[2] After he was admitted to the bar, Downing began practicing law in Flushing, where he maintained an office until he died.
His friends insisted he was removed for political reasons,[5] and congressman James W. Covert defended him.
[6] In 1890, he became identified with a series of revival meetings in Staten Island held by the "boy evangelist" Harrison and converted.
Shortly afterwards, he established the Holiday House, a summer home for Bayville working girls.
[7] Downing died in Tampa, Florida, where he was staying for the previous several weeks for health reasons, on December 2, 1894.