| Samuel Anderson Long was the eldest son of Henry Long and Rachel Anderson. Sam was born in Marion County, Tennessee on 16 May 1817 and died in Medina County, Texas, from cholera on 17 September 1866. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Military Service |
Sam Long joined the army of the Republic of Texas, enlisting at New Orleans. His discharge papers state that "Sam A. Long was born in Marion County Tennessee, is aged 21 years 5 feet 8 inches high" and that he "entered the service of the Republic of Texas in the 2nd Regt P Volunteers on the 20th January 1837 and ... served up to" February 20, 1839. Sam also served as a volunteer in 1842. Sam was living near or in Colorado County in 1842. Asa Smith stated in 1854 "that Samuel Long rendered the following military service in behalf [of] the late republic of Texas in the spring of 1842 to wit: that he attached himself as a private to the company commanded by Capt. W. J. Jones in Colorado County in the spring of 1842 to assist in repelling the then invasion of Texas by Vasques, went with said company as far as San Antonio and then was discharged." Again in September, 1842, General Adrian Woll and a thousand Mexican troops captured San Antonio, then retreated. At the Salado, Matthew Caldwell and John C. Hays' forces succeeded in forcing the Mexicans back. "The muster roll of Capt. Zumwalt's company at the battle of Salado in September, 1842, Col. Matthew Caldwell, in chief command..." can be found in the Texas Archives in the Public Debt Papers, filed under the name of Oliver Stapp. The document states "After the battle, Capt. Zumwalt was relieved and sent in with the wounded; the company was re-organized as follows and the following persons arrived and joined and were in the campaign in pursuit of Gen. Woll, to wit: ... Additional privates ..... Samuel Long".During the Battle of Salado, a smaller group of Texans under Captain Nicholas Dawson was caught in the open. Most were killed, including Robert Cummings. Historians have compiled lists of those killed in Dawson's Massacre, as that event was called, but no list includes Robert Cummings. His presence among those killed is confirmed by papers in the state archives. They contain a claim by Cummings' widow for money due for his services and his horse and outfit which were lost in the battle and documentation of the claim, which was paid. Robert Cummings and his wife Elizabeth McFarlin play an interesting part in the story of Sam and Louisa McFarlin Long. |
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Land claims |
Meanwhile, on 24 December 1839, the board of Land Commissioners of San Augustine County granted a conditional headright certificate, No. l870, to Louisa J. McFarland. To qualify for such a certificate, a woman had to be the head of a household. She gave February 1, 1839, as the date of emigration. That was the date by which one had to have been in the Republic to qualify for a headright. Many who were there earlier gave that date because it satisfied the requirements and they may have been unsure of the exact date of arrival. The minutes of the board of land commissioners for San Augustine County inaccurately record the name of the owner of conditional certificate #1870 as Louis J. McFarland. The certificate itself does say "Louisa J. McFarland", as do the records in Lavaca County. The witnesses for Louisa's conditional certificate were James Higgins and Robert Cummings. |
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Marriage |
Samuel A. Long married Louisa McFarlin in Colorado County, Texas, 4 February, 1844. Louisa had a child who was four or five years old at that time. Her name was Martha McFarlin. Martha later married John Clark McCoy Sam and Louisa's marriage license gives Sam's resicence as Jackson County and Louisa McFarlin's as Colorado County. Jackson and Colorado Counties shared a common border at that time. When Lavaca County was created in 1846, it was carved from parts of Colorado, Jackson, Gonzales, and Victoria Counties. Sam did have business connections in Jackson County, being indebted in 1851 to Clark L. Owen of Jackson County Sam Long does not appear in early deed records of Jackson County. He does appear on the 1846 tax roll for Lavaca County. He and Louisa probably lived in the edge of Jackson County that was later included in Lavaca, perhaps renting a farm until they purchased one of their own. Samuel Long bought 320 acres of land in Lavaca County on July 26, 1846. He bought it from Jesse Robinson, the original patentee, for $500. Five years later, Sam and Louisa sold 220 acres of it to William Hudgeons on June 16, 1851 for $500. On the same day, they bought from William and Elizabeth Hudgeons 50 head of cattle.
On September 21, 1852, Sam and Louisa sold the other 100 acres of the Jesse Robinson property to Sam's brother James S. and wife Eliza J. for $125. Then James and Eliza sold it to the Hudgeons December 1, 1852 for $250. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Lavaca County to Caldwell County to Uvalde County |
Sam Long was prominent in the affairs of Lavaca County from its beginning. In August of 1846, Samuel Long took the oath of office as Justice of the Peace for the county of Lavaca. As J.P., he performed one of the earliest marriages in Lavaca County, before the county marriage records were being kept separately. In Lavaca County Deed Book A, p. 47, is recorded the marriage license of James Long and Eliza Cumming, "solemnized April the 11th 1847 by S.A. Long, J.P." Eliza was the eldest daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Ann McFarlin Cummings. Sam and Louisa moved to Caldwell County, Texas, about 1852. They lived there for several years, moving next to Uvalde County, Texas. They probably moved in the fall of 1860, after the census showed them in Caldwell County. In October of 1861, their fourth child, Joseph, was killed by a band of Indians. |
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Medina County |
The family soon moved to Medina County, which was more heavily settled. Hondo Valley Masonic Lodge #252 held its first meeting on January 30, 1860, in the lodge hall on the banks of Hondo Creek near New Fountain. Sam Long moved his membership to the Hondo Valley Lodge, No. 252 on December 14, 1861. He was the Worshipful Master and a Master Mason for the years 1861-1863. He was Senior Scribe (secretary) of the Lodge in 1864. While living in Medina County, S.A. Long and W. H. Jackson of Bexar County wrote a book, The Texas Stock Directory or Book of Marks and Brands, printed in San Antonio in 1865. They were working on the second volume when Sam died. The San Antonio Daily Herald reported on September 19, 1866, that
When Sam died, Louisa was about 45 years old. William was almost 22, Andy was nearly 18 and Julia turned 15 ten days later. Joseph had been dead five years. Mary and "Roe" were almost 12. Frank was nearly 10. Julia married the next Spring. In 1870, Louisa Long and her other children were still living in Medina County. William was 25, Andy was 22, Mary and James Monroe (Roe) were 15, and Frank (Francis) was 14. At about that time, Andy left home and went into the cattle business for him-self in Frio County and soon moved north. In 1875, brother Frank set out on his own. He also moved north, settling at Sweetwater. Louisa died in 1905 and is buried beside her son, William, in Rutledge Cemetery at Poteet, Texas. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sam and Louisa had seven children |
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