ABISHA DOWNING was born Aug. 5, 1838, in Pike County, a son of Abisha and Susan (Daugherty) Downing, and grandson of Mesheck Downing, a native of Virginia, and one of the earliest settlers of Pike County. He was the owner of a large tract of land where Waverly is located, and laid that town off in lots. Abisha, Sr., was born in Pike County, Ohio in 1813. His wife was also a native of Ohio. They were the parents of two children - Isaac E., born Dec., 1835, and Abisha. The father died at the age of twenty-four years, and his widow afterward married Joseph Downing, a brother of her first husband. Abisha, Jr., received his early education in the district schools, which he completed at the schools of Waverly. He had been clerking in the mercantile store of Emmitt, Myers & Co. a few months, when the war broke out and Apr. 16, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, First Ohio Infantry, as a private, for three months, and was discharged about Aug. 1, 1861. In September, 1861, Mr. Downing with Captain J. Q. Barnes, commenced recruiting a company for the three years' service, and Oct. 15, 1861, reported in camp at Chillicothe, Ohio, and mastered in the Seventy-third Ohio. Nov. 30, Mr. Downing was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Company D, in December, 1862, he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and in March, 1864, he was mustered in as Captain. When Atlanta was taken Mr. Downing led the skirmish line in the advance. He was present at the surrender of savannah, and was with Sherman from Atlanta to Raleigh, N. C., and was mustered out at Camp Denison, Ohio, July 24, 1854. He participated in a number of battles, among which were: First Bull Run, Vienna, McDowell, Cross Keyes, Cedar Mountain, second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Valley, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, and Averysboro. July 20, 1865, a few days before he was mustered out, Mr. Dowling received from the Governor of Ohio, the commission as Major, but on account of the small number of men left in the regiment, he was not mustered in. After the war he engaged in merchandising in Waverly till 1870. In 1869 he took a position as clerk in the United States Assessor's office, under General W. S. Jones, where he remained four years, when the office was abandoned. Aug. 1, 1873, he was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for the district, holding the office till October, 1882. July 1, 1879, he again embarked in the mercantile business with General Jones, with whom he still continues. Major Downing was married Mar. 8, 1866, to Sarah M. Puffer, who was born and reared in Pike County, a daughter of Horace Puffer. They have four children - Emmie L., Horace E., Effie L. and Amelia B. Major Downing was reared in the Methodist church, and has always been associated with it.
Source: History of Lower Scioto Valley, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-State Publishing Co. - 1884 - Page 874

Info provided by Sara Snell-Kirton
_____________________________