Roy Long and Vivian Maupin: early 1900's

Roy and Vivian—

While attending a writing class at church, someone in the class had begun writing her family history with a story of how her grandparents met.  As almost the eldest in my family, I thought I’d better write more of my family stories also.

Grandpa Roy grew up in a Baptist farm family of 12 children outside of DeSoto  MO near Big River. His mother was the daughter of a German miner and his father was from a Jefferson County Mo. family that had been farming and mining there before statehood. Any schooling Grandpa had would have been in a one room country school.He was raised with hard work and chores, but  Roy broke  away from the family traditions of farming or mining  to work at Missouri Pacific Railroad shop in De Soto, MO as a welder/boilermaker.   He was tall with blond good looks and based on notes, postcards, and photos that he saved, he was well loved by the ladies in the area.

  

Grandma Vivian grew up in a Methodist-Episcopal family with 7 children in a large Victorian home in DeSoto Mo.  Her mother’s family was from England and my aunt remembers tea parties and lace-curtain- elegance.  Grandma was raised in a more privileged family that was also more fun-loving.  During the Depression, an uncle gave all of the girls in the family violins and the boys each got a dime to buy ice cream with.  My dad often told stories of riding in the rumble seat of his grandfather’s Packard. Vivian’s father was the foreman of the Missouri Pacific roundhouse and the family travelled often by train to St. Louis for shopping and to Kansas City and Texas where family lived. She was one of those women whose personality and kindness sparkled in her eyes.

I don’t know how they met—the only common thread was Roy worked in the Missouri-Pacific shops and Vivan’s father was the foreman of the  Missouri-Pacific roundhouse in the same small town of De Soto, Missouri..  Grandpa had turned many a female head, and Grandma was a small town aristocrat. . .  and the boss’s daughter.  I have no letters and no photos of them at this time.  World War I was looming.

Roy enlisted in the Army Air Corps, not realizing that Vivian was pregnant with dad (LeRoy). LeRoy Harold Long  was born Aug. 1918 while Grandpa was in France. While I do have post cards Roy sent his parents, there is no indication that he had become a father.  The post cards are letting his parents know that he had landed in New York and would be home soon.

And Vivian?  I have one photo of her at this time, standing in a large circle — she appears to be pregnant. So, she wasn’t sent away or locked in her room.  Based on the stories I have heard about her family, I believe she was loved and cherished.  Her parents were indulgent with their children, even when they were adults and married.  Great grandmother Annie was so beloved that many of her descendants still bear her name (mine is in the middle).  They were not stingy with their wealth and freely gave what they had to all of their children that needed it, especially in the Depression where they provided housing for any needing it including one of my aunts (Norma) who lived with them as a teen-ager.  So, I believe they did whatever they needed to keep her physically or emotionally healthy.

Roy was discharged from the army on March 27, 1919 and  got married on the same day.  The witnesses were Mamie and Leo Wilson—Vivian’s sister and brother-in-law. She was 20; he was 25. It's worth noting that Vivian's mother was one of the founding "mothers" of the Episcopal Church in DeSoto.  Roy's family were the backbone of their Baptist Church and yet they were married by the Justice of the Peace not in a church. That seemed to be pretty common at that time---at least in my  Dad's family.   I wish I had one photo of them together when they were young, but starting life together with a 7 month old boy was undoubtedly a big adjustment.

As far as any of us know, Grandpa, despite his reputation with the ladies, remained faithful in his marriage to Vivian.  They had 6 children (Milton died as a baby) and remained married for 32 years until she died in 1951. But, there must have been a little bit of embarrassment on someone’s part since I found their marriage certificate which is in contradiction to the “official marriage records” in Jefferson County, Missouri.  The 1919 had been changed to 1916.

For more on Roy and Vivian , click here. 

Railroads and Trains

My father had a collection of railroad spikes that I decided to give to my grandsons this year.  But, I thought they (and their parents) needed to know why trains are so important.  My father, LeRoy Long and Grandfather, Roy Long worked for Missouri-Pacific railroad when I was a child. At one time they were both boilermakers although Dad later became an Electrician.   I went with them to the shops (where the trains were being repaired) and I took advantage of passes by getting on a train (unaccompanied by an adult), riding to DeSoto, Mo (about an hour away from St. Louis) where my parents and/or relatives would meet me. 

Once we even took an over-night trip to Oklahoma City to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins.  I can remember waking up on the train, looking out the window and being amazed by red soil of Oklahoma. I also made trips to Boston with my mother, but I was too young to remember that.

My grandparents and my grandmother's family all rode on passes since most of them worked for Missouri-Pacific.  Uncle Walter Maupin brought me two gifts from one of their frequent trips to Texas to visit family.

 The soft suede cow-girl outfit pictured above has been worn by me, my daughters and my granddaughters.   The tag says it is from Muskogee, OK.  I suspect my great-uncle bought it and the doll below at a vendor while the train was stopped in Muskogee.

Raising Canes

 While at a family gathering, I noticed that my Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron both had old canes.

 Mary's cane, which is hand-carved was from her grandfather Thomas Henry Long.

 Her husband Bill said she left it in a shopping cart recently, and he had to go back to Walmart to retrieve it---I totally understand.

Her grandfather is seated on the left.  He died in 1940's so the cane is at least 70 years old.

Not to be outdone by his sister, Ron said his cane was from their father Roy Long.

I wish had photos of Roy and Thomas with their canes. . .I will keep looking.  But, this is grandpa about at the age when he would have used that cane.

I do have a photo of my other grandfather, Wes Wicker, with a cane on the far left of the photo.  He was injured as a young man in a horse riding accident and walked with a cane on and off for the rest of his life.

Mother used her father's cane, and we inherited it from her.

That cane meant a lot to her, too, but she put an address label on it so she'd be sure to get it back. . .maybe Aunt Mary should do that, too.

Rabbit hunting--Long style

At the Long Family Reunion last week, Bill Long got out his grandfather Tom's rifle. It was Tom Long's turkey rifle which cousin Steve thought was engraved with his name:
But, "Long Tom" was actually a trade name although my great-grandfather was Tom Long AKA Thomas Henry Long.
Bill (red shirt) and Dave (white shirt) shared a story on why the 42 inch barrel of this 16 gauge rifle is bent. Although Tom Long used this to hunt turkeys, Elmer Dodson (on right) who was Tom's son-in-law's brother borrowed the gun to hunt rabbits. The rabbit went in a log so Elmer put the barrel in the log and fired, bending the barrel.
So I told my cousin Michael about this shotgun. He said, " I just wonder if that's grandpa's old shotgun?? The one he took with us when he took me rabbit hunting when I was just a young boy... He shot the rabbit from about 6 feet away from us with his shotgun - and all I remember was something blowing up and rabbit fuzz flying everywhere - Grandpa [Roy Long] said to me - Guess we were a little too close to that one... A special time with Grandpa I will always remember... And a funny one at that."

I asked Aunt Mary about Roy's shotgun but she said they had left it in DeSoto somewhere. It was double barreled and was pre-World War I. He let anyone use it. His nephew Junior McKay used to borrow it often. But, Roy lost track of it and no one knows what happened to it.

Long Family Photos

Bill Long on the right brought some photos which he is sharing with his cousin David Long on the left.
Bill's father George was the chief of the Fire Department in De Soto. He is on the far left. Next to him are Bill Coxwell, Jerry Coxwell, Hoard Lucas, ??? Hobson, Paul Brunkhorst and Bob Hopson.
Bill thinks this is his father, George Long's 8th grade graduation. He thinks the other boy may be Johnny Long, George's younger brother.
This photo shows Jane Long Maness seated with Mary Reiter Long. The woman behind is probably Nora Long Couch. The man in the dark suit is Jeptha Long and the man obscured in the back is probably Thomas Long (Nora, Jane and Jeptha's brother, Mary's husband). The man with the white shirt is Fred Reiter, Mary's brother.
George Long with Bill (on a calf?) Roy Long (George's brother and my grandfather) with his daughters Mary and Maxine.
The Thomas Long and Mary Reiter family: L-R Johnny Long, Curtis Long, Cecile Long, Clarence Long, Katie Long*, Fred Long*, Lecy Long, Roy Long, Lawrence Long and George Long. Estes Long* is missing. Those with * are the children of Thomas's first wife Cenith Wiley.

Valentines from Grandparents

This Valentine, from the 1940's, is from my grandparents Roy Long and Vivian Maupin Long.
It just reminds me of the art in so many books of my childhood and uses the slang of that era.
This Valentine is also from my Long Grandparents: Roy and Lena Long. Vivian had died and Roy had re-married Lena who was the grandmother most of us remember. They sent this to me while I was in college in 1964. So, Lena included a letter:
In the letter, she relates that they'd been to my mother and dad's house where Grandpa Wicker (whose wife Vennie had died) had brought his "Lady friend". The Longs had been invited to the wedding March 7 and "we are sure going hope your mother have tould you about this."
She then says, "Know you would like her. I think it wonderful for both of them. . .I know it hurts your mother for someone to take her mother's place but it is hard to understand till you get in a place like that. I know how it was with me, but Mother was taking it real good."
This Valentine is from my Grandpa Wicker inviting me to his wedding on March 7th. Note that he says, "Are you proud to get another grandma. . . you will just love her Jannie does and I know you will too."

Well, Janie may have loved her, but Mother never did really "take to" Mae, my grandfather's second wife. It's funny because Dave's dad, Grover was a widower for almost 20 years---I think we would have welcomed a second wife because we hated that he seemed so lonely, but he wouldn't even consider it. I think men often remarried years ago because they didn't know how to cook, clean, do laundry just as the women didn't know how to write checks or pump gas. But, today, we've learned to share household jobs and it seems less important to re-marry. . . and yet with this independence, the companionship is missing.

So, this is a Valentine to my step-grandmothers who provided my grandfathers with love and companionship (and meals) even though the grown children might not have appreciated them at the time. Thanks Lena and Mae.

Roy M. Long Coming Home

Within a year of going to France, Roy M. Long was back home. Again, I will transcribe to the best of my ability. The note above says:

"March 3, 1919

I am ______ you this card to let you now that we land in the morning in new york and that i well and get a long fine and hope it finds you the same.
Your son,
Roy M. Long"
This next note (above and below) says:
"March 19, 1919
I went through Niagra Falls last night and I sending you this pictures of it. Be sure and keep this because I want it when I get home. Roy M. Long"


For more information on Roy M. Long in World War I with photos and discharge papers, Click here.

Roy Long in France 1918-1919

These are post cards with no messages on them. I think people bought more post cards back then because they didn't have cameras or cell phones to take photos. :-)
These photos all have to do with World War I in France, but I don't read French and can't give more detail. If you do know French or just want a closer look, double click on the photos and use the back arrow to come back to this page/

This post card looks like a typical "tourist" post card. But, maybe Roy Long visited there or was stationed nearby.

The gentleman below is Marshall Joseph Joffre whom was considered a hero by many at that time, but history has not been so kind. Click here for more information.
Again, thanks to my sister Jane who shared Grandpa's post cards.

Roy Long's postcards home 1918

These post cards are from Roy Long to his parents while he was in training before he went overseas in 1918. To see the post cards larger, double click; then, use your back arrow to come back to this page. I will attempt to transcribe each post card, but the handwriting and fading of those done in pencil make it very hard. Please let me know if you don't think I've transcribed it correctly. The first one is to his father "T. H. Long" note the address "Desoto, Mo".
"Feb. 17, 1918 S. Carolina

Hello,
I thought_____ you _____ this to let you [know] that well. hope you are the same. You spoke about ______ you want to they haven stoped them at all. They go even of the week. I got wine Tuesday. It is all might send him if you wants."


This next post card, also from Roy in South Carolina is to his mother "Mrs. Mary C. Long"

May 18, 1918 S. Car

Dear Mother,
I thought would write you a few lines to let you now that I am well and that I received the cake you sent me and it was all OK. Your son Roy
We are moving______I don't know where____. [postmark says "New York"]
The next one is from Augusta, Georgia

"Dear Father,
I thought send you a card to let you now that I am well and hope it finds you the same. I like fine here as far as I now you. From your son Roy M. Long [what follows is his rank and company---not sure if I got it right]Co. B3rd RODN Comp Air corps Augusta Ga"

Thanks to my sister, Jane, who shared these post cards.