Abraham Delong (abt. 1702 - abt. 1756)

Born about 1702 in Magdeburg, Heiliges Römisches Reich [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Catherina (Straup) Wertman — married 1736 in New Rochelle, Westchester, New York,

Descendants

Died about 1756 at about age 54 in Lynn Twp, Northampton, Pennsylvania [uncertain]

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Biography

Abraham was the son of New York immigrant Abraham le Long (aka Langer, Lang and other variants) and his wife Anna Barbara Dorthel (aka Dorten, Dortsch, Tortsin and other variants). He was probably the boy who was baptized in Magdeburg on July 2, 1702. The baptism record reads as follows (translated):

The 2nd of July [1702] Abraham le Long and Anne Barbe Tortsin have baptized their son Abraham who was born the 1st of said month and had for godfather Pierre Bailleux, young man, and for godmother Sara Host, young woman. ^[1]

Although Abraham’s parents were living in Oggersheim in 1699 when their son Peter was baptized there, and again in 1707 when their second son named Peter was baptized there, many French people from that area moved to Magdeburg starting in 1685 ^[2] in part because of the devastation of Oggersheim during the Palatine War of Succession. ^[3] Additional evidence that the baptized boy is the same as the son of the New York immigrant is that his baptismal sponsors, both residents of Magdeburg, had come from Mannheim and Frankenthal, both close to Oggersheim. Pierre Bailleux [son of Isaac Bailleul the younger and Susanne le Roy] was from Mannheim, and Sara Host/Haust [daughter of Jaques Host and Maria Salome] was from Frankenthal. So they may have known each other there.

A resident of Lynn Twp. in today's Lehigh Co., PA, Abraham has long been considered brother (perhaps 1/2 bro.) of Pyeter "Peter" of adjacent Berks County. It is known that Peter lived earlier in Ulster County, New York and married into one of the Palatine families there. It has been shown that Peter may well have been the Peter Le Lonn, son of Abraham Le Lonn (Le Long, Langer), another of the Palatines, baptized 1707. Abraham (our subject) then was perhaps (almost certainly?) another son. The Hunter lists of Palatines in New York show that the older Abraham's household increased from one to two children between Oct 1710 and Jun 1711. It is difficult to make sense of these New York records as the number in the family varies considerably from year to year. ^[4]

172(6?) - His possible father Abraham Langer/Le Long was a Palatine to New York, and his probable brother Pyeter "Peter" lived in Ulster Co., NY before settling in PA. It is therefore likely he is the Abraham for whom marriage banns with Rachel Hornbeeck were published in Kingston, Ulster Co. 13 Mar 172(6?). He is notated as born Germany, she Rochester, Ulster Co. The marriage apparently never came about as the banns were deleted from the register (Ref: Hoe: Kingston Records.) It is also possible that the banns relate to a remarriage of this Abraham's father Abraham, who would have been 58 at the time, if 1726 is the correct year.

1730? - Nothing is known of birthdates for any of his children, except possibly Elizabeth in 1731, so no date can be approximated for his marriage to Catherine, (last name unknown). It was perhaps about 1730.

1731 - Elizabeth Long, daughter of Abraham, was born on November 14, 1731 and baptized by Casper Stoever in Oley on November 28, 1731 with sponsors Peter Long and wife Elizabeth. The mother's name is not provided. ^[5]

17__ - He settled in Lynn Twp., Northampton, now Lehigh Co., PA.

1748 - 113.5 acres of land were surveyed by warrant date 16 Mar 1748. In 1870, it was resurveyed, by now in three parcels belonging to Koenigs, and recorded Allentown 11 Aug 1870. [Lehigh Co. Book __, p. 947.]

1755 thru 1759 - His will dated 21 Dec 1755, Lynn Twp., then Northampton Co. It mentions son Peter, other children indicated but not named. Wife "Catren" was executrix. Witnesses were John Eversett, Samuel Braun and Michael Baumgartner. Abraham's mark was a capital D. It was proved 22 Sep 1756, Braun being noted as Hannes Brown. The will was never recorded.

Louise Varisco has supplied photocopies of various documents, which I assume are taken from Northampton Co. Estate file #113. The inventory of receipts for debts paid off by Catherine, opens with a puzzle - Receipt No. 1 is dated 11 Nov 1755, six weeks before Abraham's will was signed. The second receipt is dated 29 Apr 1756. We can conclude Abraham died between 21 Dec 1755 and the date of receipt No. 2, but I have no explanation for the date of No. 1. All other receipts appear to follow in chronological order with most being dated; No. 17 of the eighteen is 15 Oct 1759.

The inventory and evaluation of the estate is dated __ Mar 1759 (day illegible), and is entitled "The Pisment of Abaham deLong desesed Good and Chattels" (sic throughout). Pisment is spelled more correctly Prisment in the summary, no doubt appraisal, each individual item on the inventory being "Prised at" a given value.

The major item is the "Plantason", no doubt being the 113.5 acres of 1747, prised at £30.0.0. Some descriptive words are hard to read but seem to refer to twenty acres of water, perhaps lakes on the property. Next came the "Grate wagin" prised at £8. The only direct bequest of the will, the two year old mare colt, was to be given to Peter "directly" and does not appear on the inventory. The total appraisal was £81.3.7.

1764 - In a letter 27 Sep 1955 to Mrs. Jorgen Jacobson of Chicago, Prof. Irwin Hoch DeLong said that the date of the invoice and appraisement of the estate in File 113 is 1764. Perhaps this is the date on the outside of a document, undated in the text itself, which summarizes and supplements appraisal information and restates the debt receipt list. In this document the appraisal of £81.3.7 is repeated, then indicates the estate sold for £17.2.11 above the appraisement, for a total of £98.6.6 The plantation remained at £30 but unsold. The total of debts paid off by Catherine was £48.1.2 to the eighteen creditors.

Louise Varisco has submitted a document stating that on 2(1?) Apr 1764, Katherine Delong swore to the administration of the estate. Evaluation and disbursements are given as £128.6.6. This is £30 above the figure in the paragraph above, and shows that the unsold plantation, valued at £30, was not part of the appraisement of £98.6.6.

The estate was settled 3 Aug 1764. On this date, a release was given to Catherine DeLong by the children. The sons are listed first, then daughters with their husbands. The sons were Peter who marked with a capital D, Math. (sic), Abraham, John, Etward (sic). Daughters were Rachel, Madelena wife of Henry Bretnig,(Heinrich Bretnich), Hanna wife of Michael Engel (Englert), Catherine wife of Andrew (Andreas) Straub. This release document witnessed by George Briner, George Kistler, Philip Schuman and Daniel Straub. [Ref: Deed Book B, Vol. 1, pp. 375ff, as quoted by I. H. DeLong in his letter to Mrs. Jacobsen.] Release recorded 20 May 1772.

1765 - The Herring Genealogy says Catherine died in 1765, which is incorrect. This may be an inference from knowing she was still alive in 1764; in any event, she was still alive on February 7, 1787 when she gave a power of attorney to her son John. "Plow a Straight Furrow" erroneously says she was deceased by the time of the 1764 completion of probate. Another source has she died after 1787 and that she married a Wortman (Wartman, Worman, etc.) first name unknown (which is correct - she married George Phillip Wertman (1724-1781)).

Children: Now that we finally know the order of children as given in the estate settlement, they are being renumbered in our text, using the settlement order which Irwin H. DeLong in his 1955 letter presumes was the order of birth. This will allow us to discuss possible birth periods to some degree. Sons are given first, then daughters.

1. Peter b. abt 1733.
2. Mathias/Matthew b. 1735-37.
3. Abraham Jr. b. 1738-39.
4. John Lucas b. est. 1740-41.
5. Edward/Etward b. late 1740s - early 1750s.
6. Rachel b. 1733-41.
7. Magdalena b. abt 1740.
8. Hanna b. well into 1740s.
9. Catherine b. well into 1740s. Md Andres Straub.

Note: 5-2, Source of above, the late John D. Baldwin III, 50 yr. DeLong researcher.

Will

21 DEC 1755

List a wife, Catherine and other children.

Sources

1. ↑ "Deutschland, ausgewählte evangelische Kirchenbücher 1500-1971," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPNM-RF34 : 26 October 2021), Abraham Le Long in entry for Abraham Le Long, ; images digitized and records extracted by Ancestry; citing Baptism, Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Sachsen, Preußen, Deutschland, Magdeburg, German Lutheran Collection, various parishes, Germany.
2. ↑ Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Colony_of_Magdeburg#:~:text=The%20French%20Colony%20of%20Magdeburg,later%20colony%20of%20German%20Palatines.
3. ↑ Wikipedia at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oggersheim.
4. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 05 April 2018), memorial page for Abraham DeLong (unknown–unknown), Find A Grave Memorial no. 94005338, ; Maintained by Roy Delong (contributor 47471761).
5. ↑ Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever Baptismal and Marriage, 1730- 1779 at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Records_of_Rev_John_Casper_Stoever/mt4_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en.

Acknowledgments

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 05 April 2018), memorial page for Abraham DeLong (unknown–unknown), Find A Grave Memorial no. 94005338, ; Maintained by Roy Delong (contributor 47471761)