11/21/06

Contents

Birth of Philip Long?

Key Events of 1776

Interesting Additional Information

1742 - Birth of Philip Long?

Earliest possible year of birth of Philip Long.  Evidence for this year is taken from Death Certificate where Philip Long is said to have been “ninety years old” at his death on December 25, 1832.  There is also the 1830 Census of the Madawaska Settlement where Philip is listed as between 80-90 years old—only one year before he died in 1832 at the documented age of “ninety years old” - this is a much better fit than with Mgr. Lang’s deduction that Philip was possibly 75 when he died.

Documentary evidence is difficult to challenge even in the face of one obvious conclusion: based on this information, Philip would have been fifty (50) years of age when he married Marie-Julie Couillard Després in 1992. Michel, the last living child to come from this union, was born in 1820 which means that Philip would have been 70 years old! Another piece of evidence is the survey done in 1830 of the Madawaska Settlement whereby Philip is said to have been between the ages of 80-90 years old. Other pieces of information, not documentary, may cast some doubts on this advanced age: (a) older people then tended to exaggerate their advanced age – a sign of pride, and (b) a mistake was made on Marie-Julie’s death certificate that is incontrovertible. If one mistake, why not others? However, documentary evidence is strong that we should consider our ancestor to have been born in 1742 instead of 1757 as was put forward by Mgr. Lang.  

Key Events of 1776

Declaration of Independence of the American colonies on July 4, 1776.

Please refer to the following chronology of the year 1776.

http://www.royalprovincial.com/history/chronology/chrono76.shtml

Interesting Additional Information