I'm looking for any information on a William Dowd, who was born in Michigan...possibly around 1845. He married a Phoebe Lash of New York State in 1866. They had at least one child, Etta, who was born in April 1867. William died from gangrene shortly thereafter, most likely in either 1868 or 1869.

I've heard that Phoebe might also be the mother of a John Henry Lash, who was born in August 1869. He was eventually taken in by Lyman and Mary (Reinhart) Lash. I'm not sure if William Dowd would have been the father. It depended on his state of health during that time and when he actually died. Unfortunately, I currently don't have much information on him. On the 1860 U.S. Census, there was a William "Doty" living in Flint, Michigan. I'm not sure though if that would have been the person I'm inquiring about.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :0)

I do not know anything about William, but, Dowd was my maiden name and I was always getting mail for "David." If the writing is cursive they can look a lot alike. Search for that last name, maybe you will find something.

Searching for Dowd/Naughton East Pittsburgh/ North Braddock PA C. 1880 +

I hope to obtain a birth record for their daughter, Etta, within the next few weeks just to make sure I have the name correct for her father. I'm pretty sure it is, because that's what is listed on her death record as well as in a couple newspaper articles. As of right now, that 1860 U.S. Census listing is the only thing that looks promising.

Regarding John Henry Lash, Phoebe WAS his mother as listed on his birth record but has the father shown as "Unknown." I also heard that John was named after his father who died from either gangrene or consumption around the time of John's birth. Therefore, based on sources, I would think that the full name would be either William John Dowd or John William Dowd. He would have been roughly between 25 and 30 years old at death in 1869.