Walter Long and Della Fortune
Walter Long and Della Fortune
William Walter Long was born 5 November 1861. He died 23 September 1928. He was the elder son of James Black Long and Mary Elizabeth Foreman.
Walter Long grew up in Caldwell County, Texas, in the difficult days of Reconstruction. A picture from his younger days shows him with his cousin, Louis Rowe, and two girls who are not identified on the picture.
(seated) LOUIS ROWE AND WALTER LONG, with TWO GIRLS (standing)
Walter was married 9 November 1897 to Della May Fortune. The newspaper commented that, "the groom is a well known young man of this city and the bride is a daughter of R. W. Fortune, the hotel keeper. May it be their Fortune to enjoy a Long and prosperous life."
Della Fortune was born 11 July 1879, so was 18 when she married. Walter was 36. Click here for a picture of the Robert W. Fortune family.
WALTER LONG AND DELLA FORTUNE
Walter had worked as a cowboy after his mother's death, riding the old Chisholm Trail. He operated a saloon until Prohibition. He ran a movie theater for a year of so. In 1917 the family moved to Live Oak County, but drought and hurricanes brought financial disaster. Della took her daughters to Austin where she ran a boarding house for students so that her daughters, Enid, Mignon and Camille, could attend the University of Texas. Walter joined them there. Walter died 23 September 1928 and Della 16 February 1946. They are both buried in Austin.
Della was the youngest daughter of Robert W. Fortune and Francis Emily Hargis. Francis Hargis had come to Caldwell County about the age of 10. She met Robert Fortune when he built a house for her father, John Hargis.
Walter and Della had three daughters. They were:
Enid Etta
Lilith Mignon
Barbara Camille
WALTER AND DELLA LONG with Enid, Mignon and Camille
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