Category Archives: Ohio

George Long: Separating Two Men of the Same Name

Long, Wood County, Ohio, , ,

I’m going to go back to my George Long project for two more posts, then I’m going to let it lie for a bit. I was thinking about “reasonably exhaustive research” and I wholeheartedly believe I did meet “reasonably exhaustive research” for this project, at least in terms of answering the original research question, which in its abbreviated form was “Which George Long was the father of William Long?” I had clues about where they originated, I thought I had the right George Long in the right counties in Ohio, but I had to prove the right one and explain away the literal eleven other George Longs I found in the right time and place. Two instances of military records causing confusion were discovered during this project and I thought they would make great examples of the necessity and value of looking at original records, and the need to resolve conflicts you find in the records.

[If you do not know what I mean by “reasonably exhaustive research,” it is one of the tenets of the Genealogical Proof Standard. Click here to learn more.]

One of the records I found and saw attached in many online trees was a pension card for George Long and his wife Isabella. I have learned the hard way not to ask myself “how many George Longs could there possibly be that have a wife named Isabella in Ohio” because the answer is never “just one.” (In the case of THIS George Long project, there are at least two in the counties in Ohio I was focused on, but that’s a story for another time.) The pension card I kept seeing was indeed for George Long and his wife Isabella:

I have looked at every Ancestry tree (I think) that has what appears to be the same George Long I’ve been researching, and many of them have this card attached. My George Long lived in Ohio, but I suppose he could have gone to Tennessee to serve, though I’m not sure why he would have since there were plenty of units being raised in Ohio. However, a genealogist who aspires to conduct “reasonably exhaustive research” cannot ignore evidence items. I mean many online trees have this record attached to the same George Long I was looking at, so it should be examined.

We have all found errors, mistakes, and conflicts in online trees. But we have all also found gems, clues, and keys to solving our puzzles as well. Remember not to engage in “source snobbery.” We can’t learn much from this pension card alone. We have his name, his wife’s name, and his unit (Company D of the 10th Tennessee Infantry). We have the date his widow filed (21 August 1865). We have her application number and certificate number.

With that information, I found his pension file, this one in particular is available on Fold3. From that, I learned that Isabella’s maiden name was Morose. At the time of filing for a Widow’s Pension, Isabella (Morose) Long was a resident of Walker County, Georgia. Her husband George died on 15 April 1865 of small pox in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. They married on 25 July 1864 and had no children.1

However, the most obvious fact that is overlooked is that if the George Long I’ve researched died in 1855, he could not be the George Long that served during the Civil War (1861-1865).

Other datapoints do not line up either: he did not live in Tennessee or Georgia, he definitely had children, and his wife was Isabella McCullough, not Morose.

I write this post, not to cast dispersions upon other genealogists who have attached the wrong document to George Long. We have all done it. I don’t believe there is one genealogist who hasn’t made a similar mistake. I am writing this post to share my process of correcting my previous work and looking beyond an index, index card, or any other derivative (second-hand) source and examine the original. Then, pull every bit of information out of that original and compare it to the known information you are working with. Plus, understanding the chronology (see my previous posts about timelines) helps you make determinations about the records you are looking at.

We will address the issue of resolving conflict in the next post. Stay tuned!

1. Claim for Widow’s Pension, 4 Apr 1866, Isabella Long, widow’s pension W.C. 69726, service of George Long (Pvt., Co. D, 10th Tenn. Inf., Civil War); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861–1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; image, “US, Civil War ‘Widows’ Pensions,’ 1861–1910,” Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/file/288364023).↩

My Lineage Society Goals

Genealogical Goals, Lineage Societies, Miller Research, Wood County, Ohio, ,

I know you’ve probably heard about DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) (I’ve joined under my ancestor Samuel Dimmick #A032219) and the Mayflower Society (General Society of Mayflower Descendants) (as far as I can tell, I didn’t have any ancestors on the Mayflower, but I’m still looking).

There are a wide variety of lineage societies, however. You probably qualify for several. Many are state or regional such as the many “First Families of _____ ” (insert a state) or “Descendants of _____” (insert a military action or special group). Regardless of which society, they all have something in common: “A lineage society is an organization created to honor a specific heritage or event. Members of lineage societies must prove their descent of that heritage or event through industry approved genealogical proof standards.”1 We like to honor our ancestors and our heritage in many ways.

I recently mailed in an application to the National Society Descendants of American Farmers (NSDOAF). This is a relatively new society, who is at the time of this writing, still accepting charter lifetime members (through 30 November 2019). The qualifications:

Membership is open to Men and Women 18 years of age or older who are lineal descendants of a “farmer” living within the present boundaries of the United States between July 4, 1776 – December 31, 1900.

Miller_William and Carrie
William and Carrie (Limmer) Miller, date unknown.

I am applying under my great-grandfather, William John Miller. I am named after his wife Carrie Ann (though mine is spelled differently). They helped raise my grandpa after his mother died shortly after his younger brother was born. I never had the chance to meet them but my grandpa always spoke very highly of them. He wanted to be a farmer and when he could afford it, bought 80 acres near his grandparents in Perrysburg Township, Wood County, Ohio.

So many times as a genealogical speaker, I hear people say something along the lines of “my ancestors were just farmers, they didn’t do much.” To that I say “baloney.”2 They worked to feed their community and their nation. They deserve as much recognition as anyone and I hope if you have farmers in your family tree (most of us do), that you consider honoring their unsung service to America by joining NSDOAF. The qualifications are pretty easy!

If you want an interactive group while you are preparing your application, they have a Facebook group where you can ask questions, get the forms, and generally be supported. (I received word via the group that my application was received and approved!)

(Now to finish my Daughters of 1812 application…)

1. From “Quick List of Lineage Societies” on Lineage Society of America (viewed 10 July 2019).↩

2. Or is that “bologna”?↩

Working on the Descendants

Cemetery, Mitchell Research, Ohio, With Kids, Wood County, Ohio

I have been working to trace the descendants of Thomas Carroll and Angeline Mitchell, especially the descendants of Martha (Mitchell) and Harvey Long.

I just recently made a tour of 4 cemeteries in Wood County, Ohio and found several of the descendants. I took my helpers along.

Ethan and Ellie were eager to help look even in the heat. They earned 25¢ for looking and another 25¢ for finding the sought after tombstone. In the end they each earned $1.50!

Before I started, I used Google Maps and mapped out the cemeteries I wanted to visit along with who I was looking for in each:

View Cemetery Tour July 2011 in a larger map

Here are the stones we found:

William H. Long – Went by “Harvey” most of the time, Weaver Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Martha A. Long – Went by “Mattie”. Her maiden name is Mitchell, daughter of Thomas and Angeline. Weaver Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

I also found their son “Willie W. Long” who I had previously only known to have “died in infancy” and his father’s obit also listed him as “William S.” not “W”.

Clara (Long) and Floyd Bullis – Clara was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Plain Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Carrie (Long) and Harry Rudd – Carrie was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Tontogany Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Martha (Long) and Jacob Hentges – Martha was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Saint Louis Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio.

That’s the 4 cemeteries and the 4 couples I was trying to locate. Check out the Google Map above to see what I did with it to help the research and keep track of my results. Click on the name of each cemetery and you will get a description of what I was looking for, a photo of the tombstone I found.

Joseph Higdon/Higden

Asa Higdon, Barren County, Kentucky, Census Records, Henry County, Ohio, Higden, Joseph Higdon, Kentucky, Missouri

In the previous post about census findings for Thomas and Angeline Mitchell I listed the 1850 census. One page later in the 1850 census for Barren County, Kentucky is the household of Joseph Higdon/Higden. [Ancestry link]

On Angeline’s death certificate it listed her father as “Thomas Mitchell” (obviously not correct) and her mother as “Joe Higdon.” (Probably not her mother, but possibly her father.) I am going to begin looking at Joseph Higdon as a possibility for her father. [Angeline Mitchell death certficate, no. 8014, Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Jefferson City.]

Searching through Ancestry, I was able to locate Asa R./B. Higdon, one of Joseph’s sons, in the 1860 census in Springfield, Henry County, Missouri with possible wife Emeline M. (age 18), a child Jessee B. (age 1) and his sister Mary Higdon (age 32). [Ancestry link]

Gilbert Z. Avery -1850 Census

Avery Research, Census Records, Gilbert Avery, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio

I found Gilbert Z. Avery in the Wood County, Ohio census as follows:

Gilbert Z. Avery 33
Eliza J. 26
Washington E. 5
John B. 3
Fanny M. 7
Jonas Zimmer 23
William R. H. Avery 23 (brother) (Also enumerated with father’s household in 1850)

Gilbert Z. Avery household, 1850 U.S. census, Wood County, Ohio, population schedule, Plain township, district 154, page 312, dwelling 687, family 709; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 741. [Ancestry Link]

Averys of Wood County

Avery Research, Meeker Research, Ohio, William Rufus Hyde Avery, Wood County, Ohio

Both my mother’s side and my father’s side of my family tree intersect about 4 or 5 generations back. It all comes down to  the Averys and the Meekers of Wood County. Specifically the Averys descended from William Rufus Hyde Avery of New York and the Meekers descended from Mahlon Meeker from Sussex County, New Jersey. Many thanks to Darlene Lewis of Ohio for some of the information here and her research assistance.

Also, I will explore the inter-relation of the Averys to the Meekers of Wood County. It seems that many Avery siblings married Meeker siblings since the families lived next door to each other. I would like to track that and gain a better understanding of their relationships.