C. S. Longcope
Associated with the Avery Family while they were in Houston, and also apparently a treasurer of some sort for a relief fund in Houston to help widows, soldiers’ families, and civilians.
He is listed as a resident of Houston in the 1860 and 1880 censuses, according to Heritage Quest:
| Surname | GivenName | Age | Sex | Race | Birthplace | State | County | Location | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGCOPE | C S | 50 | M | W | PA | TX | HARRIS | 4-WD HOUSTON | 1860 |
| LONGCOPE | CHARLES S. | 76 | M | W | PA | TX | HARRIS | 2-WD;HOUSTON | 1880 |
By searching for Longcope in the 1860s volumes of the Tri-Weekly Telegraph, I turned up these:
- Advertisement about relief fund.1
- Notice of plans to hold a ball for soldiers’ families.2
- Notice of the dissolution of a former partnership between Longcope and Elsbury.3
- A May 1863 treasurer’s report for the relief fund.4
- Letter from some women who had raised funds at a supper.5
- Notice of corn on sale to soldiers’ families.6
- Some indication that he owned a warehouse and served as a cotton consigner. See also January 1862 statement.7
- An editorial note suggesting that Longcope worked with “Mrs. Bremond” and “Mrs. Van Alstyne” on soldiers’ relief.8
- Apparently received some shipments of sugar for William F. Weeks via Niblets Bluff in September 1863.9
According to HOTx, Longcope read the emancipation proclamation to his enslaved people outside his mansion in the Second Ward. In a letter to D.D. Avery on July 19, 1865, he discusses the “losses” he incurred by “freeing some 20 odd negroes,” but promises “not to give up the ship, so long as I have a plank.”10
He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery.
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 139, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 4, 1863.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 140, Ed. 1 Friday, February 6, 1863.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 108, Ed. 1 Monday, November 24, 1862.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 24, Ed. 1 Monday, May 11, 1863.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 137, Ed. 1 Friday, January 30, 1863.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 123, Ed. 1 Monday, December 29, 1862.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 123, Ed. 1 Monday, December 29, 1862.↩
The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 25, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 14, 1862.↩
See letter to William F. Weeks, September 2, 1863, Weeks Family Papers, Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations, Series I, Part 6, Reel 18, Frame 150.↩
C. S. Longcope to D. D. Avery, July 19, 1865, Avery Family Papers, Records of the Antebellum Southern Plantations, Series J, Part 5, Reel 11, Frame 679.↩
