The Long line has been incredibly elusive, and there are a few reasons why. First, there are three generations of Long men who were named Monroe Park Long. The second is that all three of them used different variations of the name, the spelling, or the name “Mongo/Mungo” at different points in their lives. This makes the search for vital records and census records very difficult. Finally, it seems that the first Monroe may have intentionally been trying to obscure his past. I’ll explain why below.
I was searching through old Texas newspapers using the different variations of the Monroe name, when I came upon an old article about a druggist, MP Long, in Bremond. In January 1900, he had been arrested for the murder his friend, the Bremond Justice of the Peace and local saloon owner. Subsequent articles discussed how he had posted bail and then was acquitted on the grounds of self-defense.
How many MP Longs could there be in 1900 Texas, and druggists to boot? Could this be the same Monroe Park Long we’re related to? Although the dates matched up, the Longs we knew were in Graham, not Bremond. According to Google, Bremond is a three hour drive from Graham – it may have taken a couple days to get there in 1900. Not a reasonable commute. Eli and I were stumped for a couple weeks, trying to figure out whether this MP Long was our ancestor.
Eli solved the mystery when he found the Robertson County census, taken June 1, 1900. Bremond is in Robertson County, as were Munro Long, Julia Long, Mongo Park Long, Glendora Long, and Kenyon Long. (Note the different spellings/names used for the father and son Monroes.)
It seems that our ancestor was most likely the MP Long who killed the Bremond Justice of the Peace, Max Stellbauer – in self defense. According to newspaper articles, they had been at the pharmacy in Bremond. It was between 11pm and 12pm when they each fired five rounds at each other. Max died, but Long survived.
When Long was acquitted, it is very likely Max’s family was pretty mad. I’m betting that Long had to take his family out of town in a hurry, and it probably explains why he went by various names. According to a 1910 census, Long and family were living in Cherokee County.
Here’s a timeline of events:
– July 14, 1897 – Long’s children, Kenion, Monroe, and Yalen Glendora Long were born in Bremond. (More proof that the family was in Bremond for a few years.)
– January 20, 1900 – The murder took place in Bremond, Texas. Max Stellbauer (Justice of the Peace) was killed by MP Long, who was seriously wounded.
– February 12, 1900 – The Houston Post newspaper reports that Long gets out of jail on $5,000 bail. (Almost $154,000 in today’s money.)
– February 20, 1900 – The Houston Post newspaper reports that the trial begins.
– June 1, 1900 – Robertson County census shows Munro Long, Julia Long (wife), Mongo Park Long, Glendora Long, Kenyon Long living in Robertson County. (Bremond is in Robertson County.)
– July 29, 1900 – The Houston Post newspaper reports that Long acquitted of murder.
– May 12, 1910 – Cherokee County census shows Monroe P. Long, Yalen (same birthdate as Glendora), Kinian A., Mongoe P. living in Cherokee County. (Note the different spellings of everyone’s names. Also note that Monroe is listed as a widower in this census, so Julia must have passed away sometime between 1900 and 1910. Maybe from the stress of it all.)
I wonder what Max and Long were fighting about in the pharmacy that night…
Pedigree:
| Monroe Park Long (1859-Unknown) |
| Julia Elizabeth Canarian (1871-Unknown) |
| Monroe Park Long (1899-1977) |
| Myrtle Edith Blair (1898-1973) |
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| Monroe Park Long (1924-1999) |
| Dorothy Alice Martin (1928-1964) |
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| Gary Park Long (1948-Living) |
| Kathleen Dale Smith (1949-2012) |
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| Paul John Michaels (1974-Living) |
| Emily Alice Long (1973-Living) |
The Michaels Project 