How the Longs Came to Logan County

The Long's did not always live in Logan County. Here's an account of how we arrived in Logan County.

We pick up the story in Kentucky in 1870. Felix Long, age 40, is a farmer in Hardinsville Precinct, Kentucky. His wife Elizabeth (45 years old) is keeping the house with children James (15), Sallie (13), and Ellen (10) at home. The family shows real estate of only $100 and personal estate of $100. None of the five can write, and Sallie and Ellen are still unable to read.

1870 United States Census, Hardinsville Precinct, Kentucky

Ten years later in 1880, the Long family is not doing so well. Felix S. Long is now 57 years old and listed as a farmer but has come down with rheumatism. The census enumerator also records him as being deaf and dumb. What is more, his wife Elizabeth, now 64 years old, is listed as "maimed, crippled, bedridden, or otherwise disabled." James is now 28 and works on a farm; Sarah E. (Sallie?) is 26 and Phoebe E. is 22. We also learn here that Elizabeth was born in Kentucky, but both of her parents were born in Virginia.

1880 United States Census, Hardinsville County, Shelby County, Kentucky

Twenty years pass by, and little James has moved out and has a family of his own now. James Roland (49 years old) and Mattie E. (38 years old) have now been married for 17 years now and live in the Alton Precinct in Kentucky with their large family. Mattie has had nine children, of whom nine are still living. The children are as follows: Katie R. (15), Betty E. (13), William (11), Richard S. (10), Oppha? (9), James P. (7), Eugene L. (4), Oskar T. (2), and Ina B. (2 months). Father James Roland works as "farm labor" but shows four months of unemployment the previous year. His son William shows his work as "day labor" and shows five months of unemployment himself. The children have attended five months of school the previous year, and each member of the family can read and write outside of Oppha who can't write and James who can't read or write.

1900 United States Census, Alton Precinct, Anderson County, Kentucky

Ten years later, James Roland Long and family still live in Kentucky. They have moved over to the Taylorsville Precinct in Spencer County, Kentucky, however. James and Mattie have been married for 29 years now, and all nine children are still living, though only four still live at home. These four are: Richard S. (20), Eugene S. (15), Oscar T. (13), and Ina B. (11). James is listed as a farmer with general farm duties. Richard is listed as a laborer on a farm. Eugene and Oscar both farm laborers on the home farm, and Ina is too young to work. Schooling does not seem to have had its effect, as Richard cannot read or write, Eugene can read but cannot write, Oscar cannot read or write, and Ina cannot read or write.

1910 United States Census, Taylorsville Precinct, Spencer County, Kentucky

Ten more years pass, and Roland has moved his family north to Indiana. James and Mattie are now 70 and 69 years old respectively. Only Oscar Thurman still remains living with mom and dad, and he is now 23 years old. James and Mattie appear to be retired as no job is listed for either, while Oscar is a wage worker at a furniture factory. The parents are renting their home, and Oscar has learned how to read and write sometime in the past decade.



1920 United States Census, Washington Township, Washington County, Indiana

Both Felix and Mattie will die before the next census comes around. But young Oscar wasted no time in starting his own family. Just after the 1920 census, Oscar marries his wife Edith. The 1930 census shows Oscar being 22 years old and Edith just 17. By the time 1930 comes around, 32-year-old Oscar and 27-year-old Edith already have four children: Kathleen (9), Louise (7), Margaret (5 and 3 months), and Mary Lou (2 months). What is interesting to note is that the family has a radio set (a question asked on this year's census). Oscar moved his young family westward to Illinois. The entire family lives on a farm, though the enumerator is unsure if the family owns or rents the home. Edith and her parents were both born in Indiana. Oscar is a laborer on a dairy farm, while the rest of the members show no jobs.

1930 United States Census, Mount Hope Township, McClean County, Illinois

The family moves yet again sometime in the 1930's. In 1940, we find Oscar and family now residing in Atlanta Township, Logan County, Illinois. For the first time, we find the Long's in Logan County. Oscar is 42 years old, and Edith is 36. Three more children have now been added to the family. In the house, we now have nine people: Oscar, Edith, Kathleen (18), Louise (17), Margaret (15), Mary Lou (10), Earl (6), Harold (4), and Kenneth (2). Once again, the entire family is living on a farm. Oscar shows a typical work week of 50 hours as a "farmer" "on a farm" for his occupation. He worked 52 weeks out of the year for an unknown income and rents a home for his family. Kathleen is the only other one shown working, and she worked 10 weeks out of the year, 48 hours a week, for an annual income of $50.

1940 United States Census, Atlanta Township, Logan County, Illinois

Little six-year-old Earl is where the story continues. Earl will meet a young Gwendolyn Kindred and start a family of his own, staying close to the home he always knew as a child: Atlanta, Illinois.

The Longs have arrived in Logan County.