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DOWNEY, WILLIAM D., merchant, of Princeton, was born March 18, 1834, ten miles south-west of Princeton. His father. Rev. A. R. Downey, a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was a native of Kentucky, and his mother of North Carolina. They went from Kentucky to Gibson County, Indiana, about 1830, in 1836 removing to Dubois County. William D. Downey, having spent his boyhood on a farm, attended common school during the winter, until at thirteen he was sent to a school in Newburg. Remaining there three years, he returned to the farm, and at seventeen entered mercantile life, engaging as clerk in a store at Petersburg, Pike County, Indiana. After serving there some four or five years, he went to the city of Evansville, where he also clerked for several years. In 1861 he went to Princeton, Indiana, and engaged in mercantile business for himself, and has continued therein ever since. He now owns one of the largest general stores in Princeton. Giving his whole time and attention to his business, he has become a very successful merchant. He has never held or sought office, but is a public-spirited and enterprising citizen, anxious to promote the growth and prosperity of the city of Princeton.
He was married, in 1868, to Miss Octavia Hall, daughter of Judge S. Hall, and two children are the fruits of this marriage.
