This week’s 52 Ancestors Challenge is all about my 4th great grandfather, Zaccheus Downer and Harriet Thatcher.
Zaccheus/Zacheus is an interesting ancestor for me – mainly because I have been a bit stuck with him. He isn’t a brick wall necessarily, but I have been unable to find a ton of original documentation on him. He can be found listed in old genealogy books such as, The Downers of America or The History of the Brigham Family – and both books offer brief information about his birth, marriage, death, and children. However, none of these books provide sources for the information.
So my hunt for Zaccheus/Zacheus has been mainly through the census records – tracking him every 10 years, from 1830 -1870, and from New York to Ohio to Indiana. I have been unable to find a marriage record for him to prove his marriage to Harriet Thatcher (according to the censuses though, he is married to a Harriet). Furthermore, I cannot find a will, obituary, or other death record for him either. You can read about all my research on Zaccheus/Zacheus Downer at the WikiTree profile I created for him here.
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