Sunday, September 30, 2007

Stephen Longwell—DAR application 849984

Almost 40 years ago I had an assignment in my 5th period history class to complete a project on “My Family History”. I still have that binder, and it’s that information that Christina and I used to restart this project several years ago. I do have to acknowledge that I probably wouldn’t have gotten an “A” on the project if it hadn’t been for the information that my father’s double-cousin by marriage, Vernon Capps provided.

I went on a letter-writing campaign and wrote to many historical and genealogical societies. In fact, I still have the original envelope and response from the Connecticut Historical Society.

I was advised that Stephen Longwell had not served in the Revolutionary War, if anything he was a Tory. We’ll that slowed me down. I was super red, white and blue, and wanted to be a Daughter of the American Revolution.

Anyway, the documentation that “proves” that Stephen Longwell served in the American Revolutionary War is now on-line. He received a pension from injuries received during the war. Christina even “met” an on-line cousin who had in her genealogy notes that Stephen had complained about pain in his arm after the war.

All that’s left for you to do is to complete the DAR application. That’s a major undertaking….you have to provide documentation for each generation. So for those of you in our line save yourself some agony and request approved application 849984. Using my application you will only have to document one or two generations.

Last year an injured sea lion was adopted and named in his honor. It was released back to the ocean after it got well (yea, that means I made a donation to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center—an organization supported by the local DAR chapter).

I'm now corresponding with the son of the author of “My Longwell Family History.” This book, by David Nelson Longwell follows David Longwell's family, Stephen’s brother. It doesn't have very much on our line, but it is interesting. I reviewed it last year when I visited the Library of Congress. Copies can still be purchased (I've ordered a copy). David Nelson Longwell had planned to write a second volume on Stephen---hopefully we’ll learn something from those “attic records.” I hope to get a copy of them shortly.

1 comments:

Anonymous 10/30/2008 4:56 PM  

Thats James Nelson Longwell who wrote the book MY Longwell Family History. Decendent of David
John C. Longwell

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