Researching John Downey
Explore the detail of John Downey using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 2117 people with the Downey surname? In that year Downey was ranked number 1763 for popularity in the UK. |
The name John means "God is gracious" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of John Downey on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of John Downey in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for John Downey. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for John Downey. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for John Downey. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for John Downey. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for John Downey. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Downey ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Downey Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for John Downey and the Downey Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Downey Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Downey family tree.
Search Parish Records for John Downey at Find My Past.
Search for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of John Downey using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for John Downey records.
Check out MyHeritage for John Downey information.
Study the LDS Database for records about John Downey.
Research the Downey surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Downey Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 4620 people with the Downey surname in the UK? Downey is now ranked number 1272 for popularity in the UK. |
Downey Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for John Downey.
Study MyTrees for information on the Downey family and people looking to contact living Downey relations.
Check out One Great Family for Downey records submitted by people who are already researching the Downey Family Tree.
Find John Downey from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Downey Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Downey surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 30382 people with the Downey surname in the USA? Downey is ranked number 147 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Downey Databases
Check out the Ellis Island Database for information on John Downey. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called John Downey
John Downey (RAF officer)
Air Vice-Marshal John Chegwyn Thomas Downey, (26 November 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.
Downey qualified as a pilot just before his 19th birthday and started the Second World War by flying North Sea patrols with 608 squadron. He then spent some time flying Spitfires with a Photo-Reconnaissance unit based in St Eval, Cornwall. In September 1941 he transferred to Gibraltar to fly Catalinas and Swordfish with 202 Squadron. In 1942 he became a navigation instructor.
In 1944, he joined 224 Squadron flying (Lend-Lease) Liberators on anti-U-boat operations, again out of St Eval. In September 1944 he moved to Milltown in Scotland. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his 224 Squadron service.
After the war he attended the Empire Central Flying School at Hullavington, and then joined the staff of the Empire Air Navigation School at Manby. While stationed at Manby, he flew 'Aries III', a modified Lincoln bomber taking off on 20 October 1950 on a round-the-world flight of 29,000 miles. The first leg of the journey established a then-world record flight time to Khartoum. A subsequent leg was from Mauritius to Perth, Western Australia; this was believed to be the first west-to-east non-stop flight across the Indian Ocean. For completing this round the world trip in 28 days Downey was awarded an Air Force Cross. Accompanying him on the flight were Squadron Leaders G.T. Thain, A.D. Frank and J.L. Mitchell.
He then went to the RAF Staff College, and in 1960 he became head of the Near East Defence Secretariat in Cyprus.
Various appointments followed including roles at the MoD and NATO. After serving as the Deputy Controller of Aircraft at the MoD, Downey retired from the RAF in December 1975. Six months earlier he had been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
Downey married, in 1941, Diana White.
Source: John Downey (RAF officer), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Downey
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Daane Daen Dagneau Dahm Dahme Dahonny Dain Daine Damba Dame Dami Damm Dammy Damo Dan Dana Danahey Dane Daneau Daney Dani Dania Daniau Dann Danna Danne Danniau Dannie Dano Dany Danyi Danyow Daum Dauma Daunay Dauney Dawn Dawnay Dawney Dayna Dayne De_nauw Deam Dean Deane Deano Deaon Deehan Deem Deen Deeney Deeny Dehaan Dehan Dehaney Dehm Dehn Dehoney Dehonney Dehonny Deighan Demaio Demay Demby Deme Demo Den Dene Deneau Deney Denio Denn Denne Dennehy Denney Dennie Denny Deny Deon Dewan Dewane Dewen Dewin Dewinne Diamo Diana Diani Diano Diehm Diehn Diem Dieno Dimeo Dimmne Dina Dine Dinn Dion Dionne Dna Doan Doane Doen Doheny Dohm Dohme Dohn Dom Domb Dome Domm Domney Don Donagh Donaghe Donaghey Donaghie Donaghy Donahay Donahie Donaho Donahoe Donahoo Donahue Donaway Donay Done Doneghy Doney Doni Donihoo Donn Donna Donnay Donne Donno Dono Donoghue Donoho Donohoe Donohue Doohan Doom Doon Doone Dooney Doughan Douhan Doun Doune Dowen Dowhan Down Downe Downie Doyen Doyne Doyon Duane Duenow Duhaime Duhaine Duham Duhme Duhon Dumm Dun Dunaway Dunay Dunihue Dunn Dunnaway Dunne Dunow Duny Dwan Dwane Dwine Dwn Dwnn Dyne Dyon
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