Downie Family

If you came to this page because you are a relative of the Downies, perhaps exploring your genealogy, please help me develop this section of the book. I need pictures, letters from the past, documents, internet links, and I need your opinion and editing. You will also notice that I have sections with no comments or information associated- very often, for example, the Naturalization records category has no comments- I have not gotten around to this area of research. If you can help with the research for these missing sections, I would greatly appreciate your help. Join with me to make this tribute to the Downie family accurate and memorable. Thank you! Email me at baldwind@sisd.cc.

Date of arrival: 1848

Settled: Five miles southeast of the town of Almont.

Pioneer Family: John Downie was born on Cotton Street, Paisley, Scotland June 3, 1787.

Jenet (Sproul) Downie was born in Paisley, Scotland October 11, 1789. Her father was Andrew Sproul.

Married: John Downie married Jenet Sproul.

Children:

Surname spelling variations:
Family genealogists who helped with the book: Jeanne Forristal

Neighbors (taken from census records and plats):

John Marshall worked for John Downie as a pattern drawer in Paisley.

Intermarriages:
John Downie married Jean Reid.

Jean Downie married William Hamilton.

John Downie married Jenet Sproul (the Sprouls were Swedenborgian Scots in Paisley, I believe).

Religion:
Jean Downie and William Hamilton were founding members of the Swedenborgian Church in Berlin Township.

Affiliations (political, social, educational, etc.):

Occupation:
Naturalization Records:
Census Data:
1850 Federal Census for Township, County:

1860 Federal Census for Township, County:

1870 Federal Census for Township, County:

Letters and documents:

A family history of the Downies was complied by James Hunter Downie. It also references the Hopkins family and Hamiltons. There are several interesting hints within the document that potentially draw together members of the settlement. It is clear, for example, that although the Downie and Hamilton families were spread throughout the Scottish Settlement, they were integrally involved with the development of the Swedenborgian Scots who came from Paisley in the early 1830's.

There is a Port Downie, a Downie Foundry, Downie castle, and a Downie Oatmeal Mill (probably on the River Carron) where this branch of the family appears to have lived prior to some members coming to America. John Downie is the first relative traced in the family history- he was the owner of the Downie Mill. His son, also John Downie became a blacksmith in Paisley. He married Jean Reid, and they had three kids: John; Jean (Hamilton); and Margaret.

This third John Downies (son of the blacksmith) was born on Cotton Street, Paisley, June 3, 1787. He married Janet Sproul. He became a master weaver, setting up looms for others, designing patterns, and eventually hiring others to run a (for a while) successful business. Janet set up a potato shop and sold potatoes as another business. The weaving business slowly grew. He hired two pattern drawers, James Ronald and John Marshall. By 1848 trade had fallen off, the potato famine was impacting Ireland and Scotland in a big way, and emigration from the homeland was routine. The family business was closed out and they sailed for America. Jean (Downie) Hamilton and her husband William Hamilton were a founding members of the Swedenborgian Church in the Scottish community in Berlin Township, St. Clair County. William Hamilton had come to the Scottish Settlement before the Downies and the Downie family stayed with them when they first arrived in America. From the Downie memoirs: "When they arrived, there was not room for them all in the Hamilton home, which was a small log house, and part of the family lived for a while with the Wassons, who lived a quarter of a mile away. The Wassons had settled there in 1835. " John Downie eventually bought a farm near the Hamiltons and settled there. John Marshall was also a founding member of the Swedenborgian community. Presumably, the aforementioned John Marshall, pattern drawer for John Downie, is the very same man who immigrated to Michigan as part of the New Church community of Paisley, Scotland pioneers. Family (Clan) History: Family Tree: Research Problems: The Downies moved to Chatham, Ontario to avoid the Civil War- which Downies? some stayed I think.