LONG VALLEY JOHN

BASICS:: Born- Abt 1950; Location- Benton, CA; Died- 1900; Location- Benton, CA?
SPOUSE:: Maggie Johns
CHILDREN:: Allie Johns; Annie Johns (Jefferson, Lawrence)
SPOUSE:: Jane John(s)
CHILDREN:: Mary John(s); Un-named daughter John(s)

The image used is of the BIA issued 80 acres of land, near the Benton area, and is the subject of the January 28th, 1916 Land Certification letter below.

It appears Long Valley John had another wife and two more children with her, according to this 1900 US Census. Either that, or there were two Long Valley Johns living in the Benton, CA area at the same time. This document show a wife by the name of Jane and two daughters, Mary (age 22) and an un-named daughter (age 8). Also taken from this census is Long Valley John's age, placing his birth around 1949 or 1950.

Let's look at the ages of the two daughters listed, and compare to his other two children (oldest to the youngest) -

NAME	DoB	MOTHER	NOTES
Allie John	Abt 1872	Maggie	A photo had both the date of the image and his age on it, thus determining his birth year.
Mary John	Abt 1878	Jane	Year of birth based on age from the 1900 US Census above.
Annie John	Abt 1889	Maggie	Year of birth based on age from the 1910 US Census.
Un-named Daughter	Abt 1892	Jane	Year of birth based on age from the 1900 US Census above.

Interesting how all 4 childrens birthdates over-lap with each other, with two different mothers involved. The Annie and un-named child bear interest though - According to John Lawrence's (Annie spouse) Indian Application, the age and year entries regarding Annie place her DoB at 1892, the same as the un-named daughter. Is it possible Annie and the un-named child are one and the same? Is Maggie Annie's real mother, or is it Jane? Mysteries abound! To add to the confusion, through DNA testing, I am DNA connected to a couple of people through my Annie Johns Jefferson Lawrence tree. I say her, because above that, I do not know if it goes beyond Long Valley John, Maggie John(s), or given that 1900 US Cencus, Jane John(s). Here is what I am talking about (no living names other than me will be shown):

As you can see, our connection goes beyond what we have records for. Also, even though the DNA results say 5th cousins, that can be a bit different. It can even be 4th cousins, or some removed (xtimes) cousin aspects. But it still suggests the relationship going higher.

The next referrence I have to Long Valley John is not by name, but by being listed as Annie's father on the 1910 US Census. It initially says he was born in Aurora, Nevada. But pay close attention, because that is circled with a line to a post note above that corrects this to Benton, California (the one below Annie and Annie's entries got mixed up and are for the other person). On the lower half of that census, it talks about the tribe of the parents. #2 is Annie, so the father is Long Valley John. It states full blooded Paiute-Mono (Mono Paiute).

In this 1911 BIA letter (page 1, page 2), Long Valley John is mentioned by name, with Annie and Allie as his children. There seems to be a dispute over his property. Note on the letter it mentions "Casa Diablo mine". A web search turned this up - Google Search Results. Casa Diablo Mine is just south east of the 80 acre land asssignment issued to Long Valley John.

Here is another 1911 BIA letter (page 1, page 2), that was badly scanned/copied. It looks like two letters on the same page. But you can make out some of the words, and the fact Long Valley John is mentioned. I am trying to locate clean copies of this letter.

This 1912 BIA letter from Maggie Johns shows that Long Valley John was dead by this time, and had been for a few years. The original date for this land subject was April 21, 1899, so sometime between 1899 and 1912 is when he passed away (as seen below, that would be 1900). This letter also shows that Long Valley John was making this homestead in the Benton, CA area. The two-year-earlier 1910 US Census from above had placed John and Annie in the Benton area, so this fits.

Curiously, this 1913 Indian Census for the Bishop area has a Long Valley John listed at the bottom, with no actual information. Per the previous letter from Maggie, Long Valley John was dead by this time. So IF this is him, then why is he on here?

Here is a land certification dated January 28th, 1916. It is stating the widow (Maggie Johns) and his heirs receive the property at the location listed. The President himself made a proclamtion dated July 22, 1916 (page 1, page 2) regarding Long Valley John's property.

This August 1, 1916 letter is requesting Long Valley John to sign some paperwork. Obviously they did not know he was dead at this time. A month later, this September 12, 1916 letter on behalf of Maggie regarding Long Valley John's property was sent.

In 1951, this petition for the Sale of Inherited Indian Land was created. It lists the heirs that followed Maggie and Annie, and also lists Long Valley John's death year as having been 1900. The same day as the petition, a Certificate of Appraisement was also done, though it wasn't signed until the following month.

The following year, 1952, brought the Forfeiture of Bid for the land.

The individual records for those heirs listed will be in the sections on this webpage for those individuals.

Should you have any more information by way of documents or any questions, you can contact me on Facebook at this link.