William Lange/Lang/Long (1846-1928) from Germany to Illinois to Iowa

The life of William Lange/Lang/Long is as varied as his surname. According to his personal testimony from his Civil War Pension, William was born 7 May 1846 in Rakow, Mecklenburg, Schwerin, Germany. Family history offers that William and his sister Sophia immigrated about 1862. I have not found either of their names on a passenger list. Many lists have been lost. At this time, I have found no other prior family history.

On 21 January, William Lange enlisted for the Civil War. Lange or Lang is the German equivalent of Long. William enlisted, served and mustered out with other men from Frankfort. John Herbst was one of these men. 

John Herbst married Sophia Elsner and William Long married Louisa Elsner; the ladies were sisters. On March 1, 1867, he married Louisa Elsner (1849-1931) in Frankfort, Will County, Illinois.

According to his obituary, William was the last Civil War Veteran from Remsen, Iowa. He died March 11, 1929. Several obituaries are online, on Find A Grave and in the newspaper collection for My Heritage. Williams death certificate is included with his widow's Civil War Pension application. The pension application is available from the National Archives, Washington, D.C. "Disposition of Claimant, 23 June 1928, Louisa Long, widow's pension application no. 1609472,certificate no. a6-23-28 service of William Long (Pvt., Co. F. 64 IL Infantry, Civil War.) Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs; Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C."

After the war, he returned to Frankfort, Will County, Illinois, acquired a wife, started a family and worked as a farmer. Also, he learned to speak English and write his name, at first Wilem and later William always Lang to Long.

Timeline:

• 1864 - resided in Frankfort, Will County, Illinois
• 1867 March 1 - married Louisa Elsner in Will County, license number 2830
• 1868 May 4 - birth Anna eventually married Tenhoff
• 1870 January 15 - birth Mina eventually married Koerner
• 1873 January 26 - birth Will or W.C.
• 1876 March 15 - birth Fritz or F.W.
• 1879 - resided Monee, Will County, Illinois
• 1880 March 30 - birth Ludwig or Louis deceased by 1915
• 1882 - resided Matteson, Cook County, Illinois
• 1883 March 27 - birth Emma eventually married Copps
• 1886 - resided Plymouth County, Iowa
• 1888 - resided Remsen, Plymouth County, Iowa
• 1888 May 23 or 27 - birth John
• 1916 July 10 - son, John F. enlisted at Ft. Logan, Colorado, 4th Co., Coast Artillery; 1920 July 10 discharged at Ft. Douglas
• 1922 March 19 - extended stay in Sioux City, Iowa hospital with surgery
• 1926 January 12 - applying for pension increase due to mental weakness and unable to care for self, poor hearing
• 1926 February 9 - "Loss of memory so that he has to be told and shown what to do, " wife continues, "He need aid in changing clothes. He does not know his own clothes from those of another person. His mind is very dull."
• 1928 March 16 - Died at Remsen, Iowa of cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerosis. He was buried in the Remsen Cemetery.
• 1931 - Louisa, William's widow dead.

William and his family leave many research questions. Also, I have no photos of this family. Lots of questions yet so little time to research. What family stories do you have to share? contact me, Selma Blackmon.

1833 SCHULER family arrives in Baltimore, Maryland

Seven members of the SCHULER family emigrate from Endingen to Baltimore, Maryland in June 1833. My second great grandfather John SCHULER (1815-1875) arrived with his parents and four siblings between July and September of 1833.

According to David, at least two Endingens exist. The SCHULER family is from Endingen, Oberamt Balingen, Württenberg. It is in the district known as Zollernalbkreis.

Unit thirty-five of the Endingen Emigrants to America by David J. Sautter was prepared 23 April 2012. The complete writings by David are available on FamilySearch.org. The complete title of unit thirty- five is Johann Georg Schuler and his wife, Agnes Zimmermann, left Endigen in 1833 with their five children,Johannes, Andreas, Anna Barbara, Anna Elisabetha and Johann Georg and settled in Ohio. As of this writing, the chapter is only available for downloading at the Family History Center. The volunteers will print or download to your travel drive. Earlier chapters of this book are available for reading online at home. Thank you David for all your diligent work and for sharing your research.

 The index found on Family Search.org.

"United States Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDRC-44C : accessed 4 June 2015), G Schuler, 1833; citing Immigration, NARA microfilm publication M334 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 418,317.

Affiliate Publication Title: Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports (Excluding New York), 1820-1874 , Affiliate Publication Number: M334 , Affiliate Film Number: 157 , GS Film number: 418317 , Digital Folder Number: 004883841 , Image Number: 00097

This digital image is on Ancestry.con. Notice SCHULER and ZIMMERMAN. Could this be Mrs. SCHULER's brother? Also, ZIMMERMAN on previous page.

Source Citation

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Records of the US Customs Service, RG36; Series: M596; Roll: 2

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Original data: Selected Passenger and Crew Lists and Manifests. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Judge Advocate General, Naval Disciplinary Barracks, Port Royal, S.C. 1911-1915 records in the Federal Archives at Atlanta

The records for the Judge Advocate General, Naval Disciplinary Barracks, Port Royal, S.C. are located in the National Archives at Atlanta. Textual records for Record Group (RG) 125 are available for public research at the National Archives at Atlanta, 5780 Jonesboro Rd, Morrow, GA 30260, 770-968-2100. NARA at Atlanta is the repository for federal records created in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Record Group 125, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Navy) 1799-1950, was established 8 June 1880. Among other duties, the offices of the Judge Advocate General, JAG, administer military justice, enforce court-martial sentences, and handle claims against the navy. A complete history and record list is available online at the National Archives website www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/125.html.

Homer Albert Thayer - Navy discharge with honors

Other documents in this collection include name changes, enlistment records, and court martial.

Search this site!!!

How to plan your research before going to the National Archives at Atlanta

Consider the following before leaving home or how to plan a genealogical research trip to the National Archives at Atlanta, 5780 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, Georgia 30260. The nine regional archives have federal resources unique to their region. The National Archives at Atlanta maintains federal historical records for the eight southeastern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

• Genealogists researching at the National Archives at Atlanta will find valuable sources in three forms: online, microfilm and textual.
• The free online databases including Fold3, AncestryInstitutional and Heritage Quest are available at many libraries or at home by subscription.
• Examples of microfilmed documents include Native American records, Freedman Bureau records, appointments of postmasters, and southern claims court records. The National Archives in Washington, D.C. has all microfilm rolls. The regional branches have copies of selected film. Contact the Atlanta regional facility for specific rolls, 770-968-2100.
• A far greater number of manuscripts are available only as textual documents. These are the original paper form. The documents have been neither digitized nor microfilmed. As these documents are fragile, special precautions are necessary for their use. After filling out an application and presenting a photo ID, an archives researcher receives a free identification card. To the family historian holding the World War I draft card signed by an ancestor connects the generations. Textual records that may interest genealogists in Atlanta include the List of Aliens Admitted to Citizenship at Charleston, 1790-1860, World War I draft cards, slave sale documents and Tennessee Valley Authority documents.

Questions to consider:

• How did your family interact with federal government, examples, census, federal land, military, federal court, federal prison, immigration, ship passenger or Native American? The Atlanta archives unique records include the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, World War I draft registration cards for all states.
• Why all records are not open for research? Due to confidentially, each federal agency has specific guidelines for releasing documents. Due to the 72 year access restriction, the most recent Federal Census is 1940. Other records are available on individual basis with information redacted such as a Social Security number. When a researcher identifies textual records, the record may be reproduced on a flatbed scanner, non-flash digital camera, or paper copy.
• Who is the agency that created the document and what was the purpose, examples, census or weather bureau? The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, contacted the weather bureau when planning test flights. Many of their letters are in Record Group 27, Records of the Weather Bureau.
• How are the records arranged? The records are arranged by record groups. Every federal government entity is given a name and number, example Bureau of the Census RG 29. Not every record created by an agency will be transferred to the archives. Records are maintained at the archives in the same order as the sending agency. As the records are not arranged by topics, the NARA staff creates finding aids. The collection of original material may be available as digital, microfilm, microfiche, or text.
• Has the document been digitized: Private agencies such as Ancestry, Family Search, and Fold 3 may choose parts of a collection to digitize, index, and publish online.

Spend time researching online; read the FAQs; go prepared. Contact the National Archives at Atlanta with your research question, phone 770-968-2100 or fax 770-968-2547.

How to research at the National Archives at Atlanta

Wm Kampe WWI draft registration. Original document scanned by Selma Blackmon at the National Archives at Atlanta

    Genealogists researching at the National Archives at Atlanta will find valuable sources in three forms: online, microfilm and textual. The National Archives at Atlanta is located at 5870 Jonesboro Rd, Morrow, GA 30260.

    Fold3, AncestryInstitutional and Heritage Quest are free online databases available using the National Archives and Record Administration computers. Please limit the use of these NARA computers and printers to historical or family research. NARA staff and volunteers are available to aid the researcher with the database operations. As the staff is not able to research for each patron, a basic knowledge computer use is desirable. The computers are equipped with headsets. A computer is equipped for visually impaired patrons. Bring a USB flash drive to download images. The National Archives at Atlanta is setup for wifi, so bring your laptop.

    A greater part of the government documents have not been digitized, but have been microfilmed, examples of microfilm include Native American records and southern claims court records. Microfilm rolls are a source to check for clarity, example spelling on census records. Since microfilm rolls require less storage space that textual documents, many digitized original documents have been destroyed, example census records. The Atlanta branch has five microfilm or microfiche readers. One machine is read only; four machines have the capability to print or to download to a USB flash drive.

    A far greater number of manuscripts are available only as textual documents. These are the original paper form. The documents have been neither digitized nor microfilmed. As these documents are fragile, special precautions are necessary for their use. After filling out an application and presenting a photo ID, an archives researcher receives a free identification card. To the family historian holding the World War I draft card signed by an ancestor connects the generations. Textual records that may interest genealogists in Atlanta include the List of Aliens Admitted to Citizenship at Charleston, 1790-1860, World War I draft cards, slave sale documents, federal court cases, federal prison records and Tennessee Valley Authority documents.

    Please contact me, Selma Blackmon, with any questions or comments on researching at the National Archives at Atlanta.