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Also, from your Reply # 91 :
 
"In stating that you know for a fact that JD Jr 'apparently' married Catherine Browne, how sure are you exactly? The CB who was a daughter of Sir VB and Ellis Fitzgerald married Sir Terence Magrath (who wasn't born until 1628 at the earliest - his parents married in 1627) and so would have been too young to have married JD Jr.  The CB we seek is far more likely to have been the daughter of his father Nicholas Brown, Esq. and Julia O'Sullivan, since for CB to have married JD Sr., and to have had a son JD Jr. approximately when she did, she would probably have been born c1580-85. (But she could have been some other Browne altogether - there were plenty of them, after all.)"

I have two images from hand-written accounts by:
King, Jeremiah, County Kerry, Past & Present: A Handbook to the Local and Family History of the County, ; ©1931 ; Hodges, Figgis & Co. ; p. 124 under Downing
 . . . that proclaim that Capt. John Downing (the younger) married Catherine, dau, of Sir Valentine  Browne of Molahiffe . . .

though we have since agreed that was another "Katherin" who married Sir Terence/Turlough Magrath, 2nd Baronet of Allevollan, Co. Tipperary

Just wanted to cite the source of my earlier data, so perhaps as we said before, she was a BROWNE, but from another branch

Hello again Paul,
Re: Reply of Aug 9, 2025

The data I have is an UNverified “work-in-progress” regarding these Travers(e)/Spring/Brown(e) relationships, and several sources seem to be partially correct, conflicting, or erroneous.

However, some of the connections are likely accurate.  It’s quite complicated.

The Downing family connection to Travers is based on info sourced from Mary Agnes Hickson’s “Selections from Old Kerry Records: Historical and Genealogical: with Introductory Memoir Notes and Appendix”, 1872, Watson & Hazell.
In that reference, Hickson claims Annabella Brown, eldest dau. of John Brown and Katherine O’Ryan, on the death of her 1st husband, William Apsley, married secondly, Capt. Thomas Spring . . . and had issue two sons and five daughters, the third of which was Susanna.  She then states that Susanna, 3rd dau. of Capt. Thomas Spring and Annabella Brown, married “Traverse of Killfallyny, Co. Kerry and had issue nine sons and two daughters.
She further states that “Annabella the elder dau. of Traverse and Susanna Spring married Capt. John Downing in the County Cork and Waterford and had issue two sons, viz., Robert Downing a Major in Holland, and John Downing a Captain in King Charles the seconds Guards.

I know for a FACT that Capt. John Downing, estimated DOB c.1608, apparently married Catherine BROWN (not a dau. of Sir Valentine, but another branch), and had by her two sons, Maj. John, and Maj. Robert, who BOTH joined the Horse Guards of King Charles, in 1660 and 1667 respectively.
Capt. John swore in a Deposition dated 30 Jun 1642, that he had suffered unrecoverable debts owed by Edward Spring and Walter Travers, apparent kinsmen.

On Capt. Thomas Spring, it has been determined by examination of his paternal ancestry that was certainly born in 1519 and would have been about 61 years old when he married the widow Annabella Apsley (nee Brown), who was about 30 years younger.  One of their aforementioned two sons, was Walter Spring, and Susanna, the 3rd dau. were both born “after 1580” according to an UNverified source, which conflicts with the estimated birth year of her (SUPPOSED) daughter, Catherine (Travers), who I have as born c.1578.

Getting back to Travers as the suspected husband of Susanna Spring, and father of Catherine, remember that Hickson said Travers was of Killfallyny, a nonexistent place name today.  Her forename was Catherine, not Annabella, and she married Lt. John Downing, not his son Capt. John.
Also, it’s plausible that “Killfallyny” may have been misinterpreted to refer to a place named Kilfinny, Co. Limerick, which is just 1.1 miles south of the present-day village of Finniterstown, where Lt. John was almost certainly granted a freehold by his former Commander, Capt. Sir Francis Berkeley of Askeaton.  Finniterstown was then known as Pobalfentarragh, an estate inherited by Lt. John’s eldest son, Robert, so named in his Will, dated 3 Jun 1629.

So, as you can see, these surnames are certainly linked, and circumstantial evidence from various sources suggest connections.  The data DOES need further proof though before definitive conclusions can be “etched in stone”.

Let me get back to you on COLWELL.
Getting ready to shove off for the weekend but this caught my eye.
My 4th great grandfather supposedly married a Jane Colwell.  Her first husband was (reportedly) William Downing, father of my 3rd great grandfather, who may have died in 1803, leaving a widow and two young sons.  She almost certainly moved near Moneymore to be closer to family and remarried Felix Devlin, who is listed in Slater’s Directory of 1846 as a “turner in wood” of Coagh.  My 3rd great grandfather’s older brother is buried just outside town at St. Luke’s.
We have been searching for her roots for over 20 years.  County Derry only has a few similar spellings found from online records, without considering CALDWELL.
The COLWELL spelling is rare is 18th century lists, so it’s very intriguing to hear you mention it.
Stay tuned and let me know in the meantime if you have any further info on the Colwell surname.

In reply to Mike's Reply # 65, who wrote: [Secondly, regarding the 'natural' sons of John Downing. I have read before that in these kind of legal contexts the phrase 'natural' when used regarding children often means illegitimate (or at least, born out of wedlock, whether they are accepted by the father or not is another matter). It doesn't seem there's full consensus on this, as others argue it just means 'biological son' with no other implication.]

I agree, I think the most likely scenario was that John and Francis were the ELDER illegitimate sons of John, born before he married Hester, and Stafford was the legitimate heir born after their marriage.

Part 4 in a 4-part series

Now we have established that John Downing of Dreenan, died after 1 Feb 1797 (date of 2nd Codicil), had brothers named George, James, Williaraaram, and Stafford, and a named sister, Margaret, who married a Mr. O'Neill (probably Neil O'Neill).
Although he mentioned a son, Stafford, first, he was awarded just 200 pounds, while his four brothers were to equally inherit the rights to John's "half" of Dreenan, and his "natural" sons, John and Francis, inherit the farm at Carrabrook.
To me, this implies Stafford may have been the son of his wife, Hester, by an earlier marriage, as adoption was basically non-existant.
I might also suggest that the four brothers named by John are the four principle Lessees in the 1798 renewal of "Stafford's Lease", because it's unlikely that there would be another family group matching all four given names in the same small area and time frame. 
HOWEVER, it's possible that those four given names were replicated in the next generation by one of those four brothers.

Let's say George, James, William, and Stafford, the four brothers mentioned in John's 1782 Will, were all born by about 1745.  Remember, George was almost certainly born by 1734.
They would all have been at least 53 years old at the 1798 renewal.  On the other hand, perhaps George (or any other brother) named his own four sons after his own brothers, and they were all born between, say 1760 to 1775.
That next generation would certainly have been old enough to act as principle Lessees and obviously younger farmers at the time.
But if we refer back to the renewals of "Stafford's Lease", we see that the 7th renewal, of 1 Jun 1800, names James, George, Stafford, John and Sarah, indicating that William had passed away, probably as an older man.
And he is replaced by a 'John' Downing and a 'Sarah' Downing.  We know from John's Will that his "beloved" wife was Hester, not Sarah.  But we also know John was still living in Feb 1797, so it's likely he joined his other brothers after William died.

I think it's very reasonable to attach all FIVE of these known Downing brothers to "Stafford's Lease.
My tree does not have wives for any of the five except John. 

As for your unattached Elizabeth Sharon Downing, b. 1798, daughter of George (and Elizabeth), let's speculate further.
You say there were children named:
1. John, bap 21 Oct 1789
2. Jane and John, bap 16 Apr 1791
3. William, bap. 2 Dec 1792, and
4. Stafford, bap. 6 Sep 1794
all baptized at St. Lurach's, Maghera.  St. Lurach's was Church of Ireland place of worship for folks from Dreenan, and Rev'd Alexander Clotworthy Downing was Rector there from 1785 to 1793, so he certainly would have performed the baptisms of all except Stafford.
Yes, it's probable that the eldest John died in infancy and when the twins came along in 1791, they named the boy John.
More noteworthy, the forenames John, William, and Stafford repeat three of the names of the sons of 'John' named in the 1782 Will.
Remembering that George, son of Bernard, was almost certainly alive by 1734, it's reasonable to speculate that he had married and named a son after himself, who could have married an 'Elizabeth', and been the parents of the children baptized in the 1790s, all grandchildren of George the elder.

HOWEVER, that doesn't necessarily place Eliabeth Sharon in that family group.  Nor is it certain that George the younger was the son of George the elder, but perhaps the son of one of the other brothers, John excluded.
It is possible that George the younger, father of the four surviving children baptized at St. Lurach's was one of the Principle Lessees in the 6th Renewal, but I think it's more likely that was George the elder, due to William's subsequent death.
On the other hand, using the same rationale that repetitive names in different family groups in the same small area at the same time, is unlikely.  I think it is highly likely that your Elizabeth Sharon may have been a younger sister to the aforemention siblings baptized at St. Lurach's.
So, to summarize my theory, I DO believe that your Elizabeth Sharon, b. 1798, was the granddaughter of George the elder, eldest son of Bernard of Ballyneas Downing, now Ballynease-Helton.
The fact that Elizabeth, and her husband Robert Henry, named four of their children John, Jane, William, and Stafford, is strong circumstantial evidence of a connection to the St. Lurach's children, her likely siblings.
That's just my take on it.  I would caution against publishing ANYTHING without corroborating verification.

Note: my eBook only covers Downing deeds up to 1825.  The Family Search resource mentioned earlier is a terrific source and probably has more information on deeds afterwards that may help.

Forward Into the Past,
Rick