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Daniel Downs

American politician

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ16209355
Source-derived summary

Daniel Downs (December 2, 1824 – September 14, 1897) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate.

Biography

Downs was born in Trumbull County, Ohio. A Congregationalist, Downs married Mary D. Cowen in 1850. They would have four children. Previously, Downs had completed his education at Rush Medical College. During the American Civil War, he served with the 46th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army as a surgeon.

Political career

Downs was a member of the Assembly in 1855. In 1860, Downs changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. He was a member of the Senate from 1876 to 1877 representing the 28th District. Other positions he held include County Treasurer of Richland County, Wisconsin and Richland County judge.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Daniel Downs” as american politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Daniel, Downs and American.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1824, 1897, 1850, 1855—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1824-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Daniel, Downs and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Daniel Downs”, the useful work is to connect “american politician” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16209355. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1824, 1897, 1850 and 1855.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

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  • Building a first chronology
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Daniel Downs”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Daniel Downs primary sources, Daniel Downs archive and Daniel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Daniel Downs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.