Mary Ann (Momenteller) Downs (1829 - 1908)

Born 7 Jun 1829 in Philadelphia, PA

Ancestors

Wife of John Downs — married before 1850 in Carroll County, Ohio

Died 4 Sep 1908 at age 79 in Arcadia, TX

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Biography

Mary was born in June, 1829 in Phildelphia, PA.
She was a twin, the daughter of Swiss immigrants, Felix Mumenthaler/Momenteller and Barbara Hermann. ^[1]
A few months before her birth, her father, Felix, had gone back to Langenthal, Bern, Switzerland, probably to check on family. His mother had died the year before (1827) and his older brother was sick and eventually died in March, 1829 (3 months after Felix). Anyway, Felix went back to Switzerland in the Fall of 1828 and died suddenly there in Dec, 1828. His wife, Barbary gave birth to twins in Philadelphia in June 1829: Mary Ann & Louisa Rebecca. There is no record of their birth in Langenthal, Switz.

In 1846 Mary Ann's twin sister, Louisa married David K. Lindesmith. He was a cousin of Francis John Lindsmith who was married to Lucetta Momentaller, Mary Ann's older sister.
Dec 1848, Mary Ann's twin sister, Louisa died 5 days after she had given birth to her second child.

Before 1850 Mary Ann married John Down, Jr., probably in Carroll Co, OH.

1850 Carroll Co, Ohio
Downs, John Jr. - 21
. . . . Mary A. - 21 Pa
Lindesmith, Ellen - 3 Ohio (she was Mary Ann’s niece, daughter of her twin sister, Louisa)

In Dec 1850 her brother, Felix died in Carroll County, Ohio.

Mary Ann and John Downs must have been in Carroll Co, OH in 1860, though I can’t find them.

Her sister Lucetta was in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson Co, IL. Lucetta's husband John Lindesmith, wrote to the Downs family in Nov. 1860 and invited them to come see them. They seemed to have later taken them up on the suggestion. Son, Lincoln, was born in Ohio in 1861. They were still in Carroll Co, Oh in 1866 when they buried their son, Lawrence. They probably moved soon afterwards to Illinois.

Before 1870 her sister, Barbara died, maybe in Fayette County, Illinois. Barbara was a widow and maybe moved to Illinois with Mary Ann's family. The Momenteller sisters were very close to each other, and their children remained close.

1870 Kaskaskia, Fayette Co, IL, PO: Shobonier, p 639
Downes, John, 41 (b 1828 OH, farmer, land value 4000, property value 1800
. . . . Mary, 41, keeping house, born in PA
. . . . Frank, 13, born in Ohio
. . . . Sanford, 12, born in Ohio
. . . . Lincoln, 10, born in Ohio
. . . . Lillie, 3, born in IL
[They were on the same page with Mary Ann’s sister, Lucetta Lindesmith (though it’s written Malinda Smith) and nephew Ebenezer Lindesmith (written Ebanezer Smith), and nephew John Morledge, only child of her sister, Barbary Morledge]

In 1874 her oldest sister, Rosian Eitniear, died in Ohio.
In 1878 her sister, Lucetta Lindesmith, died in Fayette County, Illinois. Lucetta's obituary listed only one sister alive, which would be Mary Ann.

1880 Kaskaskia, Fayette Co, IL:
Downs, John Jr - 50 OH (farmer, parents MD / ?)
. . . . Mary Ann - 50 Pa (parents b Switz)
. . . . Loyd S. - 22 OH (parents b Oh Switz)
. . . . E.L. - 18 Oh (parents b Oh Switz)
. . . . Lily J. - 13 IL (parents b Oh Switz)
. . . . Harry J. - 9 IL (parents b Oh Switz)
Haga, Rebecah Other Single Female W 22 IL (Domestic Servant KY/KY)
[This record lists Mary Ann as born in Penn., but all the children's mother is listed as born in Switz]

In 1882 her brother, Jacob Momenteller, died in Jo Daviess County, Illinois (the NW corner of the state).

In 1889 they were probably in Kansas where their grandson James was born. There were several others of Mary Ann’s family in Galena, Kansas in 1889 (the children of her sister Lucetta Lindesmith). The Lindesmiths were moving to Oklahoma, so perhaps the Downs family went with them.

In 1899 her nephew John Momenteller Lindesmith died at age 52. Mary Ann (age 70) wrote a poem for John's widow, Mary. I think this indicates the closeness of the Momenteller sisters and their children.

There is one spot upon this earth My spirit yearns to see

Across the wild prairie land Far, very far, from me.

Yet I would smile when storms arise And every danger brace,

Could I but reach that sacred spot. It is my husband's grave.

There I would lay me down and weep And dream of joys gone by,

When my darling love could sooth each care And every want supply.

There I would gather flowers fair Rich in fragrance and perfume.

The choicest, loveliest, and the rare I'd scatter over his tomb.

I'd plant a cedar by his head A willow at his feet

And, on his breast, oh tell my why Not lay me down and sleep.

There I would rest me free from care Till God would call me home.

And then my loved one's joys I'd share, Far from his earthly tomb.

Farewell, my darling, farewell. We'll not be parted long.

I soon shall join the ransom throng And sing with you redemption's song.

Soon I will leave this gloomy vale And through the gates of death I'll sail

And then our joys will be complete. We'll worship at our Saviour's feet.

They were in Texas by 1900.
1900 Galveston, Texas, 4th-pct, June 8, p. 193:
Downs, John - 72, head, b Sept 1828 Ohio, m 50 yrs, par b MD/OH
. . . . . Mary E. (wife) - 70, b June 1829 PA, 7 ch/4 liv, par b Switz
. . . . . James M (gr-son) - 10, b Dec 1889 KS, par b OH/CO (This must be the son of Frank, Sanford or Lincoln)

They would have lived through the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. In 1900 the population of Galveston was 37,789. (But the census was taken in June, and many families were out of town on vacation.) The cat. 4 hurricane that destroyed Galveston on Sept 8, 1900 was the nation’s deadliest natural disaster, claiming upwards of 8,000 lives on Galveston Island and on the mainland (estimates range from 6,000 to 12,000 killed). There were not any Downs listed on the death index from the storm, and all of Mary Ann's family lived through it.

Her husband John died in 1905 and was buried in Arcadia (now Sante Fe), Texas. Son Lloyd was buried in the same cemetery in 1924.
Mary Ann does not have a stone in this cemetery, however she is listed on a Texas Death list as dying Sept 4, 1908 in the same area, so most likely she is buried with her husband. She was living in Arcadia when she died of cancer after a 6-month illness. Her doctor-son Lloyd signed her death certificate.

Galveston County death records:
Mary A. Downes - died Sept 4, 1908^[2]

Mary Ann was 79 when she died. She outlived all of her siblings.
She had 8 children, 3-4 died young.

FAG^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Momenteller Family - http://rfmin.net/mjgen/momenteller/momenteller.html
2. ↑ Death record - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgalves/GalvestonDeathRecords/galvestoncountydeathrecords_d.html
3. ↑ FAG - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102887836/mary-ann-downs

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L1JC-T21