The Long Family Archive
Plymouth and Nantucket to Westport
The Long Family Archive maintains the documented genealogy of the Long family of Westport, Massachusetts, from four generations of John Long, beginning with the John Long who crossed from Ireland around 1835, back through the founding families of Nantucket (Coffin, Folger, Macy, Gardner) and four Mayflower passengers verified by the Mayflower Society. Every line is sourced and tiered by confidence, link by link. The archive exists to keep this record intact for John, Perry, and Patrick Long, their children, and the descendants who follow.
Cousins and Convergences
The American line records documented cousinship to Benjamin Franklin, Major General Benedict Arnold V, Lucretia Coffin Mott, the astronomer Maria Mitchell, Senator Nicholas Gilman, and the abolitionist Levi Coffin II. Detailed proofs of each relationship are maintained as separate pages in the archive.
Both sides of the family were uprooted in the convulsions of the mid-17th century, though by separate events. The English Civil War drove the Coffins from Devon in 1642; twelve years later the Cromwellian land settlement confiscated the O’Long lands in Cork. Their descendants converged at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1970s, when Carol Perry and John Patrick Long met as students.
Four Paths Into the Archive
Search the Archive
Explore the documented lineage. Begin with the family tree or browse by line.
Twenty-One Family Lines
From the Longs of Fall River to the Coffins of Nantucket, each documented branch of the family.
Four Generations of John Long
From 1835 Ireland to a law practice in Massachusetts. The lineage that gave this archive its name.
About This Archive
How we verify, how we cite, and the standards that guide every connection in these pages.
Which line brings you here?
A Long
Paternal line. Four generations of John Long from 1835 Ireland to a law practice in Massachusetts.
A Coogan
Irish side. Nellie, Owen, Raymond and the children who followed. Research ongoing.
A Perry
Maternal line through Carol. Traces through New England to the Mayflower.
A Visitor
Curious about New England genealogy, or landed here from a search. Start with the archive overview.
What’s New
Notable Ancestors and Cousins
A directory indexing the documented network of kin: the founding families of Nantucket, four Mayflower passengers, and documented cousins including Benjamin Franklin and Lucretia Coffin Mott, each linked to its proof.
April 20268 Revolutionary War Battle Pages
Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Newport, Yorktown, and more. Documenting every engagement where our ancestors served.
April 2026The Liberty Tree
Our family on both sides of the most famous tree in American history. Nathaniel Coffin Jr. cut it down.
April 2026Benjamin Franklin. Our Cousin
Through the Folger line of Nantucket, a documented cousinship preserved in the family record. The full descent is rendered on his dedicated page.
April 2026Society of the Cincinnati
Ongoing research into Revolutionary-era officer ancestors including the Green and Peckham lines.
April 2026DNA Heritage
23andMe ancestry composition mapped to 21 documented family lines. Irish 23.6%, British & English 31%, French 0.5%.
April 2026The Coogan Line: Hounds of War
From the ancient kingdom of Uí Maine in Connacht to the political families of Fall River. Four generations documented, motto: Non metuo. I do not fear.
April 2026The 17th-Century Upheavals
How two upheavals of the mid-17th century, the English Civil War in Devon (1640s) and Cromwell's 1654 confiscation in Cork, set both sides of the family in motion, and how four centuries later their descendants converged at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Carol Perry and John Patrick Long met as students in the 1970s.
By the Numbers
Direct Paths
Society of the Cincinnati
Research on Revolutionary-era officer ancestors and the Cincinnati Society.
Nantucket Founders
The ten proprietors and the families that followed.
Mayflower Line
Four documented passengers in the family tree.
The Coffins of Devon
The medieval Coffin line of Alwington, and the disputed Norman-knight tradition.
The Photographs
Primary-source images from the 1840s onward.
How We Verify
Confidence ratings, PIDs, and citation standards.
Selected Images
How We Work
Every connection in this archive is rated for confidence. Primary sources are prioritized. Oral history is flagged as traditional. Where we’re not sure, we say so.
We lead with what we found, not what we claim.
Primary Sources
MA Soldiers & Sailors, Vol. 15
Barney Genealogical Record
Nantucket Historical Association
Family photographs with original annotations
Complete index of sources, audit passes, and verification artifacts →