O.A. "John Downing of Fairfields, Northumberland County, Virginia, and His Descendants," William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 25 (1916) pp. 41 - 51.
4. ↑ Parishes of Virginia
5. ↑ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Colonial Virginia Register. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers. 1902. Page 89.

• Keach, Mrs. O.A. "The Downings of Northumberland County" William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 24 (1916) pp. 189 - 193. William Downing Jr., his wife Mary, and their daughters Elizabeth, Ann and Margery are mentioned on page 190.
• Keach, Mrs. O.A. "John Downing of Fairfields, Northumberland County, Virginia, and His Descendants," William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 25 (1916) pp. 41 - 51.
• The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jan., 1916), pp. 189-193; Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1915128; Accessed: 20-12-2018 21:50 UTC

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Downing-393 created through the import of Bowler_Kedy_Gaehring_Youngman(1).ged on Oct 1, 2012 by Matt Bowler.