A Tennant Family

William Downey Sr immigrated from Scotland to Canada with his wife Mary Wilson. He was killed at work when he fell from the roof of the Tin Cap School Building during its construction.

"My father was William Downey Jr, born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, 8 May 1838. His father was a carpenter and joiner and while working on the Tin Cap School House in Brockville, he fell from the building and was killed. Some one was asked to go tell his wife but by some error she had not been told of his death and when the body was brought home to her, she was taken with convulsions which lasted for several days and until after her little sone was born, which she named for his father, William Downey (Jr). The mother was cared for by kind neighbors. A family by the name of Burns was particularly kind and kept up the acquaintance with father. After a few years his mother (Mary Willson Downey) married an army captain, John Miles.

Father's Mother's maiden name was Mary Wilson but he never knew what family of Wilsons he belonged to. I am writing to see if in the year 1838 there was money deposited in this bank for Mrs. William Downey and who the person was who deposited it. I have been told there was money deposited for her by someone of her family and it never was used and probably at a later date was taken back. My father was born 8 May 1838. William Downey Jr came to Morristown, St. Lawrence, New York when a child 8 or 9 years old and lived hisentire life here. He died in 1920 without knowing anything of his family.

Father was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. He came to this country, USA, when he was 8 years old. He came with a Frenchman named Roshette who lived in a cabin somewhere near the village of the Mill road. Mr. Roshette lived alone and felt that Billy should have a home, perhaps with some of the surrounding farm families.

So it happened one day in harvest time that the threshing machine was at the Pringal place and MR. Roshette said for Billy to go over ther where the men of the neighborhood were threshing and see if some one of them might take Billy home with them. So Billy went and I realy think Mr. Roshette had told him to ask if there were any of the men that needed a boy to help them. However, there was a Mr. John Bristow there, and one of the men spoke up and said, "John, here is the boy you have been wanting." Just a little way off there was a field of grain and also some pigs running around loose and John Bristow said, "Let's see if you can get those pigs out of the grain" At that, Billy, eager to please scampered after the pigs and got them even though he was a little barefooted boy and there were plenty of thistles. There was a lot of loud laughter and joking among the men, saying he's your boy John, etc. However at the end of the day and the men went home, John Bristow took Billy home with him and he was their adopted son and all the older people knew him as Billy Downey.

The Bristow farm still belongs to the Downey family thru Carl and Jessie Downey Fay. My father always remembered the girl Mary Hindmarsh, who at that time was working fro the Bristows. She evidently did not like the idea of adding Billy to the family and said to Mr. Bristow, "I don't know why you brought that little devil here." Many years later I've heard my father laugh and tell her of it. My father married her youngest sister Sarah Hindmarsh."

A note from Caroline Dunn said, "Claire Garvin states Mary Wilson was of President Wilson's family. (The records could prove this true or false.)