Mrs Peter Donahue

Anna "Annie" (Downey) Donahue (1836-1896) was the wife of Peter Donahue (1822-1885), co-founder of Union Iron Works (later Bethlehem Steel), founder of San Francisco Gas Company (later Pacific Gas and Electric Co.) and developed much of the passenger rail service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Annie's brother, John Gately Downey (1827-1894) served as Governor of California from 1860 to 1862, succeeded by Leland Stanford. The city of Downey in southern California is named for John, who proposed that a nearby city should be named after his sister, Anna, which became Anaheim, German for "Anna's Home". Annie's sister, Eleanor (Downey) Martin (1828-1929), was also a wealthy widow prominent in San Francisco society in the 1890s.