DEPOSITION A
Case of Emma D Longley, No ctf 558,604
On this 14th day of May 1904, at Town of St Joseph, County of Stearns State of Minn., before me, H J Decker a special examiner of the Bureau of Pensions, personally appeared Emma D Longley, who, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to her during this special examination of aforesaid claim for pension, deposes and says:
I am 58 years of age; my post-office address is
R.F. Rout no 5 from
St. Cloud Minn. Occupation I make milkweed flowers. Age 58
years. I am widow of James Longley late of Co F-77-Ohio V.I.
He served from Nov 4 '61 to Aug 29 '62. He had no other service except
in '63 a company formed to go after Morgan. He went with the rest
to Marietta Ohio. Dont know what is was called. Think they
were not enlisted. He died in this house May 29 1903 of heart disease,
diarhea, lumbago or kidney trouble & liver trouble and indigestion
which he always claimed as due to the service. I first met him in
Hooksburg Morgan Co., Ohio when I was eight years old. We were married
there Jan 1 63 by Squire Davis a Justice of the Peace whose whereabout
I do not know. There is a record in the court house at McConnellsville.
I have no certificate but I have the license (same exhibited dated Dec
27 '62 & appears genuine) The justice had married but one couple before
and gave us the license instead of the certificate. My mother in
Monticello Minn my Brother F.E Davis of St. Cloud Minn were witnesses.
My full name was Emma Delilah Davis at the time of marriage. We were
not divorced. I have not remarried but have remained his widow.
Neither of us were previously married. The youngest of our
children at time of Mr Longley's death was 24 years of age. Mr Longley
drew $12.00 a month pension under new law and had previously been pensioned
at $4.00 under the old law. His last illness covered a period of
about four years since the time he had paralysis but about ten years ago
he quit work because he was unable to work any more. This was on
account of general breakdown. He was about 58 years of age then.
About seventeen years ago he begun to have bad spells with his heart.
he had complained some from the time of our marriage. he claimed
this was result of the diarrhea & liver trouble that came on in
the service. For the seventeen years his heart spells increased in
severity & frequency. He said the heart would get to fluttering
worse & worse till it would seem to stop entirely the he would fall.
He was often helped to the house. He oftern felt them coming on & sometimes
if he kept quiet the spell passed by. He would be very pale &
afterwoard very red. Had dizzy spells & fluttering very
often. I could hear his heart thumping so it would scare me, during
most of this time. He had stomach trouble all the time since we married
& alternating diarrhea and constipation. He said he was
burning up with heart burn & took a great deal of soda & chalk
to over come it. He had these symptoms every few weeks all the time
since our marriage. He often had to "lay up & go to bed"
with diarrhea & head aches. He hated to give up but he often
had to. He often came in saying "oh my heart" & holding his hand
on his left side. no never noticed any trouble of complaints
of liver on right side. I often had to poultice his left side.
These spells were frequent as once a month or so for years and in the last
4 years every few days & toward the last most every day. His
stomach & bowel trouble kept getting worse. He had spells
he could not eat anything for several days & then he got so he could
take a little taste but at the last he could not swallow. He always
complained since I was married that his food often distressed him & of
heart burn & took soda for it. I never heard any thing to indicate
that he had any stomach, bowel, heart or other trouble before he enlisted.
The last eight weeks of his life he was in bed. He grew thinner & got
to be almost a skeleton. his bowels & stomach caused him
a great deal of trouble so we took all food away & gave him peptonoid
(?) he could not sleep his heart distressed him so. His breathing
was very irregular som times he breathed very hard, catch his breath, breath
short, then he would stop breathing. I would count eighteen before
he would breathe again and I could not see or hear his heart during that
time. The paralysis came on in July '99. he was walking over
the field going to put up some hay when he fell. He came back alone
and said he crawled part way. He was white as a sheet. he could
not use his left arm, hand, leg, foot, & his tongue well.
this came on after he got house & in bed. He could not use
his left side at all for a day yeas for three or four months. He
got so he could walk but had to have help dressing & used a cane
to walk and dragged the left leg. I cant recall that his mind was
affected. He could not get his left hand to his head. The muscles
withered while the rest of his body bloated. Dr Ruddy then of Cold
Springs Minn. but now of some place in Ohio treated him for the paralysis
and came at intervals till July 1902. Dr Sutton came twice about
November 1902. Dr Pinault was the next heart Dr. He saw him
twice. He lives at St Joseph & Dr Sutton at Cold Springs this
county the last three weeks of his life Thomas J Longley his only brother
took care of him. He lives at St Cloud Minn. He is a retired
cooper. About four weeks before he died gangreene set in his right
foot the first I knew of it
Emma D Longley
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 14 day of May 1904 and I certify
the contents were fully made known to deponent before signing.
H J Decker Special Examiner
claimant continued...
was when he said one day his foot was cold. His right foot.
We never was able to get it warm again. It was white never had natural
color again. The other foot was warm. The right foot finally,
next day, begain to pain him & increased in severity. he could
not lie down. he had to have his foot hang down on the floor.
When he put his foot up on the bed the pain was so severe he could not
stand it. The toe begun to turn dark sometimes red sometimes black
and blister came on his toes and foot. The flesh sloughed off.
The other foot was dropsical and the skin cracked. The right toenails
& finally the heel came off. My daughter Mrs M.E. Merrill fo
this place, also helped take care of him. Mr Longley had his mind
clear till the last. An hour before his death his neice came in &
he knew her & shook hands with her. His breath came shorter and
quicker and stopped. I believe his death was due to his stomach bowel
& heart trouble. I am sure the gangrene was due to the heart
and this I believe was the result of the diarrhea stomach & other troubles
of service origin. I have no witness I wish seen aside from Dr Pinault,
Thomas J Longley & if needed Dr Sutton & Dr Ruddy. I am pensioned
at $8.00 act Jun 27 1890
Emma D Longley
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 14 day of May 1904 and I certify
the contents were fully made known to deponent before signing.
H J Decker Special Examiner