DOWNS, Lawrence A. - Putnam

The bright young Irish had nominated for surveyor, “Larry” Downs is a native Putnam County boy.  He first saw the light of day on May 9, 1872 in Greencastle and is the youngest son of James Downs, one of the oldest and best known citizens of our community.  Mr. Downs’ early education was obtained in the public schools of Greencastle and in the preparatory school at DePauw University. Desiring to fit himself for a civil engineer, he entered the freshman class of Purdue University in the fall of 1890 and will thus graduate this year with the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering. But 22 years of age, he is considerable the youngest man on the ticket and has not seen much party service, although he is a representative of a family of five stalwart young republican who have been active workers for their party at all times. Mr. Down has not been inactive in politics, however, having been identified with the American League of College Republican Clubs in 1892 and was sec of the Purdue Republican Club in the same year. His college fraternity is the Sigma Chi. Mr. Downs is particularly fitted for the duty of civil engineer and his education on that point has been carefully attended to. He will give Mr. O’Brien a hard fight for fist place and we believe will be triumphantly elected.    ~~~transcribed by kbz

Larry Downs, former Greencastle boy who rose from a “kid around town” to the presidency of one of the largest railroad systems in the country will be here next week as the guest of DePauw University.  Larry is one of the hometown boys who made good with a bang and Greencastle is mighty proud of him.    ~~~transcribed by kbz

The career of Lawrence (Larry) A Downs born in Greencastle he where he spent his early years reads like a fairy tale.  Following his education in the Greencastle public schools, DePauw and Purdue he accepted a position as a rodman – the handy man for a surveying party of $60 a month with the Illinois Central railroad.  Today he is the president of DePauw University.  At noon, Thursday he will be the guest of Kiwanis and Rotary at a joint luncheon.    ~~~transcribed by kbz

Indiana gave the Illinois Central Railroad much more than the right, no matter how unprofitable to lay its tracks through picturesque Brown County.  The Big gift to the IC was the late Lawrence C. (Larry) Downs a native of Greencastle according to Carlton J. Corliss in “Main Line of Mid-America” (Creative Age.  This centennial volume puts Larry Downs in the railroad’s hall of fame alongside Casey Jones, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.  Glory such as goes to Casey for some bad railroadin’ but some great courage; to Lincoln and Douglas for their legal and legislative piloting for the IC is heaped on Downs for guiding the Class I carrier through the Great Depression, keeping it from being derailed into bankruptcy.  If Larry’s father-to-be, Jim had liked his section boss down in Louisiana, the story of the IC might eventually have been much different, Corliss writes.  But he came north and landed a job in Indiana on the old Vandalia (now Pennsylvania) and in time became a section hand at Greencastle.  Meanwhile, he sent for his boyhood sweetheart in Ireland and married.  Larry, the youngest of their eight children, determined to become a civil engineer.  Partly out of his own earning as a laborer in his dad’s section gang, partly through loans from his father and brothers, he earned a Civil Engineering Degree at Purdue University and found time to do some footballing besides.  Downs worked from a start as a rodman in 1896 all the way to the presidency which he received in 1926 at the age of 54. Adding to the gravity of leadership in the early 1930s so far as Larry was concerned was the fact that laying off men to save money struck at big families just like that from which he came.  Those days, in Corliss’ estimate were just as grave as those during what he discreetly calls the War Between the States.  Just as discreetly he relates how the IC served both sides and how it hastened reestablishment of commercial relations between the North and South after Appomattox.  The story of IC’s carrying out of the nation’s first large-scale colonization effort as the first railroad to receive a Federal land grant, makes the book far from than a railfan’s item.  Corliss left the statistics in the files and cast an American pageant of famous persons and epochal events along the ICs high iron during its first 100 years – Al McCord.    ~~~transcribed by kbz

We are told that Lawrence A. Downs, 30 years ago was making $60 a month as a surveyor for the Illinois Central railroad company.  The other day he became president of the road.  An exchange pertently remarks that “pull” can’t bring about any such results as that little promotion of Lawrence A. Downs. One thing that helped, however was the “push” Downs got at Old Purdue!    ~~~transcribed by kbz

Terre Haute friends of Lawrence A. Downs are rejoicing from the news from Chicago that he has been named president of the Illinois Central railroad, succeeding CH Markham one of the greatest railroad leaders of the times.  Lawrence Downs is a brother of James Downs of 1630 Locust street and of Mrs. John Brophy of East Liberty Avenue.  He spent his boyhood here where his father was a Vandalia-Pennsylvania road foreman.  His first railroad experience was as a water boy.  He became a chain carrier for the civil engineers and thus worked his way through DePauw University.    ~~~transcribed by kbz

NOTE: Lawrence Aloysius Downs born 9 May 1872 Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana died 12 Aug 1940 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois buried Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans Louisa Plot Sec 17 –

Mother: Mary McCarty born County Clare, Ireland died 6 Dec 1910 buried Saint Joseph Cemetery, Terre Haute, IN photo added on findagrave by Andy Gappa