Born in England, Downing grew to be local photographer

This full-page albumen contact print of Thomas Burge Ayres (1832-1906) became taken by William H. Downing.

Courtesy photograph

this is a newspaper commercial from the Hillsboro information-Herald's June 2, 1886 edition.

Courtesy photograph

Editor's word — here is a narrative compiled through Christopher S. Duckworth, a longtime Ohio historic Society worker with household ties to Hillsboro and Greenfield, about late Hillsboro photographer William Henry Downing.

William Henry Downing, a painter and photographer, became born in Mullion, Cornwall, England on Aug. 12, 1842. earlier than his first birthday his parents, Joseph and Christiana, sailed from Liverpool aboard the Columbus certain for manhattan metropolis. On Jan. 9, 1843, the ship docked and the Downing household disembarked. They traveled first to Illinois and then to Ohio.

within the 1870 and 1880 census, William Henry Downing listed himself as a portrait painter, a profession that he apparently certainly not abandoned. however when and the place he discovered images is unknown, he turned into an lively and accomplished photographer by age 25. at the moment, he become the accomplice of Edward B. Christmas in Mansfield. Their enterprise, Christmas and Downing, become in company from at the least 1867 to 1868.

Downing moved to Hillsboro early in the 1870s, the place he became practiced as both an completed portrait painter and a photographer. From 1872 to 1888, he became one of the vital city's premier photographers who hobbies worried more than studio and darkroom.

quickly after arriving in Highland County, he met Mary Cecilia Grand Girard. She had been born in White alrightTownship in 1841 to folks Emile and Georgiana. In August 1873, the couple married and three years later celebrated the delivery of their son and only baby, Grand Girard Downing.

Downing, by way of all appearances, was fairly a success. He no longer only had his portrait clientele, however he also took photos of native corporations, stereoscopic views of remarkable Highland County websites, and other genres. In 1879, he purchased Newton Langley's Photographic Gallery on East leading road in Hillsboro. previously, the studio had been owned and operated by William Alexander Morrow (instances-Gazette, March 15, 2021). Downing became a skillful self-promoter whose name generally regarded within the newspapers. in a single note, the newspaper remarked that "W. H. Downing, the East main street photographer, has definitely made a very good offer to those desiring photos. Six large cabinets for $1 was by no means provided right here before.

He did not confine himself completely to taking particular person and community portraits. Upon the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881, Downing provided memorial pictures that he had copied from pictures of the late president. 4 years later, he hired Albert D. Frazee, an artist formerly from Cincinnati, and promised that "all enthusiasts of the ny forms of place should still provide him an order." In a competitive company, Downing become an imaginitive entrepreneur as well as an accomplished photographer.

Downing also became lively in numerous public and civic affairs. amongst other activities, he turned into chaplain of a fraternal lodge. Mary additionally was busy and frequently seemed within the society component of the newspaper. Hillsboro apparently had become their centered domestic. Then, in March 1888, they introduced "condo for hire—suitable for 2 families. apply to W. H. Downing, at gallery."

The Downing family unit was leaving Hillsboro, their domestic, and the ostensibly successful photography gallery. In September 1888, the news-Herald announced that "Mr. Wm. Downing has bought his photographic gallery to Mr. Chas. Fisher of Cincinnati." a week later, the newspaper disclosed that Downing's fellow Hillsboro photographer "Mr. J. Z. Foulk is idea by using the Hillsboro Gazette to be going with Mr. Downing; at least Mr. Foulk has sold his artist's outfit to Mr. Theodore George of Waverly." What triggered the nearly simultaneous exodus of these two prominent pictures is unknown.

whereas John Zimmerman Foulk endured to pursue his career in photography and eventually landed a position on the prestigious Barker paintings Gallery in Columbus, William and Mary Downing followed a much diverse route.

The couple moved from Hillsboro to Dayton, the place by using 1900 William had switched careers to become a carpenter. The couple next moved to Cincinnati the place he endured in the carpentry exchange. In February 1904, Mary died of "dropsy," which today we know as edema, an abnormal accumulation of fluid in a physique cavity or mobile tissues. Her funeral changed into held in Wilmington, in the domestic of a sister. Mary become buried in the local Sugar Grove Cemetery within the family plot together with her father, mother, and different relatives.

William again to Cincinnati, working as a carpenter before being ravaged by way of dementia. He died on April 1, 1924, and is buried alongside Mary.

Christopher S. Duckworth spent three many years on the Ohio ancient Society, where he changed into founding editor of Timeline journal, followed by using a different 10 years at the Columbus Museum of art. today, he owns his personal publishing business, Brevoort Press LLC.

]]>