Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 03.djvu/320

 DOWXES

DOWXINd

1832. wlien he removed to tlie United Stiites. lie was iKistor of a Biiptist chureh in Catskill, N.Y.. 1832-31; in Xewinirt, R.I., 1834-36; of various fhurclies in New York city. 1830-52, with the exception of a brief jKistorate at Providence. R.I. ; in Philadelphia. Pa.. 18')2-r)6: in New York citj-, 18.")6-68; and in Newark. N.J.. and New York city, 18(58-78. He wa.s a nienil)er of the council of the University of the city «)f New York. 18r)l-r)3. His son, George Thonaas. born in New York city, June 2. 1849, was educated at the University of the city of New York, Madison university and Crozier theological seminary ; and became a popu- lar Baptist preacher in Providence. R.I.. Syracuse. N.Y.. and Cleveland. Ohio. He died in 1892. John Dowling received from Transylvania uni- versity the honorary degree of D.D. in 1846. He publi.shed: Vimlicntion of ilip Baptists; Exposition of till Prophecii's {IS40) ; Defence of the Protestant Scriptures (1843) ; and History of Romanism (1845). He .lied in Middletown, N.Y., July 4, 1878.

DOWNES, John, naval officer, was born in Canton. Mas.s., Dec. 23, 1784; son of Jesse and Naomi (Taunt) Downes; grandson of Edward and Merriam (or Marj) (Jordan) Downes; and a great-grand.son of Edward and Ruth (Puffer) Downes. He became midshipman in the U.S. navy in 1802 and was promoted lieutenant in 1807, master com- mandant in 1813. and captain in 1817. Dur- ing the war with Tripoli he distin- guished himself in a Ijoat attack, and in the war of 1812, as ixecutive officer of the frigate Essex, he commanded the prize refitted by Captain Porter and named the Essex Junior. He com- ^^^,>• Jt^^^y*i y» manded the brig £>)«•- cr^r^^ oCr-^i^T/t^ ficrand captured the Algerine frigate ^ash- ondn, June 17, 1815, and two days later the brig of war Estido, off Cape Palos. He com- manded the frigate Macedonian in the Pacific, 1819-21, the Java in the Mediterranean, 1828-29, and the Pacific squadron U.S. frigate Potomac, 1832-34. He commandeil the Charle.sto^^^l navy yard, Boston harl)or, 1837^2, 1850-52. He mar- ried. Oct. 30, 1821, Maria Gertrude Hoffman. He died in Charle.stown, Mass., Aug. 11, 1855.

DOWNES, John, naval officer, was born in Brighton. Mass.. Aug. 25. 1822; son of Capt. Jolui and Maria Gertmde (Hoffman) Downes. He entered the navy as midshipman, Sept. 4, 1837.

was promoted passed midshipman in 1843, lieu- tenant in 1851 and commantler in 1852. At the bombardment of Fort McAllister, March 3, 1863, he comimanded the monitor Xahant and operated the same vessel against Fort Sumter, April 7, 1863. He also aided in the capture of the Con- federate iron-clad Atlanta. At the close of the war he was on special duty at the Boston navy yard for a time and then ct)mmanded the Gulf squadron at New Orleans, Lji. He was married, Dec. 18, 1849, to Frances Harrod Foster. He died in New Orleans. La., Sept. 20, 1865.

DOWNEY, John Q., governor of Califomia. was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, June 24, 1826 ; son of John and grandson of Sampson Do\vney. He immigrated to the United States in 1849 and settled in Los Angeles, Cal., where he accumulated a fortune in the gold fields. In 1859 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Califomia and in 1860 became governor, serving two years. He was succeeded in 1862 by Leiand Stanford.

DOWNING, Andrew Jackson, horticvilturist. was born in Xewburg, N.Y., Oct. 30, 1815. His parents were natives of Lexington, Mass., and removed to New York state on their marriage. His father, a prosperous nurseryman, died in 1822, and Andrew's elder brother succeeded to the business. The boy attended IMontgomery academy imtil 1830, when he joined his brother in the nursery, at the same time studying, as his opporttmities allowed, the natural sciences, espe- cially botany and mineralogy. His first literary effort was published in the Xew York Mirror and consisted of a description of the " Danskamer,"' or Devil's Dancing Ground, a point on the Hudson seven miles from Newburg Afterward other es- says wex-e published in various journals. About 1835 he began the .study of art in landscape gardening, and to that end vis ited the estates on the banks of the Hudson. On June 7, 1838, he was married to Caro- line, daughter of John Peter de AVint of Fishkill Landing, and

in tiie .sjime year purchased his brother's interest in the nur.sery. In 1839 he built a house in the Elizabethan style and at the time considered an ideal country residence He tiien began to pub- lish books on his favorite sulijects which imme- diately became popular and estalilished him as an authority on horticultural and rural art. He was

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