She is a lady of mystery. Over the years many a person has tried, unsuccessfully, to document who the wife of William Longmire was. Many a person more has ascribed various last names and family connections for Susannah Longmire which have no basis in fact. And despite the everlasting internet misinformation which abounds, all we can say for sure is that her name was Susannah – last name unknown. I have tried for years to find a marriage or birth, a will, any document with her on it – other than when she came to court after William’s death – to no avail. I have run down all manner of family trees to look for a source to confirm the various names of Marshall, Turner, Taliaferro – all families of pedigree to be sure – which have been ascribed to her. Still, not a single shred of evidence can I find, anywhere, to support the family names listed above. And when it comes down to it who wouldn’t be proud to be a member of one of these other families – the Taliaferros and Turners, allied with prominent Virginia families themselves and ties to Presidents, statesmen, and great military leaders? It is almost a crime not to know for sure. Yet what crime do we ourselves commit by detaching ourselves from the other possible families out there – one of whom brought our grandmother of long ago, Susannah, into the world?
As in most mysteries, there are a number of perplexing circumstances which surround William Longmire’s wife. What became of Susannah and the children after the death of their father? Where did they go? Did she remarry? Why no Orphan Account records or court case to determine a suitable guardian? Why was no written will presented to court after Williams’ death? I have always thought it strange that a man so well versed in writing wills did not have one himself.
As for Susannah’s origins one avenue that I have begun pursuing is that she may have come from Charles County, Maryland or other parts thereabouts. Many families or individuals who were neighbors of William and Susannah in King George County had substantial ties to Maryland. There are a number of families with Maryland backgrounds who had daughters named Susannah of which no definite genealogical traces have been made and which could provide the answer. Suffice to say that the door has not closed on the origins of Susannah though the available records researched so far are not encouraging. I still hold out hope that an exhaustive review of local and Maryland families will yield an answer. Perhaps the “German servant girl Susannah” mentioned in regards to Mr Taliaferro is our Susannah? Definitely a possibility as T. Turner was married into the Taliaferro family twice and therefore might be an accessary after the fact, so to speak.
