JOSEPH DeLONG OF MISSOURI & HIS ANCESTORS FROM HOLLANDUpdated September 6, 2000 |
Vivian Swindell DeLong 1227 South Country Club Drive Jefferson City, Missouri 65109 A-United States vivdelong@aol.com |
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| JOSEPH DeLONG, born May 22, 1846, a son of JOSEPH and MARY (MANNS) DeLONG, came to America about 1870. He was accompaned by two brothers, FREDERICK and PETER. At first, it was believed that Grandfather JOSEPH was born in France but with some new research, we have determined that his parents, JOSEPH and MARY were born in Northern France and left that country during a civil revolution. Many people left their homeland at that time and went to neutral countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium, and Holland. These people were called Franch Huegenots, an undesirable name, for not taking a stand in the land of their birth. We know that the DeLongs of our line went to New Schoenbeck, Holland. We assume that they had relatives in the area. We have talked with other DeLongs who say they are of French decent and others who say their ancestors came from Holland but are of a different line. Many given names are the same and they are of the Catholic faith. We presume that the JOSEPH and MARY who went to Holland raised their family there and we believe that some, if not all, of their children were born there. According to information -- handed down by word of mouth -- the three brothers landed in America at New Jersey. They found jobs that led them in different directions. FREDERICK and PETER were said to have settled in the East and remained there. There is sufficient evidence to show that they and their wives made at least two or three visits to Missouri to act as sponsors for three of Grandfather JOSEPH's children. Grandfather JOSEPH, of his own words to his son, PETER, said that his objective was to make his way to Missouri to look up relatives of good friends of his in Holland (the JOHN B. MAYENS family of Taos, Missouri). He got a job working on the railroad and over a period of four or five years, he made it to Taos, MO. It must have been a difficult journey for him as he spoke very broken English and could not read or write the language. He located the JOHN B. MAYENS family and must have rejoiced at reaching his destination at last. The MAYENS family had a 17-year-old daughter named MARIA HELEN and she and JOSEPH were married when she was 18 and he was 27. They were married on February 25, 1873 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Taos, MO. We believe they lived on a rented farm near Taos and have been told that his parents in Holland shipped a team of mules for a wedding present. JOSEPH became an American citizen on October 25, 1880, in Jefferson City, MO, with a very highly recommended good character. JOSEPH and MARY had seven children when they purchased their own farm near St. Thomas, MO. along the Osage River. Moving the family to the new location was strenuous. They hauled all their belongings from Taos to the Osage River, then it was transported by steamboat upriver. It was late in the evening by the time they unloaded everything from the boat and made camp on the riverbanks. At the crack of dawn the wagon was loaded with their beds, kitchen table, stove, sideboard, and Grandmother MARIA and five of the children. The two older children were left to look after what was left and to tend the livestock. The DeLONG farm was near the Osage River and it was not uncommon for the river to rise out of its banks and stand for long periods of time, making much farmland useless. JOSEPH used his knowledge of building dikes in Holland to drain his land back to the river so it could be cultivated. (Note: This is the only history we have about the origins of this family, and must be eternally grateful to our dear departed sister-in-law (BESSIE MAE (REED) DeLONG) for finding this much for us.) |
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