Dr. Jonathan Rector Downing was a physician in Delaware County, serving the last 32 years in Yorktown. His son, J. Frank Downing was also a Yorktown physician. Dr. Downing was a Civil War veteran, imprisoned at Libby in Richmond, Virginia. He was released in an exchange between the north and south. In 1865, he was aboard the Steamer Sultana who was transporting prisoners north, when three of its boilers exploded, killing 1,168 people. The steamer sank near Memphis, TN on April 27, 1865. It was the worst maritime disaster in the Untied States history. Only 760 soldiers survived. Downing was injured in the explosion.
