Philip Long of Germany
My ancestor, Philip Long, could be Philipp Lange from Wirmighausen (1775) where he enlisted in the 3rd Waldeck. He arrived in NY in 1776; deserted in 1778; enlisted in the WFRF in Florida; deserted in1781; enlisted in the KAR in 1781. He sought refuge in Canada in 1783 where he married Marie Julie Couillard-Després in 1792. At the end of his life, he moved to Clair Madawaska NB. My research aims at verifying this hypothesis with the help of Dr Thomas Heldt, a German genealogist.
lundi 17 juin 2024
Quatre hypothèses de recherche
Nous avons des indications de diverses sources que Philip a pu être d'origine anglaise, écossaise, américaine et allemande. Depuis 20 ans, je m'évertue à accumuler ces indices, ce qui m'a amené à formuler quatres hypothèses distinctes quant à ses origines.
Les francophones du Québec et du Nouveau-Brunswick croient que tous les pays offrent une ressource en généalogie comme la nôtre qui a été constituée par l'Église catholique depuis le début du 17e siècle. Aux États-Unis, il a fallu attendre en l'an 1850 pour que le gouvernement tienne un recensement qui a de l'utilité en généalogie. C'est la raison principale pour laquelle nous ne savons rien des origines de notre ancêtre Philip Long. Mon expérience me montre que la situation n'est guère plus reluisante au Royaume-Uni.
J'assume que vous ne croyez pas qu'on n'a pas trouvé le lieu de naissance de Philip Long parce qu'on n'a pas encore trouvé le registre de la paroisse où il est né....
Mes quatre hypothèses ne visent pas à vous permettre de choisir laquelle des quatres vous convient le mieux, mais simplement pour orienter ma recherche. Une hypothèse de recherche est, en définitive, une prévision que l'on doit vérifier.
L'ADN à la rescousse des descendants d'immigrants européens
L'Amérique du Nord à été peuplée par des immigrants venus d'Europe surtout. La majorité de leurs descendants n'ont pas laissé une documentation leur permettant de connaître leurs ancêtres européens et les endroits où ils vivaient. Certes, il y avait sûrement dans ces familles une tradition orale qui a fini par s'estomper.
mercredi 3 février 2021
No 1
In 1976, he published a book titled, L’héritage des Lang (Long). Récit bibliographique, généalogique et historique de John Philip Long (1757-1832). It wasn’t the end of the research: it was rather the beginning! His book contained a shaky hypothesis, but also a ton of historical documents about Philip’s life in Canada.
Since that publication, many members of my family have made colossal efforts over decades to refine the hypothesis of Mgr Ernest. Read about them in section No. 15 of the blog. They are: Ghislain Long, Benoît Long and Gilles Long. They share one particular characteristic that I consider essential to get at some significant result in this kind of research: they work with hypotheses and their conclusions are based of documents. They do what we call a « documentary research ». This kind of research is not done around a kitchen table. A genealogical research is surely an efficient way to learn to deal with frustrations.
Lately, I have made an effort to find the birthplace of Philip. Time is not on my side anymore and very few younger members of the Long/Lang family seem interested in pursuing this endeavor. Nevertheless, everyone is longing to have this question answered once and for all.
My research lasted two months. I am 99% confident that Philip Long was a German mercenary soldier during the American Revolutionary War of 1775-1783 in the 2nd Waldeck Company (Third English-Waldeck Mercenary Regiment). I still need to gather more information to complete my research. Since I’m working with German collaborators, it will take some time to put a definite end to my research. Be patient. That last stretch of the research is time-consuming and expensive. My priority is to get a particular and decisive document in Germany. From his military file, I know where he lived before leaving Germany for America. Till then, get your hand on a history book about the Hessians.
As soon as I will get some new and important information, you will be advised through the Facebook group, Clair, NB.
dimanche 24 janvier 2021
How is it useful to know that our ancestor as far back as the 16th century lived in Finland?
Gustaf's descendants obviously immigrated to other countries. The three individuals in our haplogroup may well be from three different lineages of this ancestor and may have travelled to different countries. With time, we hope to be able to clarify this.
Philip Long called himself an American. Certainly, he may have been born in the United States. He fled to Fredericton in 1783 with other Loyalists. This group of refugees represented 15% of the American Loyalists at the time: the others agreed to stay in the United States. It must be concluded that these refugees had strong ties to England.
What always makes me believe that Philip Long may have been born in the United States around 1750 is mainly because between 1600 and 1800 there are few civil and ecclesiastical documents in that place. It is crucial to keep in mind this state of affairs that many of you noticed a long time ago.
Even though our research is progressing slowly, I like to inform you so that you can understand that just because there is a Long family in Ireland does not mean that our ancestors came from that country. There are even Long's in the United States who are black. It is very likely that they are slaves who, once freed, adopted the surname of their master.
There are worse things than not finding a birth certificate for Philip Long: not looking for it!
jeudi 31 décembre 2020
(b) The majority of the Loyalists (85%) who underwent the American Revolution (AR) of 1775-1783 remained in the United States in 1783. Those who chose to expatriate are surely the most attached to the British Crown.
(c) In 1822, when he met Scottish journalist John Mann, he identified himself as an American, 39 years after he set foot on Canadian soil. It is reasonable to believe that he would have been born in the United States. It is first in the U.S. that we must look for his family.
(d) During the RA, he would have seized military mail and given it as a gift to the British Army. Such a gesture was rewarded and was more possible for horsemen than for infantrymen. However, PL was part of the King's American Regiment (KAR), a cavalry.
(e) PL signed some documents. However, at the baptism of Edouard-Narcisse in 1803 in Quebec City, his signature was laborious and does not show a long formal education, which places him in the majority of citizens of that time.
(2) Loyalists in the United States
(3) Philip Long's name in muster rolls
(4) Philip Long in Wales
(5) Philip Long from PA in a Continental regiment
(6) Philip Long from Virginia
(7) Philip Long after the American Revolution
(9) Loyalist documentation from 1775 to 1783
(10) A revealing encounter
We can also believe that PL was born in the United States without knowing from which European country his ancestors came. PL kept his Loyalist allegiance and identified himself as an American decades after his arrival in Canada.
(11) Passengers from Europe
(12) The strong presence of Hessian soldiers from Germany caught my attention.
(13) Science: a lifeline
Over the years, we hope that other Americans will pass a Y-DNA test and find themselves in our haplogroup. For some time now, I have been making a considerable effort to convince other Longs in USA to take such a test. Many of them are not aware of the existence and power of these tests: we have to be patient. Most descendants of European immigrants do not know where their ancestors came from. In the absence of genealogy and oral tradition, many of them fall back on DNA. This science is young and complex, but it is progressing day by day. You have understood that the other families of haplogroup cannot help us too much, because they are searching like us for their European ancestors. However, one family of our haplogroup claims that their European ancestors come from Germany. It is with this family that we share the greatest Y-DNA closeness.
(14) The Scots at the time of the American Revolution (AR)
(15) Philip Long: here, there, but not from everywhere
(16) A change of surname
Our documentation shows that PL maintained his surname of Long throughout his life. Did some descendants decide to change their surname because they knew that PL was of British origin? We can believe so, but there is no information that allows us to say so. It must be said that in Quebec, the Scots did not enjoy a better reputation among Quebecers than the British.
(17) A leap from documentation to science
This technology has especially allowed us to eliminate certain Long families that initially appeared to be related to our own. Even better, we are connected to families that we had no idea were related to us.
Who knows what the future will bring? Actually, my efforts are oriented towards the United Kingdom where PL or his recent ancestors could have lived even though we have genetic results found in Germany four or five centuries ago.