Information About Joseph Nathaniel Londeree

 Primary Evidence about Joseph Nathaniel Londeree 

 1830 Census – does not appear

 1837 – Personal Property Tax List of Buckingham Co., VA, April 12, 1837

           Joseph Landrum  White male

 1839 – Personal Property Tax List of Buckingham Co., VA

            Joseph Laundrum  White male

 1840 census of Northern District of Buckingham Co., VA, # 346, page 3, #1

            Joseph Laondree

                        1 male 20-30

                        1 female 20-30

                        1 male < 5

                        1 slave

1840 – Personal Property Tax List of Buckingham Co., VA, April 11, 1840

            Joseph Londerree

            83 horses  tax $.08 

1850 census of Buckingham Co., VA, District 2, page 819, # 377, August 20

            Joseph Longarie  32   Born in Canada, Farmer

            Janella                 29   Born in Buckingham Co.

            Six Londeree children  All born in Buckingham Co.

            Four Howells (Presumably Jane’s sister and 3 children)

1850 Agricultural Census, p. 819, #377

            Joseph Lonrarie

            15 acres improved, 10 acres unimproved, $125

            Implements $5

            Livestock  $35

            No slaves

1860 census of Buckingham Co., VA, District 1, page 7, June 14

            Joseph Longeree  44   Born in Canada

            Jane                      45   Born in  Buckingham Co.

            Seven children            All born in Buckingham Co.

1860 Agricultural Census, District #1, p. 1, #33

            Joseph Longeree

            50 acres improved, 50 acres unimproved   $550

            Equipment $100

            Livestock $170

            No slaves

(The location of the farm was the same for the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses.  The district boundaries were drawn differently for each census.  This conclusion was based on same neighbors in various censuses.)

Served in Captain Brander’s Company, Virginia L. Artillery (Letcher’s Artillery).  Formerly served in Captain Greenlee Davidson’s Battery, Virginia Light Artillery.  Served also in Company D in Walker’s, afterward Program’s Battalion of the Artillery Corps, Army Northern Virginia.  Private  (NARA – Civil War Microfilm #831)

He enlisted at Richmond, VA on March 14, 1862, in Captain Greelee Davidson’s Company, became Captain Brander’s Company, Virginia Light Artillery.  He was on the muster roll from August 31, 1862 to December 31, 1862.  He was reported killed at Harper’s Ferry on September 15, 1862.  (Letter from Donald R. Haynes, State Librarian and John W. Dudley, Archivist, Virginia State Library, May 8, 1974)

I have copies of the muster rolls and pay rolls for Joseph Londeree

I have a copy of Jane Londeree’s application for a widow’s pension

I have a copy of Jane Londeree’s obituary which stated that she and Joseph sired 12 children, 10 of whom lived into adulthood.

On September 30, 1995, his grave was marked with a bronze marker.

Information from secondary sources

In an article in The Londeree Line, February 1996, a quote from a book by Peter S. Carmichael, The Percell, Crenshaw and Letcher Artillery read: “Captain Davidson is quoted as saying ‘Londee (sic) was rated as one of the best men in the Company … it was a hard task for me to write to his wife and break the sad tidings to her.’ “

From my Notes about Joseph Nathaniel (Landry) Londeree in my genealogy database

A Joseph Landry who was born in the Province of Quebec, Canada probably immigrated to Buckingham Co., VA and become known as Joseph Nathaniel Londeree.  The French pronunciation of Landry is "Lon der eh", remarkably similar to "Lon der ay" or "Lon der ee", the two common pronunciations for Londeree today.  A Joseph Landry who was born February 11, 1816  and was a descendent of Guillaume Landry is not the correct connection based on DNA analyses.  However, several DNA analyses stongly suggest that Joseph Nathaniel Londeree descended from one of the Rene Landrys.  To date, no other Joseph Landry born in the 1815 to 1820 time frame has been found.  Supposedly, Joseph Nathaniel Londeree immigrated to Virginia with one of his uncles and was involved in canal building.  (Sources for Joseph Landry: LDS Library - PAF, baptismal record, Virginia censuses and seven DNA analyses).  

Joseph was born in Canada (probably Quebec) according to the 1850 and 1860 censuses.  Almost all Buckingham County records were destroyed when the courthouse was set afire by tax protestors in 1868.  One family story states that Joseph came to the U.S. with his uncle when he was 12 (c. 1828) and they worked on the Kanahwa Canal, although there is no record of their employment (perhaps they worked for subcontractors.)   Joseph does not show up on the 1830 VA census.  It is thought by family members that Joseph and his uncle worked on the Erie Canal before moving to Virginia.  Joseph probably could not read or write English and his name on the census records is spelled differently each time (1840 - Laondree, 1850 - Longarie, 1860 -Longeree).  (The first time that the Londeree spelling occurred in public records was in the 1880 census for WPL, JJL, and CNL.)  None of the spellings showed up in the Canadian records, so apparently it was spelled differently in Canada.  Possible spellings include Landry (pronounced Laundereh in French), DeLondres, Landre, Landri, Landrie, Laundrie, Laundry, Londrea, Londrey, Londreau, Londry, Lundrie, Lundry, Landris, Londray, Londree.  The first public record for Joseph was the 1837 personal property tax list for Buckingham Co., VA; he showed up again in 1839 and 1840.  The 1840 census in the Northern District of Buckingham Co. listing him as a 20-30 year old male with a 20-30 year old female (Jane?), a male less than 5 (WPL?), and a slave. According to Jane's obituary he sired 12 children and ten reached adulthood; 11 showed up in various censuses.  The twelfth child may have been Alford O. who may have been born in 1862 and lived with Jane's brother, James.  There was an A. O.,  8 years old, living with James M. Harrison near Manteo in the 1870 census Buckingham Co. census.  Apparently he died at a fairly early age.  Family stories state that Joseph was a caretaker/tenant on Chapman Glover's farm, which was located just west of Route 602 near to the Slate River. However, Chapman Glover lived with his parents in Albemarle Co., VA until at least 1850 according to that census.  In addition, on 11-Apr-1840 the Buckingham personal property tax list showed Joseph Londeree with 83 horses with a tax of $.08.  The 1840 census listed him with one slave.  The 1850 census lists him with 10 acres improved, 15 acres unimproved, land value of $125,  $5 of equipment, and $35 of livestock.  The 1860 agricultural census listed him with the following: 50 acres unimproved, 50 acres improved, land value of $500.00, equipment value of $100.00, and livestock value of $170.00.  The 25 acres listed by him in 1850 probably was the William Harrison Stark (Jane's father) homestead on the east side of Route 601about .5 mile north of Warminster Rd. (Rt 737); there is a 2 acre cemetery in the southwest corner of the farm.   It is reasonable to conclude that Joseph probably lived in this area for a period before 1840 during his courtship of Jane, which was substantiated by the personal property tax lists alluded to above.  In addition, the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses list him as living near to the Branch family east off of Warminster Road.  In all likelyhood, Joseph and Jane lived either on Jane's dad's farm or very near to it from 1840 to 1860+.  The Chapman Glover farm was 4 miles "as the crow flies" from this location, 8 miles by roads.  Therefore, if Joseph did live on the Glover farm, it was for only a short period of time before going to war.  No records, other than the personal property tax for his horses and one slave,  were found regarding Joseph's source of livelihood in 1840, but the 1850 and 1860 censuses listed his occupation as a farmer. Family stories also state that Joseph served in the military as a paid substitute for Chapman Glover.  Perhaps his family moved to the Glover farm when he agreed to serve in the War in Glover's place; this home probably was much bigger and nicer than where they had been living.  After Joseph was killed at Harper's Ferry, Glover apparently tricked Mary Jane (Joseph's second child) into handing over the War substitute agreement and then evicted the Londeree family.  Joseph's  children, for the most part, led meager lifestyles as sharecroppers/caretakers and, in several cases, lived together with other family members for various periods of time.  Eventually many of Joseph's children owned farms; in fact, George's and Thomas' descendants still live on the old homestead properties.  Some of Joseph's grandchildren were quite successful economically and many of his great grandchildren attended college.  In 1998, it appears that the Londeree's economically range from low middle class to upper class.  It appears that many have very strong religious beliefs.  (The information in this file was derived from census reports; tax and deed records in the Buckingham Courthouse; "Land Tax Summaries and Implied Deeds" by Roger G. Ward, Volumes 2 and 3, Iberian Pub.; The Londeree Line (Sept., 1994, Bruce Thompson's tour article); Bruce Thompson; materials accompanying a video tour of Buckingham Co. by William Henry Londeree and Betty Mae Daniel; and Nancy Sutton Faxon.)

Other comments

My uncles and aunts stated that Joseph was born in Lower Canada which I subsequently learned was Quebec – lower on the St. Lawrence River than Upper Canada, i. e. Ontario.

Joseph Londeree’s residential location was determined from census records showing relative position of neighbors; location of neighboring property owners with the help of Nancy Faxon, a central Virginia historian, with family property in the vicinity of where the Londerees lived in northern Buckingham Co., VA; and records of property transactions by Jane’s father and subsequent owners in the Buckingham Co. Deeds Book.

Jane’s father was William Harrison alias Stark from Mecklenburg Co., VA, which was determined through circuitous research of Revolutionary War records, land bounty records, pension application records, and censuses.  He was a drummer in the Revolutionary War, applied for a pension in 1832, and died on January 22, 1849.  He showed up on Buckingham Co. censuses from 1810 through 1840 as William Stark – with a side note of William Harrison in 1840.  Her mother was William’s second to last of two, three, or more wives.  His last wife could not produce a marriage record for her several applications for widow’s pensions and a land grant, so she had statements from county officials about how she and William Harrison had lived as husband and wife for many years (1820s to 1849 when he died.)  He probably was buried in a plot near to the church cemetery located on his property and a memorial Revolutionary War gravestone was placed there in 2000.  William’s ancestors are unknown at this time.

Jane’s brother was James who originally showed up on records as James Stark and from the 1860 and subsequent censuses as James M. Harrison.  Other records showed that both names were used from about 1855 to 1900.  Jane’s brother lived close to at least one of the Londeree children in each of the censuses from 1840 to 1900.  Two of James’ daughters married two of Joseph Londeree’s sons.