DeLong, Francis
(no picture available)
b 6-8-1759 d 2/8/1862
Pasquotank River NC Hartford MI
Age 102y, 8m, 3d
(age 103 years recorded on tombstone)
Enlisted 9/13/1777
Age 18 years
Fifer
Perhaps the only Revolutionary soldier who ever lived in Hartford Township
was Francis DeLong who was born in 1760. He and his wife came to the
Township of Hartford in 1854 and lived with their children. Mr. DeLong
enlisted in the American Army on the 13th day of September, 1777. He
was taken prisoner by the English forces at Charleston, South Carolina and
was held prisoner for five months. He was then taken to the island of
Jamaica where he was held for six years when he was transferred to Halifax
and detained for one year, then sent to Montreal, and then three months
afterward he and his comrades in captivity were sent to the West Indies to
fight the natives, but not being of the requisite stature of an English
soldier he was discharged, a stranger in a strange land without money and
without friends.
He finally succeeded in working his way to northern New York where he
married and raised a family of eight children. Three grandsons of
the old hero were in the Civil War, Silas, Henry and
Nathan DeLong.
Freeman Stowe, a great grandson, was also a
Civil War soldier. A great-great grandson,
Bernard A. Stowe, served during
WW1. Numerous
descendants of the old veteran, grandchildren and great grandchildren are
residents of the townships of Hartford and Bangor.
He died in 1862 and was laid to rest in the Hartford cemetery in military
style in the presence of friends, relatives and a few soldiers who had
just been sworn into the U.S. service by C.H. Engle. The scene was an
impressive one. "We are consigning to his grave", says Mr. Engle, "in the presence of the young soldiers one of
the last of the Revolutionary heroes who fought for the liberty that was
secured to us by such loyals as Francis DeLong".
Alvah DeLong was a settler of the town in 1839.
He removed to California where he died.
Two of his brothers, Asher and
Allen, also became residents of the township.
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DeLong,
Francis
(no picture available)
Enlisted 9/13/1777
Died
2/8/1862
Buried
in Hartford Pioneer Cemetery
Van Buren County, Hartford, Michigan
grave marked 1915.
Father of 8 children with 2 listed as:
1.
Silas DeLong of Bangor, MI
2. Mrs.
Ette E. (Lewis) Landon of Hartford, MI.
(12-23-2007 Eric
DeLong, great, great, great, great grandson of Francis Delong,
notes that Silas Delong and Ette E. (Lewis) Landon were actually children
of
Allen Delong, who was the son of Francis Delong)
This
information was obtained from the Wayne County Michigan website MALHN at http://www.geocities.com/michhist/revburial.html
(link no longer available)
regarding the Revolutionary War Soldiers buried in Michigan. Other
names were listed with men from the surrounding areas.
Original
information came from the book
Michigan Military Records by
Sue I. Silliman,
Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore 1969.
7-19-2007
Update
Eric John DeLong, great, great,
great, great grandson of Francis DeLong, visited the DeLong grave site in
Pioneer Cemetery. Eric, an avid history buff, is a teacher-tutor in
Streator IL He tracked down the DeLong grave site through historic
family documents and found Francis DeLong’s profile (above) in the History
of Hartford military section.
Eric
noted that Francis was the son of a French Sea Captain and also the first
DeLong in his ancestral line to be born in North America.
The following updated information was provided
in 1/24/07:
Mary Moody – wife
Children – Anna, Ben, Hiram, Allen, Armena, Alva (my
line), Asher, and Hardy
5-25-2007 Update
Laurie Warner Jacobs, great-granddaughter to Freeman Stowe, provided the
following updated information and photos.
Freeman Stowe, great grandson of Francis DeLong, served in the Civil War
and great-great grandson,
Bernard A. Stowe, served during WW1.
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