Londeree

A Landry male 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. DNA analyses of two Londeree descendants show that Joseph Nathaniel Londeree must have descended from Rene le jeune Landry. (http://www.familytreedna.com/public/landryydnaproject/) To date, no Joseph, Nathaniel, or Barthelemy ( St. Nathaniel was an alternate name for St. Bartholomew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle)) Landry born in the 1815 to 1820 time frame has been found who was not accounted for by a death, marriage, or census record in Canada. Two possibilities are that he was not baptized or that it was not recorded. According to Marcel Walter Landry, a genealogist who lives in Quebec, about 1% of baptisms in Quebec were not recorded. Another possibility is that he was baptized with one name but he adopted another name later. It was quite common for the French to have alternate names (usually called "dit" names) for their given and/or surname.

On 23 January 2017, I did a search of my database for Landry males born 1815-1820 in Canada. (www.landrygenealogy.com) I believe that my database has all of the Landry males baptized (recorded) in Quebec and other eastern Canadian provinces during this time period. After deleting those who had a record of a marriage or death in Canada, appeared in the Canadian census after 1831, and/or those who did not descend from Rene le jeune Landry, there were six remaining possibilities. These are Landry males who descended from Rene le jeune Landry with a baptism record in Canada, but I could find no other record. Perhaps they immigrated to the United States. One may have changed his name to Joseph Nathaniel Londeree.

Jean Baptiste Landry born 11 Sept. 1816 in Laprairie, Quebec
Jean Charles Landry born 17 July 1817 in Kamouraska, Quebec
Joachim Landry born 29 Oct. 1818 in Kamouraska, Quebec
Felix Landry born 24 June 1820 in Mascouche, Quebec (A longshot because of his age)
Amand Landry born 8 May 1817 in Memramcook, New Brunswick (A longshot because he was born in NB)
Pascal Landry born 11 Aug. 1819 in New Brunswick (A longshot because he was born in NB)

An interesting possibility is Jean Baptiste Landry born on September 11, 1816 in Laprairie, Quebec. His parents were Charles Landry and Marie Louise Dupuis. His mother had a brother named Barthelemy Dupuis. Perhaps Barthelemy was the uncle who accompanied Jean Baptiste to work on the Erie Canal (see below). Perhaps Jean Baptiste Landry adopted his uncle Barthelemy's given name. Barthelemy Dupuis did not show up in any USA censuses. He must have returned to Quebec because he showed up in the 1851 and 1861 censuses of St. Constant, Laprairie, Quebec living with his twin brother, Joseph. Also, Barthelemy Dupuis was listed as a participant in family weddings in 1821, 1830, and 1839. Jean Baptiste probably was in the 1925 census of St. Constant, Quebec with his father and step mother, but there is no way to determine it. He was not with his father and step mother in the 1831 census of Laprairie, Quebec. (Email exchanges with Suzette Leclair)

Another interesting possibility and the one eventually selected is Joachim Landry born on 29 October 1818 in Kamouraska, Quebec. His parents were Pascal Landry and Marie Genevieve Unknown dit Laprise. Autosomal DNA (atDNA) matches with Pascal as the nearest common ancestor would be 3rd cousins and would be the ideal scenario for identifying the link for Joseph Nathaniel Landry dit Londeree and Joachim Landry. My atDNA test results on MyHeritage.com identified a 2nd-4th cousin match with Roger Deslauriers (total (T)= 55 cM and longest (L) segment= 31.7 cM). Roger also tested at FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) so I was able to identify the specific locations of matches using FTDNA's chromsome mapping program. The match was on chromosome #8. Roger had a Joseph William Landry who appeared to match my Joseph Guillaume William Landry. The latter was a son of Pascal Landry and Marie Genevieve Unknown dit Laprise and a brother of Joachim Landry. If true, then Roger would be a 3rd cousin twice removed. A second match was found soon thereafter at MyHeritage.com with Bruce Davis (T=49.5 cM, L= 23.1 cM). His lineage also went through Joseph Guillaume William Landry. Bruce did not have his atDNA results at FTDNA so I couldn't determine where this match occurred. Bruce would be a 3rd cousin once or twice removed. A third atDNA match was found at FTDNA about one week later with Dominique L (T=57 cM,L= 39 cM). This match was on chromosome #9. It was determined that her lineage went through Joseph Landry, another son of Pascal and Marie Genevieve. Dominique would be a 3rd cousin once removed. A fourth match found on Ancestry.com was with TK Gravel whose ancestor was Caroline Landry, a daughter of Pascal Landry and Marie Genevieve Unknown dit Laprise. Our match was 53 cM on 3 segments with a long match of 53 cM. Since TK had her atDNA done at Ancestry. com, no other analysis was possible. TK and I would be 3rd cousins once removed. A fifth match (at Ancestry.com and GEDmatch) was with M. Gaudet (MG) (T=65.6 cM, L= 65.6 cM) whose ancestor was Joseph Amable Marie Landry, another son of Pascal and Marie Genevieve. MG and I would be 3rd cousins 3X removed. A sixth match on Ancestry.com occurred with Susan Crawford whose lineage passed through Caroline Landry, a daughter of Pascal and Mare Genevieve. Susan and I shared 38 cM on 5 segments and we would be 3rd cousins 2X removed. This analysis supports the hypothesis that Pascal Landry and Marie Genevieve Unknown dit Laprise were the parents of Joseph Nathaniel Londeree and he probably (not necessarily) was baptized as Joachim. More details are in the document: "The Quest for the Parents of Joseph Nathaniel Londeree." Pascal Landry died on 19 March 1837 and Joseph Nathaniel Londeree appeared on the Buckingham County, Virginia personal property tax list on 11 April 1837. (See below.) Joachim was not in the 1851 (1852) census of St. Cuthbert, Berthier, Quebec.

A third interesting possibility is Jean Charles Landry born on 17 July 1817 in Kamouraska, Quebec. His parents were Pierre Landry and Felicite Gagnon. I had a 3rd cousin 3X removed match on Ancestry.com with an unknown male Corriveau whose parents were an unknown male Corriveau and an unknown female Daigle. The lineage went through Pierre's son, Augustin, i.e. Augustin and Jean Charles were brothers. Ancestry.com predicted a 4th cousin relationship (4th-6th cousin).

Both Joachim and Jean Charles were descendants of Rene le jeune Landry through Antoine, Antoine, and Alexis. From there it went Charles and Pascal to Joachim and Jean Baptiste and Pierre to Jean Charles. In other words, Alexis was a great-grandfather to each. Another interesting match on FTDNA was with Elizabeth Billings Hall (47 cM, 20 cM); our common ancestor was Alexis through a son Amand and his daughter, Marie. So all of these matches were through Alexis Landry.

As a check for false positives on the atDNA results, I checked some known descendants of Rene le jeune Landry (based on yDNA tests) whom have had their atDNA test done also. There were five people in this category. One was a descendant of Germain Landry; one was a descendant of Abraham Landry; one probably was a descendant of the Nova Scotia Landrys (Jean Baptiste or Pierre); one did not know; and one was a descendant of Antoine Landry through Francois Landry. The most recent common ancestor in the first four cases was Rene le jeune Landry and in the last case it was Antoine, a son of Rene. Recall that Joachim and Jean Charles were descendants of Antoine also, but from there the lines separated. As expected, I was not a match for any of these individuals on the atDNA test results. This test is useful going back only 6-8 generations. Beyond that the expected shared DNA segment lengths are approaching the measurement error of the analysis. The current comparisons went back ten or more generations to a common ancestor.

Rebecca Londeree is a second cousin once removed. I found her on GEDmatch.com. The total match was 134 cM and the longest segment was 37 cM followed by 32. 9 cM. I found John Londeree on MyHeritage.com. We share 290.2 cM with the longest segment at 71.8 cM. He didn't post a tree but he probably is a second cousin of some sort.

One family story stated that Joseph Nathaniel Londeree age, 12, immigrated with an uncle to New York to work on the Erie Canal and then Joseph Nathaniel moved to Virginia to work on the Kinahwa Canal which paralleled the James River. On April 11, 1840 the Buckingham personal property tax list showed Joseph Londerree with one horse with a tax of $.08. He also was on the 1837 and 1839 Buckingham County personal property tax lists. (Personal Property Tax Records for Buckingham County [Virginia] Microfilm Reel 62 (1827-1840) at the Library of Virginia via Interlibrary Loan) (Also see Building of the Kanawha Canal at: http://www.landrygenealogy.com/documents/Building%20of%20the%20Kanawha%20Canal.htm .)

Joseph was born in Canada (probably Quebec) according to the 1850 and 1860 censuses and family stories. 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. 1828-1832) and they worked on the Kanahwa Canal, although there is no record of their employment (perhaps they worked for subcontractors or were independent contractors.) Joseph does not show up on the 1830 Virginia census. It is thought by family members that Joseph and his uncle worked on the Erie Canal before moving to Virginia. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 so he probably worked with horses or mules in towing barges as a "hoggee". Perhaps he hired young boys to serve the same roll on the Kanahwa Canal.

Joseph probably could not read or write English and his name on the census records was spelled differently each time (1840 - Londree, 1850 - Longerie, 1860 -Longeree). (The first time that the Londeree spelling occurred in public records was in the 1880 census for sons WPL, JJL, and CNL.) The first public record for Joseph was the 1837 personal property tax list for Buckingham Co., VA; he showed up again in the tax lists in 1839 and 1840. (Personal Property Tax Records for Buckingham County [Virginia] Microfilm Reel 62 (1827-1840) at the Library of Virginia via Interlibrary Loan) The 1840 Buckingham Personal Property Tax List had him Londerree. 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 female slave. (Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org)

According to Jane's obituary he sired 12 children and ten reached adulthood; 11 showed up with the family in various censuses. The twelfth child may have been Alford O. who may have been born in 1862 and lived with Jane's half brother, James. There was an A. O. living with James M. Harrison (aka Starkes) near Manteo in the 1870 census. Apparently he died before adulthood. Two other Londeree children (George and Thomas) also were listed with James M. Harrison in the 1870 census. (Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org)

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. Other evidence is at odds with these stories. 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 Londerree with a tax of $.08. The 1840 Buckingham County census listed him with one female slave. The 1850 census listed 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 aka Starkes (Jane's father) homestead on the east side of Manteo Road (Rte. 601, Google maps calls it Rte. 655) about .5 mile north of Warminster Church Rd. (Rte. 737); there is a 2 acre cemetery in the southwest corner of the farm near where the Grace Episcopal Church used to be located. In addition, the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses listed him as living near to the Branch family east off of Warminster Church Road. 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 all likelihood, 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 list for his horse and and the census listing 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.

There are no entries for land transactions for Joseph or Jane Londeree from 1841-1863 nor were there any land transactions by any Londeree prior to 1870. (Ward, Roger G., Buckingham County Virginia Records, Land Tax Summaries & Implied Deed 1841-1870, Volume 3, Athens, GA: Iberian Publishing Co., 1995) It appears that Joseph and Jane probably lived on land owned by William Harrison aka Starks 1840-1849 and the William Starks Estate from 1849-1863.

The 1840 census of Northern District of Buckingham County, Virginia listed Joseph Londree with one male under 5 (WPL), one male 20-30 (Joseph), and one female 20-30 (Janetta). Janetta's father (William Harrison aka Starkes) lived next door to Joseph. The next house listed the John Howell family and presumably included Sallie (Janetta's sister). (Ancestry.com)

The 1850 census of District 2 of Buckingham County, Virginia listed: Joseph Longare 32, Janetta Londree 29, William Londree 10, Mary Londree 9, John Londree 8, Chesley Londree 7, George Londree 3, Charles Londree 2, Sallie Howell 45 (Janetta's sister), Juda Howell 12 (niece), Rosa Howell 6 (niece), and George Howell 4 (nephew). Next door after Joseph Londree was James Starkes 26 (Janetta's half brother) and Sinia Starkes 37 (Janetta's step-mother.) Next door before Joseph was Mary S. Branch 34 and her children including Mary 5 who became William Poindexter Londeree's first wife. Three houses removed from Joseph was the Mills family whose day book records listed purchases of items from James Starkes. Joseph did not have any slaves in 1850. (1850 U. S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules - Ancestry.com)

The 1860 census of District 1 of Buckingham County, Virginia listed Joseph Longeree 44, Jane 45, Nathaniel C. 16, George W. 12, Charles L. 11, John 10, Thomas H. 6, Martha F. 3, Josephine 1 in household #47. Next door to Joseph Longeree was Mary S. Branch 44 and her children, including Mary 16. James M. Harrison 36 (Janetta's half brother aka Starkes) and family were in household #74. Two of James' daughters (Nancy Ellen and Bettie Lee) married Londeree sons (Chesley Nathaniel and Thomas Henry). Next to the Branch family was Nicholas Mills.

Joseph did not have any slaves in 1860. (1860 U. S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules - Ancestry.com)

A map with highlited numbers and a legend of NW Buckingham County, Virginia shows Londeree sites. Both files are shown above in the photos section. Open both and switch back and forth. You also could split your screen into two sections or use two monitors to view them simultaneously.

At the 1994 Londeree Family Association Reunion, Bruce Thompson organized a tour of Londeree sites in Scottsville and surrounding Albemarle County Countryside. (The Londeree Line, Issue #6, September 1994, pp. 6-7) Generally the tour visited sites of second and third generation Londerees. The tour map and tour map legend are in the document section above. Open both and switch back and forth. You also could split your screen into two sections or use two monitors to view them simultaneously.

A table labeled "Where the Londeree Children Lived - 1860 to 1920" can be found in the photo section above. It summarizes where the Londeree children lived based on censuses from 1860-1920.

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, decendants of George and Thomas still lived on the old homestead properties in 1998. 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 to upper middle class. It appears that many have very strong religious beliefs and strong feelings about the Civil War.

Source: https://www.landrygenealogy.com/getperson.php?personID=I106383&tree=mylandrywebsite 19avril2025