Dr Sir Alexander Mackenzie DOWNIE M.D. [26890]

  General Notes:

DOWNIE
Knight Bachelor created 1840.
Sir Alexander Mackenzie Downie, MD, youngest son of the late Rev Alex Downie DD (Minister of Lochalsh, Ross), by the daughter of Charles McKinnon, Esq of McKinnon; is lineally descendant from the Rev A D'Auney who retired to Scotland after the revocation of the Edict of Nante; born 1811; married 1840, daughter of Charles Hare Esq, of Bristol and niece of Sir John Hare; was physician to her late Royal Highness the Landgravine of Hesse Homburg for his attention to whom he received the honour of Knighthood from the Queen; was appointed, in 1840, Physician in Ordinary to HRH the Duke of Cambridge; and resides at Frankfurt, as physician to HM Legation; is author of a work on mineral waters; was appointed assistant surgeon to the 9th Regiment of North British militia, in 1844
Ref: The Peerage Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland.

Re: Sir Alexander MacKenzie Downie.
By Ian Downie
His obituary - unfortunately I have lost the source in translating the information from my old family history application to the new one:
"1852 February 3rd Sir Alexander Mackenzie Downie MD after 3 days illness at Frankfort on the Main aged 41 years see memoir on page 686.
Memoir: The deceased was the younger son of the late Rev Alexander Downie D.D. minister of Lochalsh and was lineally descended from Re. A. D'Aunay who retired to Scotland after the recovation of the Edict of Nantes and of Flora MacDonald. The deceased received the honour of a knighthood for his attention as Physician to HRH Princess Elizabeth Landgravine of Hesse Homburgh and durign the same year 1840, was appointed Physician on Ordinary to His late RH the Duke of Cambridge. Of late years he had acted a Physician to the British Embassy at Frankfort. He was author of various works on the mineral waters of Germany, his elder brother Rev Chas D minister of Contin Ross-Shire a few days before greatly affected him and may have in a manner caused his illness to be fatal."
I'm pretty sure he was married in June 1840 in Bristol but I don't know the name of his wife as I have only the index entry. I know of two children: Flora Elizabeth who died aged 14 on 19 June 1855 at Weston-super-Mare from Hardwicke's Annual Biography for 1856 and Alexander Francis Mackenzie Downie born about 1844 in Frankfurt. He was a solicitor in Holybourne, Alton, Hampshire, living at Holybourne Cottage in 1901 with his wife Henrietta Hall whom he married on 17 August 1876 at Alton [IGI M146621]. They had one child, Mary M. Downie, born about 1879 in Chawton, Hampshire according to the 1881 and 1891 Censuses.
I believe his father was a son of John Downie and Charlotte McKenzie, another of whose sons was Captain George Downie who was killed at the battle of Lake Champlain in the US in 1814, though I am still trying to establish the connection there.
http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/downie/269/

Alexander married Mary Anne HARE [26891] [MRIN: 9664], daughter of Charles HARE [25498] and Bridget Downing BOWLES [25497], on 12 May 1840 in Bristol GLS. (Mary Anne HARE [26891] was born in 1820 in Bristol GLS and died on 17 Mar 1896 in Bristol GLS.)