William Henry Long and Parilee Ethel Collins

William Henry (Bill) Long was born 18 November 1845. He was the eldest child of Samuel A. Long and Louisa McFarlin. As the "man of the family" after his father's death, he may have felt responsible for seeing his younger siblings settled before starting his own family. When he married Parilee Ethel Collins in Medina County on May 17, 1880 he was 34 years old. By then Julia had married, Andy and Frank had taken their cattle herds to north Texas, Monroe and Mary had married and he could think of his own future.
Parilee was born 14 August 1861, so was only 18 when she married Bill Long. With the record of the marriage is preserved a handwritten note from Parilee's mother.

   Parilee was the daughter of Christopher Columbus Collins and Minerva Fitzgerald. Parilee had a brother, Columbus Anderson (Lum) and older sisters, Charity and Margaret. Their father, Christopher Columbus Collins died in the Civil War. Minerva married second James Ray and had a daughter, Sarah Evelyn. Later she married Thomas Clayton Calk and had Bud, Alonzo, Jerry and Lula. Minerva died of cancer 19 August 1906, and is buried in the Old Benton City Cemetery.
   Bill (William H.) Long bought his Atascosa County farm 22 June 1883. He bought 200 acres from Sixto E. Navarro for $400. That land was out of the Juan A. Navarro grant "on the North bank of Atascosa Creek about 14 miles NW of Pleasanton". The Navarro land had earlier been pasture for Mission San Jose in San Antonio. Ira recalled that his family moved to the Poteet area in Atascosa County when he was two years old, which agrees with the time of this land transaction.
   In 1889 Bill and Parilee's sixth child, Joseph, died and was buried at the Shiloh Cemetery, between modern Poteet and Leming. He was about two years old. Other family members were already buried there: Rose Lula Rankin Long (died 1884), Madison Calvin Davidson (died 1888) and Mary A., wife of B. S. Scott. Mary was Rose Lula Rankin's younger sister, who died in 1885. Madison Davidson's daughter, Florence, was buried there in 1894. Rose Lula Rankin Long was the first wife of James Monroe Long, a brother of William Henry (Bill) Long.

left to right Dora, Bill Long (father) holding Floyd, Maggie and Ira (standing), Josephine and Henry (sitting) and Parilee

This picture was probably made about 1890, after they had lost their son Joseph.
Bill and Parilee Long are remembered by their grandchildren today as having almost opposite personalities. "Grandpa Long" was a somewhat mean-tempered old man in the eyes of the children. He was about sixteen years older than his wife. He was known to other people in the community as "Stingy Bill" Long. Grandma Parilee, in contrast, is remembered as happy and full of fun, but definitely "Boss" of the family.
Bill and Parilee Long's children were:

1) Maggie Alice	1881-1970	married Ambrose Akers
2) Ira Anderson	1882-1957	married Nellie Ankrom
3) Henry Samuel	1884-1970	married Lessie Russell
4) Dora	1885-1970	married Joe Beakley
5) Josephine	1886-1970	married Louis Calvin Rogers
6) Joseph C.	1887-1889
7) William Floyd	1889-1914
8)Arthur Lee	1891-1978	married Mabel Wilson
9) Ada Mildred	1893-1954	married Lytle Gibson
10) Lola	1895- about 1897
11) Charles Culberson	1898-1956	married 1. Clara Mae Davis, 2. Eunice M. Bruce
12) Delma Parilee	1904-1996)	married Dewey Davis

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