No, I'm afraid I don't know of a connection. My Downings went to Illinois and stayed there. I do have a tentative James Downing born in NY about 1740 but the source is unreliable and, in any event, does not match yours. Sorry. Cheryl Rothwell clrothwell@mindspring.com Logan County, ILGenWeb, coordinator http://www.rootsweb.com/~illogan/loindex.htm Logan County mailing list> LOGAN-L@rootsweb.com Downing mailing list> DOWNING-L@rootsweb.com Richard III Society mailing list