Longhurst of Iowa
Thomas Longhurst, the progenitor of a majority of the Longhurt Family from Iowa, was born in England c.1826. He married Julia Van Wie of Buffalo, Erie, New Tork in approx. 1856. They had a daughter in New York in 1856 and their second child, also a daughter, in 1857 in Dubuque, Iowa as well as the rest of his family was born in Dubuque, Iowa.
Thomas eventually moved to Chicago and lived with his second child, Mary E. "Mattie", and her husband, Edgar Bunker. It appears that Julia stayed in Dubuque and lived with two of her sons, George and John.
I believe that I have identified two of Thomas' siblings, William of Dubuque and Chicago and Mary Ann Morehouse c.1817 who lived in Kent Co., Mich. There may be a second brother, James. I also believe that Thomas was one of the youngest siblings. Thomas and William were Architects and further, Thomas was a land developer and builder with his son-in-law, Edgar Bunker.
I have hit a wall as to Thomas' ancestry. I believe that he was with the Capel Surrey group that came to Canada in 1832. Thomas may have been a brother of Joseph or a cousin, possibly a son of James c.1795.
It may be coincidence but one of Joseph's grandsons, Joseph, was living in Iowa at one time.
I am not even sure that Thomas was his given name. In each of the Census his children's names changed from a given to a middle to a nick name. This may have been a tradition that Thomas started and his children copied.
This was a long posting but maybe some of these things will fit with somebody?
Can anyone help me?
Regards.
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Re: Longhurst of Iowa
Dennis Thalman 5/24/09