General Longstreet's Connection To Flint's First Settler, Jacob Smith And Others

This post started with deeds found in Genesee County, Michigan (see my "In Deeds" blog). The heirs of General John Garland, namely Maria (Garland) Longstreet, Mary E. (Bessie) (Garland) Deas, David Garland and John Garland, sold property they inherited from General Garland's estate, located in "Smith's Reservation" in the City of Flint, to Mrs. Maria Stockton. The deeds were recorded on October 10, 1866.

The name "Longstreet" jumped off the page (similar to an Abraham Lincoln-related deed I found a few weeks ago). With a General Garland involved, I surmised that Maria Longstreet could be related to the famous Confederate General James Longstreet. She was related; she was his wife. A little more investigation was in order.

The book, Pioneer Settlers of Grayson County, Virginia, stated that John Garland was the son of Hudson Garland, a Captain in the War of 1812, who was a friend of President Andrew Jackson. Was he also the Major John Garland who escorted Black Hawk?

Mary E. (Bessie) Garland was born in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, 28 July 1825, To General John & Harriet Margaret (Smith) Garland. She married George Deas in Saint Louis, Missouri, in September 1844, and died in Saint Louis 27 March 1899. Lieutenant Colonel George Deas died in Genesee County, Michigan, and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

1870 MI Genesee, Flint
Deas, Mary E., 43, b. MI
", Virginia, 20, b. TX
", Harry P., 16, b. Washington, D.C.

In 1860 the Deas family was living in Troy, Renssaeler Co., New York, in a hotel and enumerated with Charles Jones:

Others
Deas, George, 43, Maj. USA, b. PA
", Mrs. 34, b. MI
", Ralph, 15, b. MI
Others
Deas, Mary, 6, b. DC
", George, 9, b. TX
", Jenny, 11, b. TX
", Catherine, 3, b. NJ

In the 1900 Census taken in St. Louis, Missouri, Harry Deas listed his occupation as "genealogist."!

John Garland (Jr.) was also born in Michigan according to the 1870 Census taken in Washington, D.C.:

1870 Census, Washington D.C.
Garland, John S., 46, b. MI, USA Officer
", Mary, 42, b. DC
", Gertrude, 18, b. DC
", Harriet, 17, b. NY
", Emily, 13, b. VA
", John S., 11, b. DC
Deamis?, Mary, 50, f/b, b. DC, domestic
Phillips, Nancy, 19, f/b, b. VA, domestic

James Longstreet served under General John Garland in the Mexican War; he (Longstreet) had fallen in love with the General's daughter whom he married March 8, 1848, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mrs. Maria Longstreet died in Gainesville, Georgia, on December 29, 1889. In 1897 the widowed General Longstreet married Helen Dortch, who wrote the book, "Lee and Longstreet at high tide." General James Longstreet died in 1904 and is buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville, Georgia.

The 1880 Census enumerating General Longstreet's family in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia:

Jas. G. LONGSTREET Self M W 59 SC Postmaster GA GA
Mariah L. LONGSTREET Wife M W 53 MN Keeping House VA MI
R. Lee LONGSTREET Son S W 16 VA Asst. P. M. SC MN
James LONGSTREET Son S W 15 VA In School SC MN
Fitz Randolph LONGSTREET Son S W 10 VA In School SC MN
Mariah L. LONGSTREET Dau S W 6 MI SC MN

David S. Garland was in the Dakota Territory (Fort Meade, Lawrence) in 1880:

David S. GARLAND Self M W 57 WI Quartermasters Clerk VA MI

In 1860, David Garland, age 31, and a clerk, b. WI Terr., was living next door to his sister and brother-in-law:

1860 New Mexico Census, Bernallilo
Longstreet, Maj. James, 38, soldier, b. SC
", Louisa, 32, b. MN Terr.
", Augustus, 9, b. TX
", James, Jr., 3, b. NM
Malone, Coleman, 28, servant

There were more Genesee County connections than I would have ever imagined, though not too surprising once it was known that General Garland's wife was the daughter of Flint's first settler, Jacob Smith. Mrs. General Garland's sister, Maria, married Thomas Stockton, and was the person to whom the land in Flint from General Garland's estate was sold. The Stockton House in Flint, Michigan, was profiled here. Maria Louisa Longstreet, daughter of General James & Maria (Garland) Longstreet, was born in Genesee County in 1872 according to this database (the 1880 GA census lists Maria Longstreet's birthplace as Michigan).