Foster Care

 My grandmother, Vennie Watson Wicker, grew up in foster care.  The Cates family who had employed her mother as a housekeeper, took her under their wing when her mother (Mattie) was taken to a mental institution.  The photo is my grandmother and Dollie Cates taken about 1916 when Grandma was only about 12 years old. At some point Vennie also went to live with the Williams family which is where she was living when she married my grandfather.

Oddly when she and Grandpa married, she had a court appointed guardian whom my mother had never heard of. Grandma was the only surviving child and had to depend on neighbors and "church 'folks" to take her in since there was no family around.

But she's not the only one of my ancestors in foster care.  My great-great grandfather Milton Long also was taken in my another family.

Milton's father Thomas Long died in 1837 leaving Susannah Long with many children to care for.  One or two of her daughters had married:  Susannah to Charles Mothershead (1832) and Eavline to Whitaker Mothershead (1834).  That left James, Samuel, Elizabeth, Milton, and Sarah.  I imagine life was not easy for a widow in the 1830s who had a farm to manage but also had children to "manage".

In 1839, James (16) had John Murrell as a guardian (with his brother-in-law Whitaker Mothershead) followed by his brother Samuel (14) in April of 1840 who had Whitaker for a guardian along with John Murrell.  I'm guessing their mother Susannah Baker Long was not well since she died in 1840.

Upon her death, the other children were put in foster care July 1840.  Sarah (7), Milton (11) and Elzabeth (13) to James Pounds (with James Evans and Whitaker Mothershead)

But, there were many more children left as orphans taken in by these same men (and families) with the Bakers (Orson and Milton) in the early 1840s.  Among them were Susannah Long and Charles Mothershead's children in 1840-41:  John (9), Thomas (11), Charles (4) and Willis (6).  And then 4 years later they were all assigned new guardians. And then in 1848, they had all new guardians again.  I don't know the reason for the constantly changing guarianships but I can just imagine what the instability was like for those children.

Frontier life was not for the faint of heart.

Bethlehem Cemetery

My cousins Kathy, Steve and I visited Bethlehem Cemetery. Kathy is pointing out Louis Reiter our g-g grandfather---his stone is barely readable. Thank goodness it was next to his wife's Eliza E. (Tyrey) Reiter.
Newer ones were very nice like Joseph (1903) and Gladys Long (1904). Joseph was Jeptha Long's son and first cousin to our grandfather Roy Long.

Milton Long and Catherine Brown's children

Jeptha Long and Frances Johnson

I recently had lunch with my 2nd cousin once removed (her grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers) who brought a wedding photo of her grandparents which I'd never seen. Thank you Kay for sharing the above photo of Jeptha Long and Frances Johnson.

Milton Long and Catherine Brown

Click here for more information on Milton and here for more information on Catherine. They had 8 children most of whom I have photos for. Besides Jeptha Long (pictured above) they had Milton Martin Long, Nora Long Couch, Sarah Jane Long Maness, Susan Long Wallace, Mary Evaline Long Hughes, James C. Long and my great-grandfather Thomas Henry Long.
Pictured above are Susan Long and Thomas Wallace.
This is Milton Martin Long and Hettie Williams.
Above is my great-grandfather Thomas Henry Long with his oldest children: standing are Este Long, Alfred Long and Katie Long Bruns. Seated on T.H.'s lap is Lecy Long Guinther and to his right is Clarence Long. On Mary Reiter Long's lap is Lawrence Long and on the ground with a skeptical face is my grandfather Roy Long.
The only other photo I have of Milton's children is the one above and below from the 1931 family reunion photo. Thomas H. Long, Jeptha Long, Sarah Jane Long Maness (1859-1945), Lenorah (Nora) Long Couch (1861-1942) and Susan Long Wallace (1858-1941)
The only ones whom I don't have photos of are Mary Evaline Long Hughes and James C. Long.

Catherine Brown Long

Milton Long and Catherine Brown Long

Catherine Brown Long was my great-great grandmother---Thomas Henry Long's mother (her other children were Jeptha Long , Milton Martin Long, Nora Long Couch, Sarah Jane Long Maness, Susan Long Wallace, Mary Evaline Long Hughes, and James C. Long). This page of the 1898 Atlas has Maness, Couch, Long, Brown, Graham farms---they sure didn't go far to find spouses back then, did they?
Catherine Caroline Brown Long was the daughter of Henry G. Brown and Mary Polly Graham---both names are "old" Jefferson County names. Henry G. Brown was apparently the constable of the Big River Township (click here to see---on the document with guardianship of Thomas's children)

Milton Long

I don't really have many stories about these great-great grandparents---Milton Long and Catherine Brown Long. One story that I recall was my dad's uncles saying how much he looked like their grandfather Milton. I always thought dad looked like their father, but they insisted he looked more like their grandfather and I can actually see it, now. (Double-click on any of the documents to see more clearly---use the back arrow to come back)

While going through my files looking for something on Milton, I found this from the Pierce Mothershead web site showing what happened to Milton and his siblings when their parents died.The 1850 census confirms that Milton was living with the Pounds family (along with some Mothersheads).