John Adam LONG was born April 5, 1839 in Selinsgrove, Penn Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. Selinsgrove is in present-day Snyder County, Pennsylvania. John A. Long was the son of Jonathan LONG, Sr. and Catharine ADAMS. John Long moved to Illinois with his parents. His father purchased land in Carroll County, Illinois in 1856.

John A. Long, along with his brother William, joined the Union cause during the Civil War. From Dixon, Illinois, John enlisted September 7, 1861 and was assigned to Company H of the 15th Illinois Infantry Volunteers, commanded by Captain Morton D. Swift. John Long's pension papers record his physical description: Height - 5' 11", Complexion - dark, Color of Eyes - blue, Color of Hair - black. At the time of his enlistment, John listed "Harness Maker" as his occupation. The 15th Illinois took part in several important engagements of the Civil War: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and the Siege of Vicksburg. John A. Long, in 1891, submitted for an Invalid Pension by declaring he had incurred heart trouble, rheumatism, and kidney disease as a result of his military service. On September 7, 1864, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, John Long was honorably discharged. On March 8, 1865, John A. Long became Captain Long, commanding officer of Company K, 15th Illinois Infantry. He was honorably discharged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in September of 1865.

After the Civil War, John Long moved to Boone, Boone County, Iowa and established a harness shop. John then moved back to Illinois and is found in the 1870 and 1880 census residing in Brookville Twp., Ogle Co. Illinois. On the Fourth of July, 1870, John Long married Ellen Jane HOFFHINE at Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois. Ellen was born December 20, 1847 in Brookville, Ogle County, Illinois. She was the daughter of David HOFFHINE and Millicent FRANKS. John and Ellen's children are mentioned in John's military pension papers: Loyd, Bernice M., Jensta A., Roy H., Guy, Ivy Virginia, and Helen May. John Long, on pension form #3-389, dated 1915, stated that Loyd, Roy, Guy, and Jensta were deceased by 1915.

In March of 1884, John and Ellen Long moved their family to Spokane, Spokane County, Washington. John continued his trade as a harness maker. In 1894 he was elected as a member of Spokane's city council. John Adam Long died in 1926 and is buried at Riverside Cemetery, Spokane, Washington. The date of Ellen's death is unknown.

ARTICLE: dated January 4, 1926, Spokane Spokesman Review:
"John A. Long, 86, pioneer harness maker, who came to Spokane in 1884, died Saturday at his home, W. 1513 Kiernan. He was at one time a member of the city council, having been elected in 1894 and served for three years. Mr. Long was a native of Pennsylvania and served in the Union army three years and nine months, after enlisting at Freeport, Illinois, in September 1861. He was a member of Company H, 15th Illinois Infantry, under Captain M.D. Swift, of the Army of Tennessee, and rose to a captaincy. He was a member of the Masons and the Odd Fellows. Surviving him are his wife, Ellen J. Long, and three daughters; Mrs. S.L. Sickafoose of Zetland, Alta, Mrs. O.F. Kelly of Spokane, and Mrs. R.Y. Hunt of Seattle. The body is at Smith & Co., awaiting funeral arrangements."

From the book:
HISTORY OF SPOKANE COUNTY
by Jonathan Edwards
1900
page385

JOHN ADAM LONG, harness maker, 118 Stevens, between Riverside and Main, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Union County, April 5, 1839. When he was twelve years old the family removed to Brookville, Ogle Co., IL where he learned the trade of harness maker. He enlisted at Freeport, Stephenson Co., IL on September 15, 1861, in Company H, Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, under M.D. Swift. He served three years and nine months in the army of Tennessee and rose to the rank of captain. He was also in Seventeenth Army Corps, under General John A. Logan, and took an active part in many engagements; including Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Shiloh, Corinth, Memphis, Black River, Vicksburg, Champion Hill, Jackson, Mississippi, and many skirmishes. After the war, he located in Boone, Iowa where he had a harness shop for two years. He then resided in various places. In March, 1884, he came to Spokane and opened a shop and now has a nice business in which he has been successful. He was elected a member of the city council on the Republican ticket in 1894 and served three years. Mr. Long is a member of the F.&A.M. and I.O.O.F. He was married in Freeport, Illinois, July 4, 1870 to Ellen L. Hoffhine. They have four children: Bernice M., Roy H., Ive V., and Helen M."

Return to Ogle Co. Genealogy Site