Downing, Lewis (1792-1873)

Name:

Downing, Lewis (1792-1873)

Title:

Fire Warden, Town of Concord, 1835
Member, Unitarian Church, Concord
Member, New Hampshire House of Representatives, 1864, 1865

Born:

06/23/1792

Birthplace:

Lexington, MA

Died:

03/10/1873

Death Location:

Concord, NH

Residence:

Lexington, MA
Concord, NH May, 1813-March, 1873

Nationality:

American

Occupation:

Carriage and Coach Manufacturer

Father:

Downing, Samuel (1757-1822)

Mother:

Brown, Susanna (1764-1843)

Relations:

Guardian of Lucretia Abbott (1812-1899; m. Dolliver Johnson 1837; dau. of Anna Eaton & Thomas Abbott).
Grandfather of Lucy Downing
Siblings:
Downing, Polly (1783-; b. Lexington, MA; m. 1805)
Downing, Oliver (1785-; b. Lexington, MA)
Downing, Samuel (1786-1864; b. Lexington, MA; m1. Lucy Learned; m2. Lydia Blodgett 1819 Lexington, MA; children; d. Somerville, MA)
Downing, Susanna (1788-; b. Lexington, MA; m. 1817)
Downing, Sally (1790-; b. Lexington, MA)
Downing, William (1796-1814; b. Lexington, MA; d. in War of 1812, Battle of Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls, Ontario)

Partnership, Downing & Abbot, Concord, 1828-1847
(Lewis Downing & J. Stephens Abbot)
Partnership, Lewis Downing & Sons, Concord, 1847-1865
(Lewis Downing, Sr., Lewis Downing, Jr., and Alonxo Downing)
Partnership, Abbot, Downing & Company, Concord, 1865-1873
(J. Stephens Abbot, Edward A. Abbot, Joseph H. Abbot, Lewis Downing, Jr., and Alonzo Downing)
Partnership, Abbot-Downing Company, Concord, 1873-

Spouse:

Lucy Wheelock (1792-1883), May 23, 1815

Children:

Lucy Maria, born September 19, 1818; died April 11, 1884, m. Benjamin Grover
Lewis, born December 6, 1820; died August 19, 1901, m. Clara French, dau. Gertrude.
Alonzo, born December 28, 1822; died July 3, 1877, m. 1, Marianna M. Sanborn; m. 2 Hannah E. Marden, 4 children)
Mary Ann, born January 25, 1826; died April 16, 1903
Emily, born July 28, 1828; died August 20, 1829
Ellen, born July 28, 1828; died September 2, 1917; m. Joseph C. A. Hill.

Notes:

1826, arranged with J. Stephens Abbott to come to Concord to build 3 coach bodies. He became a partner in Downing & Abbott in 1826. The first coach appeared in 1827. He advertised in local papers and later took trips West to advertise his products. The company set up offices in several cities including New York, Boston, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The firm was dissolved in 1847; L. Downing & Sons building new shops, Abbot continuing at the old shop. The two firms operated until Mr. Downing retired in 1865, and his sons joined Abbot in Abbot, Downing & Co. Lewis Downing died March 10, 1873, age 81. One of the original members of the Unitarian Universalist Church to which through his will he gives approximately $20,000 from the Lewis Downing Trust.

D. Hamilton Hurd, Editor. History of Merrimack and Belknap Counties, New Hampshire. (Philadelphia, Pennsyvania: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1885), 140-142.

Judson D. Van Slyck, New England Manufacturers and Manufactories. In Two Volumes... Volume I. (Boston, Massachusetts: Van Slyck and Company, 1879), 235.

Abbot-Downing Company Collection, New Hampshire Historical Society

Old North Cemetery, Concord, NH