When Dennis was about ten years old his father died. To help support the family, Dennis worked as a farm laborer. Dennis became a naturalized citizen on October 1, 1880 in Watertown, NY (#2391).
Oliver Longway (Langlois) was the first of the Longway / Langlois family to move to Jefferson County, New York. Oliver and his wife Angele / Angeline LaLonde arrived in the Clayton area about 1856. Most of their children were born near Coteau
du Lac (a small village located near the St. Lawrence River in Soulanges County, Province of Quebec). According to some old family letters, Oliver's family settled on Bartlett's Point in the Town of Clayton. Oliver was a raftsman.Langlois was the original French spelling of the surname, but over the years it has been replaced with the Anglicized version, Longway. The French spellings were faithfully maintained by the French priests at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Clayton. By the late 1800s, the church records were still reflecting the French spellings, while the civil records were using the Anglicized spellings. To make matters more confusing, there was another French family in town by the name of
Langevin and Oliver's son, Dennis Longway (Langlois) married Elizabeth Lonsway (Langevin). When Langevin became Anglicized, it was usually spelled Lonsway or Longsway, but it was sometimes spelled Longway. This still causes some confusion.Both the Langlois and the LaLonde families can be traced back to the Province of Quebec for at least another few generations. All of Oliver's and Angeline's grandparents were married in either Soulanges County or Vaudreuil County (west of
Montreal). Several sets of their great grandparents were married at Sainte-Anne de Bellevue (also known as Ste-Anne Bout-de-I'lle and located west of Montreal).
Obituary: George H. Longway, 67, of 325 Michigan Ave., former grocery owner and area farmer, died at 2:21 this morning at his home after a long illness.
The funeral will be Friday morning at 8:30 at Simpson's Funeral Home and at 9:00 in Holy Family Church, with Rev. Bernard F. Christman, assistant pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Three Mile Bay Cemetery in the spring. The family
has requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the cancer fund.Surviving Mr. Longway are his wife, Mrs. Harriet Joles Longway; five daughters, Mrs. Joseph (Regina) Tanner, 1120 Bronson St., Mrs. Kenneth (Doris) Simpson and Mrs. Charles Sprague, both residing on Haddock Road, just off State St. Road,
Mrs. Ralph (Harriet) Moulton, and Mrs. Claude (Mildred) Card, Hitchcock Road; four sons, G. Douglas Longway, Theresa Road, Leon Longway, Bradley St. Road, Oliver Longway, Jacobs Road, and Dennis Longway, 325 Michigan Ave.; a brother, Anthony
Longway, LaFargeville; 21 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.Two sisters, Miss Clara Longway and Miss Mary Longway, died in the early 1900's. A brother, John Longway, died in 1944. Another brother, William Longway, a former Clayton snowplow company employe and horse breeder and racer, died Aug.
10, 1950, at his home in Clayton. A third brother, Joseph Longway, died in Watertown, March 24, 1956. Two more brothers, Oliver and James, died around the turn of the century.Mr. Longway had not been in good health in the past few years. He had been hospitalized for several weeks this past summer in Roswell Park Memorial Hospital in Buffalo.
Mr. Longway had required constant supervision in recent weeks and a nurse had been staying with him for the past few weeks. At 2:21 a.m. the nurse discovered that Mr. Longway was not breathing properly and called Dr. C.C. Wray, who
pronounced Mr. Longway dead upon arrival at the family home.Mr. Longway had recently pledged his eyes to the Northeastern Society of Conservation during their recent local campaign which was sponsored by the Watertown Lions Club. The eyes were removed this morning by a local opthamologist and were
shipped to Dr. Ramon Castroviejo, one of the world's foremost opthamologists, in New York City.Mr. Longway is the first fulfilled pledge received by the local eye bank program in 1960. The eyes were shipped by train to Syracuse and then by the Empire State Express to New York City due to the inclemencies of the weather. The
original plan had been to fly the shipment to New York City.According to H. Michael Strauss, director of sight conservation district 20 of New York State, the shipment was personally taken by Richard Cooke, owner of the LeRay St. restaurant, and a Lions Club member, as far as Syracuse where the
transfer to the faster train took place. Mr. Cooke was on his way to Tuscon, Ariz., when he heard about the shipment and volunteered to take the shipment as far as Syracuse.Mr. Longway was born June 6, 1892, at Depauville, son of Dennis and Elizabeth Longway. On Oct. 15, 1913, he married the former Harriet Joles, daughter of Lydia and William T. Joles, of LaFargeville, at the family home there.
The couple operated a farm at Three Mile Bay for several years and later operated farms at Mannsville and for a time near Brownville.
In 1936 they moved to Watertown and built a home at 325 Michigan Ave., their present residence. They lived there for one year before buying a farm on the State St. Road, a mile from the city, and lived there until September, 1950, when
they returned to their Michigan Ave. home.Mr. Longway opened a grocery store at 236 Coffeen St., following his return to the city. He retired in 1955.
On Oct. 15, 1953, Mr. and Mrs. Longway celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
Mr. Longway was a member of the Royal Order of Moose, Watertown chapter, and the local carpenters' union. He was a member of Holy Family Church.
Obituary (from newspaper of Monday, 5 Jan. 1981): CARTHAGE---Mrs. Gladys R. Hill, 83, of 114 N. James St., widow of Oca O. Hill, died Saturday evening at the House of the Good Samaritan, Watertown, following a brief illness.
The funeral will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Bossuot-Lundy Funeral Home, Rev. John H. Templeton, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery.
Calling hours at the funeral home will be today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 8 p.m.
Surviving are seven nieces and nephews, Mrs. Harry (Marguerite) Wilson, Watertown, Mrs. Katherine Rich, Morris, Mrs. Wells (Dorothy) Forbes, Swathmore, Pa., Donald A. McCormican, Liverpool, John M. Van Etten, Detroit, L. Roy Van Etten,
Jr., and James P. Van Etten, Nutley, N.J., several great-nieces and great-nephews.Born in Carthage April 20 1897, the daughter she graduated from Carthage High School in 1918, the training class of the high school, and attended Potsdam Normal School.
She first taught in several rural schools and later instructed the third grade at Carthage Elementary School for over 25 years. Mrs. Hill retired in 1963.
On May 22, 1926, at Malone, she married Oca O. Hill. Her husband, a retired grocer, died Jan. 15, 1975. Mrs. [Hill] resided at her North James Street address for 53 years.
She was a member and former president of the Carthage Garden Club, the Northern Federation of Women's Clubs, was active in teachers' associations, and a member of the First United Methodist Church for more than 50 years.
Obituary (from newspaper of 15 Jan. 1976): Harry E. Meeks, 80, of 30 Quaker Road, Pomona, formerly of Watertown, died Jan. 6 at his home.
Private services were held and the body was cremated. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Heart Association.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Burndettia Hill Meeks; a daughter, Mrs. June E. West, Garnerville; a son, Harry E., Jr., Camp Hill, Pa.; a sister, Mrs. Maggie Jackson, Chaumont; a brother, John, Clayton; six grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren. A son Glenn, died before him.A native of Napanee, Ont., Canada, Mr. Meeks was a retired heavy equipment operator for the City of Watertown. He had resided in the Pomona section 13 years.
He was a member of the United Commercial Travelers for 33 years and was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Watertown.
Obituary (from newspaper of Tuesday, 12 Sept. 1989): Burndettia M. Meeks, 91, of 4811 Brian Road, Mechanicsburg, Pa., formerly of Watertown, died Sunday at the Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa.
The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Myers Funeral Home, Mechanicsburg, Pa. Burial will be in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Mechanicsburg.
A calling hour will begin at noon Wednesday at the funeral home.
She is survived by a son, Harry Meeks Jr., Mechanisburg; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
A son, Glenn, died before her.
Born in Clayton on March 13, 1898, daughter of Charles and Mary Longway Hill, she married Harry E. Meeks. He died Jan. 6, 1976.
Mrs. Meeks was retired from the Bee Hive Department Store, where she was an accountant.
Oliver Longway (Langlois) was the first of the Longway / Langlois family to move to Jefferson County, New York. Oliver and his wife Angele / Angeline LaLonde arrived in the Clayton area about 1856. Most of their children were born near Coteau
du Lac (a small village located near the St. Lawrence River in Soulanges County, Province of Quebec). According to some old family letters, Oliver's family settled on Bartlett's Point in the Town of Clayton. Oliver was a raftsman.Langlois was the original French spelling of the surname, but over the years it has been replaced with the Anglicized version, Longway. The French spellings were faithfully maintained by the French priests at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Clayton. By the late 1800s, the church records were still reflecting the French spellings, while the civil records were using the Anglicized spellings. To make matters more confusing, there was another French family in town by the name of
Langevin and Oliver's son, Dennis Longway (Langlois) married Elizabeth Lonsway (Langevin). When Langevin became Anglicized, it was usually spelled Lonsway or Longsway, but it was sometimes spelled Longway. This still causes some confusion.Both the Langlois and the LaLonde families can be traced back to the Province of Quebec for at least another few generations. All of Oliver's and Angeline's grandparents were married in either Soulanges County or Vaudreuil County (west of
Montreal). Several sets of their great grandparents were married at Sainte-Anne de Bellevue (also known as Ste-Anne Bout-de-I'lle and located west of Montreal).