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Note: RESEARCH STANDARD APPLIED Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 14, 2021 Daniel Long is my paternal third great uncle, which is via common ancestry with Andrew Long and Jane Nevan. Daniel was initially identified in the 1875 census living with his parents. Based on the application of recognized genealogical standards of proof, the descent of Daniel Long is sufficiently established beyond any reasonable doubt. The basis for the descent of Daniel begins with the census record, which shows him living with his parents. This is followed by Daniel being named in the last will and testament of his mother. The descent of Daniel is also demonstrated horizontally by the newspaper articles, which name him as a sibling of Mary, Margaret, and Robert. This has been subsequently supported with the additional interlocking records and documentation listed further below. It should be recognized that the are multiple men named Daniel Long living at the same time in the Niagara County and Erie County, New York, USA area. For example, there is a different Daniel Long living with his brother in an 1887 City Directory for Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. There is a 1891 marriage record in Lockport of a Daniel Long and Mary Tanner, but there is no indication in the newspaper articles that Daniel ever married. 1872 BIRTH OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 Daniel Long was born in October 1872 in Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. The month and year were calculated from the 1875 census record, which indicated that he was 2 years and 8 months old on June 14, 1875. 1875 CENSUS OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 The New York State Census enumerated on Monday, June 14, 1875 shows Daniel Long living with his parents in Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. The following information was transcribed from the actual document, which was obtained from the Ancestry website: “Daniel Long, age 2 years 8 months, male, white, son, born in Niagara County.” 1891 PROBATE MENTION OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 Daniel Long is mentioned in the last will and testament of Jane Long, which was dated September 15, 1890, and was proved on January 26, 1891 in Niagara County, New York, USA. The will names Daniel Long as a surviving son. 1892 CENSUS OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 The New York State Census enumerated on Tuesday, February 16, 1892 shows Daniel Long living in Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. The following information was transcribed from the actual document, which was obtained from the Ancestry website: “Daniel Long, male, age 21, white, born in USA, citizen, occupation is teamster.” 1892 RESIDENCE OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 14, 2021 The 1892 Lockport City Directory shows Daniel Long living at 19 Scovell Street in Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. His brother Robert Long was living on the same street. The "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995" is a historical record collection from the Ancestry website, and contains the following indexed listing: "Name: Daniel Long; Residence Year: 1892; Street Address: 19 Scovell; Residence Place: Lockport, New York, USA; Occupation: Teamster; Publication Title: Lockport, New York, City Directory, 1892." The following information was transcribed from the actual document, which was typewritten, and obtained from the Ancestry website: "Daniel Long, teamster, h 19 Scovell." 1892 NEWSPAPER MENTION OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 The following appeared in the Buffalo Morning Express newspaper from Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA on Saturday, December 3, 1892. The was concluded to be the same Daniel Long, based on the 1896 newspaper article which mentions Daniel being arrested for stealing chickens three years earlier. "Poultry Thieves. Some Buffalo Men are Supposed to Have Been Raiding the Rural Districts. The farmers between Lockport and Tonawanda have long been crying out against the depredations made on their hen coops by strolling poultry dealers, who make their bargains while the farmer and his help are fast asleep. A haul made by Specials McCabe and Notter of 3d Precinct yesterday will make the aforesaid farmers sleep easier tonight, especially Mr. George Art of Hall's Station. It was on his complaint that Daniel Long, Charles Swift and James Gibson were arrested yesterday. When taken in they had 30 live chickens and one turkey and 20 dressed chickens and six turkeys. Gibson is supposed to be the chief of the gang, and lives at the New York Central crossing on Niagara Street, Lockport. In addition to the poultry, the prisoners had an unlaundered shirt, supposed to have been stripped from some clothesline, and two horse blankets." 1895 DEATH OF DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 Daniel Long died at the age of 23 on Tuesday, December 31, 1895 at 120 Scovell Street in Lockport, Niagara County, New York, USA. Daniel died at home of his sister Mary Ann Chapman, as indicated in the newspaper article further below. The “New York, Death Index, 1852-1956” is a historical record collection from the Ancestry website, and contains the following indexed listing: “Name: Daniel Long; Death Date: 31 Dec 1895; Death Place: Lockport, New York, USA; Certificate Number: 16057.” 1896 NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ON DANIEL LONG Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 13, 2021 The following is the first of three articles that appeared in the Buffalo Evening News newspaper from Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA on Wednesday, January 29, 1896, on page 1: “Curses! Daniel Long Died With Imprecations Against Brockway on His Lips. Frightened to Silence. Told His Sister He Was Confined in the Dungeon for Five Months on Bread and Water. What Caused His Death? Long Refused to Tell How He Contracted Tuberculosis and an Abscess Because He Was Only Out on Parole. (Special to the Evening News) Lockport, Jan. 29. It is not generally known here or at least recalled, that Daniel Long, the young man who died on New Year’s Eve at the home of his sister, Mrs. Orrin Chapman of 120 Scovell Street, was at one time an inmate of the Reformatory at Elmira. The public here does not know, moreover, that the young man and his relatives in this city attribute his untimely death largely, if not entirely, to the treatment he received while in Brockway’s terror-inspired institution at Elmira. A News representative called at the home of Orrin Chapman on Scovell street to investigate certain reports as to the young man’s sad death. Mr. Chapman was not home, but Mrs. Chapman was there and related the details. The recital was one of calculated to move even one accustomed to hear stories of sorrow and suffering.” “‘The boy died here at my house on New Year’s eve,’ said Mrs. Chapman. ‘I call him boy because he was my youngest brother. Such as death I never wish to witness again. His cursings against Brockway and his attendants at the Reformatory were something terrible to listen to, I can tell you. He was sent to the Reformatory at Elmira about three years ago and was in there about a year and a half. He was sent down for being implicated with some men who stole a lot of chickens. He was a little over 20 then and the men were all ten years older. It was charged that he watched for the police while the men sold [sic - stole] the chickens. I don’t believe he had anything to do with that deal but he was sent to the terrible Brockway just the same, and I believe he was terribly abused and would be alive if he had not been sent there.’” “‘Daniel got out of Elmira on parole about 18 months ago and went to Buffalo. I don’t think he stayed there long, for he came to Lockport, staying with our brother, Robert Long, on Gooding street, for a time. He was not strong enough to work at any time after he got out. So after remaining with brother Robert awhile he came to our house. I never saw such a change in a person in all my life. When he went the the reformatory he was a strong, healthy, active lad, and not afraid of work. He did not weigh within 30 pounds when he came out of what he did before he went down there to be abused and starved. He was listless and did not seem to care whether he lived or not.’” “‘No, I cannot say that Brockway paddled Dan or hung him up by the thumbs. I could never get the statement from him that he had been whipped. He was either ashamed of it or was afraid to say anything about it if he was beaten while in the prison. You see he was let out on parole for six months and then was honorably discharged. I have his papers of discharge now. He had to write to the Reformatory once a month during his parole, and this seemed to make him think that they had some hold on him there. All he would admit when questioned was that he was put in the dark dungeon for five months and fed on bread and water. He was punished in this way for refusing to do something, but he would never tell me what it was.’” ‘He had an abscess in his side just before he left the Reformatory. He says he was well taken care of by the doctors in the Reformatory when he was sick and they did all they could for him. They then let him out to get well. The truth of the matter is he was confined to that dungeon until he was about dead and beyond recovery of human aid. If you had seen him when he came out you would say that he had not long to live. On his deathbed he cursed Brockway bitterly and hoped that terrible things would happen to him before he died. He became delirious and continued to say awful things against Brockway, but he never revealed in his rambling talk what it was that had been done to him in the institution. He would cry out about the dungeon and the dark in a way awful to hear. I hope I may never witness anything like it again.’” The following is the second of three articles that appeared in the Buffalo Evening News newspaper from Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA on Wednesday, January 29, 1896, on page 1. “Long’s Other Sister. She says the Boy Was Afraid to Tell of His Suffering Because of His Six Months’ Parole. Daniel Long, the young man referred in the foregoing Lockport dispatch, has another sister, Mrs. George Jones, who resides in this city at 752 Michigan street. It was to her home that Daniel first came when he was released from the Reformatory at Elmira. Mrs. Jones said this morning that her brother was in a terrible condition when he came to her. ‘Up to the time Dan was sent to Elmira,’ she said, ‘he had never known what it was to be ill a day. He could lift a barrel of flour and carry it easily, and was capable of any amount of hard work. When he came here the same day he was released on parole he was a sight to behold. He was as white as a ghost and so weak it seemed wonderful to me he had been able to come from Elmira alone. I knew Dan was sick, for I had written to the reformatory to find out why I did not hear from him, and the people then replied that he was sick and in the reformatory hospital. It was just after I received the letter that Dan was released. I guess they did not want him to die on their hands. Dr. F. H. Whitwell attended him while he was here. The doctor found that the boy had an abcess in his side, and wanted to perform an operation, but Dan would not have it done. He told the doctor that had performed an operation at the reformatory, and that he would rather die than have another, so Dr. Whitwell let him have his own way. Yes, I asked Dan a great many times about the way he was treated at Elmira, but the poor fellow appeared to be frightened half to death at any mention of his life there and would not say anything. ‘I can’t tell anything,’ he said one day. ‘You see I am only out on probation, and they might take me back.’ The doctor questioned him, too, and asked him if he had ever received a blow in the side, but Dan would not tell him any more than he would tell me. But I am sure from the way the boy behaved, and the fear he showed that he must have been terribly treated, and Dr. Whitwell told me the abcess must have been caused by a blow.’” The following is the third of three articles that appeared in the Buffalo Evening News newspaper from Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA on Wednesday, January 29, 1896, on page 1. “Dr. Whitwell’s Statement. An Abcess Would Easily Come From a Blow to a Man In Long’s Condition, He Says. Dr. F. H. Whitwell remembered the case distinctly on account of the boy’s strange reticence. He denies, however, that he told the boy’s sister, Mrs. Jones, that the trouble was brought about by a blow. He told the reporter, however, that the young Long was suffering, at the time he saw him, from tuberculosis in addition to the abcess, and said that when a person is afflicted with that disease, a blow would be very likely to result in Long’s condition. ‘I never could get the boy to say a word about the matter,’ continued Dr. Whitwell. ‘I asked him one day if he remembered having been struck in the side, but he would not make any reply - only looked at me. Another time, at the university, one of the students asked him if Brockway had hit him with his ‘paddle,’ and the result was the same. It was one of the most peculiar cases on that account that I ever saw.’” The following appeared in the Buffalo Courier newspaper from Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA on Thursday, January 30, 1896, on page 3. The death date is listed in error, as demonstrated by the prior newspaper article and the death index record. “Alleged Cruelty. Friends of Daniel Long Blame Brockway for His Death. Lockport, Jan. 29 (Special). Relatives of Daniel Long, who died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Orrin Chapman on Scovell Street, December 24, are beginning to tell a sad tale concerning the deceased. About three years ago Long was committed to the Elmira Reformatory for stealing chickens. After being kept there a year and a half he was paroled on account of an abscess developing in his side, and he came back here. When he was taken to Elmira, the narrators say, he was a strong, healthy boy, but returned a physical wreck. He worked as much as he could, though he could not do a great deal, due to gradually increasing weakness. With respect to his experience at the Reformatory he was reticent in the main, evidently fearing that if he talked it might result in his being returned to it. In a cautious manner, however, he would sometimes speak of occurrences there, and in the same guarded style would attributed his ill health to the treatment he received at the hands of the Reformatory officials. In fact, he seemed to be thoroughly frightened at what he had been through, and though his reason must have taught him he could tell all he knew safely to those with whom he was associated, he dared not do so. At length he wholly broken down, and it speedily became apparent that the end was not far off. In the periods of delirium he raved terribly about the scenes he had witnessed at Elmira, begging not to be paddled and otherwise punished, and in his lucid moments, apparently realizing that violating the promises that accompanied his parole could then do him no harm, he vouched for the truth of all his utterances. He declared that the beating, starvation, and paddling to which he had been subjected were the sole cause of his condition, the whole story being one of revolting cruelty.” SYNOPSIS OF ELMIRA REFORMATORY Researched by Timothy J. Barron, updated April 14, 2021 The following synopsis of Elmira Reformatory and warden Zebulon Brockway is summarized from information found on Wikipedia. Elmira Reformatory was founded in 1876, and still exists today as the Elmira Correctional Facility, also known as "The Hill," which is a maximum security state prison. Zebulon Brockway (1827-1920) was warden at the Elmira Reformatory from 1876 to 1900, and is sometimes regarded as the “father of prison reform" and “father of American parole.” While warden, Brockway claimed to introduce a program of education, training in useful trades, physical activity, indeterminate sentences, and inmate classification according to grades. The New York State Board of Charities opened an investigation into accusations of brutality at Elmira. John Gilmore, a man formerly incarcerated at the reformatory, appeared before a judge on a parole violation, and begged to be sent to the state prison rather than returned to Elmira. An investigation revealed that Brockway himself regularly inflicted violent corporal punishment on individuals incarcerated there, and utilized forced labor, solitary confinement for negligible offenses, refusal of medical care, and starvation as methods of governance. Individuals incarcerated at Elmira also testified that sexual violence was rampant, and in some cases facilitated by guards, that the grading system was used arbitrarily as a method to keep people imprisoned for longer terms. In his research on the investigation, Alexander Pisciotta wrote, "The final report of the committee, released on 14 March 1894, was unequivocal. Its findings were unanimously endorsed by the ten members of the New York State Board of Charities: That the charges and the allegations against the general superintendent Z.R. Brockway of 'cruel, brutal, excessive, degrading and unusual punishment of the inmates' are proven and most amply sustained by the evidence, and that he is guilty of the same.”
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