Jacob Downing (April 1830 – 1907) was a major in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. He was present at the infamous Sand Creek Massacre as a subordinate of Colonel

John Chivington John Milton Chivington (January 27, 1821 – October 4, 1894) was an American Methodism, Methodist pastor and Freemasonry, Mason who served as a colonel (United States), colonel in the United States Volunteers during the New Mexico Campaign ...

. After the war ended, he played a part in the development of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and in particular the city of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Early life

Jacob Downing was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

in April 1830, the youngest of 11 children of Jacob Downing, Sr. (1785-1858) and Jane (née Winne) Downing. Downing, Sr. was, according to one source the owner of several farms and a successful entrepreneur. The family were Hicksite Quakers, Downing, Sr. being a cousin of

Elias Hicks Elias Hicks (March 19, 1748 – February 27, 1830) was a traveling Quaker minister from Long Island, New York. In his ministry he promoted unorthodox doctrines that led to controversy, which caused the second major schism within the Religious Soc ...

. The younger Downing was schooled at

The Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Renssela ...

. At 14, he went to work as a clerk at the Albany City Bank. In 1850, he was badly injured aboard the steamer ''Alabama'' when the boiler burst. He studied law in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1858. Downing moved to

, in 1859, during the

Colorado Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...

, or in 1860. In 1860, he was elected a judge of the municipal court.

Military service

Battle of Glorieta Pass Action at Apache Canyon

When the

broke out in 1861, he volunteered and was assigned to the

1st Colorado Infantry Regiment The 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment (officially the 1st Regiment of Colorado Volunteers) was a volunteer infantry regiment of the United States Army formed in the Colorado Territory in 1861 and active in the American West in the late 19th century. ...

. He fought in the Battles of

Apache Canyon ''Canyon Apache'' is a ''Lucky Luke'' comic written by Goscinny and Morris. It was first published by Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18t ...

and Pigeon's Ranch (March 1862), and Peralta (April 1862) in the New Mexico Campaign. Promoted to the rank of major, he was given command of Fort Larned, Kansas in 1862. In April 1864, Downing came upon a band of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

camped near Cedar Canyon, 60 miles above the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

. Although he only suspected them of stealing cattle and horses, Downing launched an attack that killed an estimated 25 Cheyennes and destroyed their lodges and belongings. Downing was also present at the Sand Creek massacre (also called the "Chivington massacre" after the officer in charge, Colonel

). In the ensuing outcry, he served as Chivington's legal counsel.

Return to civilian life

He mustered out of the army in 1864 or 1865 and returned to Denver. In 1867, Downing was elected probate judge of

Arapahoe County, Colorado Arapahoe County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, and the most populous city is Auror ...

, for a term of two years. He acquired land, and took up developing real estate, farming, and raising cattle and horses. He acquired a ranch near Denver and made it into a showplace called "Downingdale". A civic leader, he was one of those who pushed for parks in the community, and originated the bill that led to the establishment of

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

. He also donated land and money for the Colfax Avenue streetcar and extended and improved Mount View Boulevard. When the Gentlemen's Driving and Riding Club of Denver, established in 1882 and whose members were "men who were leaders in the Denver business community and society", moved from

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago reg ...

to City Park, in the mid-1880s, "Downing acquired the property and maintained it as a clubhouse." After his death in 1907, his widow converted the building into the Downing Home for Old People. South Downing Street in Denver is named after him.

Personal life

On November 1, 1871, he married Caroline Rosecrans in

Glen Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,7 ...

. She was an artist, musician and poet. Caroline Downing was the first member of the Ladies' Relief Society, president of the Ladies' Auxiliary to the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

and president of Pioneer Ladies' Aid Society. She gave to the Denver Orphans' Home,

Colorado Women's College Colorado Women's College was a division of the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, focusing on evening, weekend, and online courses for women. It originally opened in 1909 as a private women's college and merged with the University of Denver ...

Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

Denver Public Library The Denver Public Library is the public library system of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The system includes the Denver Central Library, located in the Golden Triangle district of Downtown Denver, as well as 25 branch locations and ...

and Jacob Downing Home for the Aged. She was a member of the Woman's Press Club and the Woman's Club.

References

External links