It's a strange, sad tale.  See if you can add any pieces to the puzzle of the life and death of....

Adolph Longabaugh

Machinist, Miner... & Suicidal Maniac?

Adolph Longabaugh was born in March 1856 in Germany and immigrated to the US in 1881.  In December 1889, along with future son-in-law Ben Barlow, he leaved the Evening Star Mine in Nevada.  On October 8, 1890 he married the widow of Aurora pioneer Richard Barlow: Elizabeth Emma Holman Barlow in Candelaria or Hawthorne, Esmeralda Co, Nevada.  A Jan 1892 news article states that Adolph "returned to Tule Canyon".  In October 1893, Emma Longabaugh and her children moved to Grass Valley, Nevada.  In January 1895 Adolphs lot and house in Candelaria were sold to son-in-law Ben Barlow for $5.68.  In January 1896, Emma Longabaugh's house and lot in Belleville were sold for taxes.  In 1896, Adolph was admitted to U.S. Citizenship.  In September 1897, Adolph was on the tax roll for $75.

In June 1900, Adolph was living alone and mining in Benton, Mono County, California.  He indicated in the census of that year that he was a naturalized U.S. citizen.  At this time, Emma Longabaugh was enumerated with her children in Candelaria, Nevada.  The census indicates she was married, but gives the number of years from the time of her marriage to her first husband.  In November 1900, Emma Longabaugh, now using her previous name of Emma Barlow went with her son Arthur to San Francisco, she being in poor health.

On April 18, 1906 Emma was living in San Francisco when the earthquake and fire struck.

In the summer of 1907 Adolph attempted suicide while traveling from Silver Peak to Tonopah, NV.

On January 12, 1908 Adolph was found dead in the cabin of Robert Stewart, owner of the Gem Mine, six miles west of Sodaville, Nevada. His body was taken to Mina, Nevada. The death was called a suicide, although Adolph's neck was slit from ear to ear and he was nearly decapitated.  (In 1902, Robert Stewart had become a mining business partner of Benjamin Franklin Edwards, son-in-law of Emma Barlow Longabaugh.)  His body was discovered by Thomas Pepper of Mina.  A Tonopah Sun account describes Adolph as suffering from "a suicidal mania for several years" and also as "an old timer at Hawthorne, Candelaria and Belleville" and "a first class machinist, though he followed mining and prospecting at intervals."

In the 1910 census, Emma Barlow was enumerated with her son Arthur and family in Spragg, Nevada.  On November 12, 1913 Emma died in Oakland, Alameda County, California.  Her death certificate gives her name as Barlow, and she was buried with that name at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.

Sources:

• 1900 US Census of Nevada and California
• 1910 US Census of Nevada
• The Tonopah Sun: Monday, January 13, 1908
• Meadows, Lorena Edwards, A Sagebrush Heritage, San Jose, CA: Harlan-Young Press, 1972.
• California Death Index
• L.E. Meadows' notes on Walker Lake Bulletin articles
• L.E. Meadows' notes on Chloride Belt articles

So...  Do you know anything further about Adolph Longabaugh, his life, his death, his family?  If so, please contact me at:

FamHistBuf@aol.com

or

Sue Hobbs
5150 Fair Oaks Blvd #101-110
Carmichael, CA 95608

[Top of page] [Return to Home Page]

Surname connections at this site:

EGGER  JICKLING  LONGABAUGH  MEADOWS  SEAPY  WERNLI

Good luck with your search!

Thank you for visiting Sue's Clues at http://members.aol.com/famhistbuf/.