Margaret Taylor Long

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At a Glance

Margaret Taylor Long was the granddaughter of Dr. James Webb of Hillsborough, NC, who encouraged Mrs. Burwell (Anna Robertson Burwell ) to open a school and underwrote the construction of the Brick House which housed the school when it opened in August 1837 and still stands today. Margaret's aunt, Mary Webb , was officially the Burwell School's first student [1].

Story

Margaret Taylor Long was the second daughter of Dr. Osmond Fitz Long, orginally of Randolph County, NC, and Frances Helen Webb, the eldest daughter of Dr. James Webb and Annie Alves Huske Webb of Hillsborough, NC. Margaret Taylor Long is listed in the Burwell School Catalogue of 1848-51 [2] and was enrolled in the late 1840s.

Margaret Taylor Long married Gen. Rufus Barringer of Charlotte, NC as his third wife. His fisrt wife, Eugenia Morrison, died in 1858, leaving him two children: Dr. Paul B. Barringer and Anna Barringer. Gen. Rufus Barringer's second wife, Rosalie Chunn of Asheville, NC, died leaving one son, Rufus C. Barringer. Margaret Taylor Long and Rufus Barringer had one child, Osmond Long Barringer.

The considerable body of written material dealing with Rufus Barringer all testifies to his eminence as a Confederate general, his probity in politics, his unanswering devotion as a family man, and his integrity and faithfulness as a churchman in Charlotte, NC where he founded the Second Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC.

Mary Alves Long, Margaret Taylor Long's cousin, remarked in her book of family reminiscences, High Time to Tell It, that Gen. Rufus Barringer was the only member of the entire Long connection who was rich, and that he was as generous as he was rich, educating, supporting of the large Long family. One provision in Rufus Barringer's will testified in particular to his deep concern and affection for his family. It stipulated that his handsome home in Charlotte, NC should be kept in the Barringer family as a common home for his wife, children, and their descendants for as long as they should desire it [1].

Biographical Data

Margaret was called Mag.

Places of Residence

• Hillsborough, NC [1].
• Charlotte, NC [1].

Schools Attended

• Burwell School, from the late 1840s [1].

Relatives

• Parents: Osmond Fitz Long (1808-1864) [1] and Frances Helen Webb (1810-1888) [1].
• Spouse: Rufus Barringer (1821-1895) [1]. They had one son, Osmond Long Barringer [1].
• Maternal grandparents: James Webb [1] and Annie Alves Huske Webb [1].
• Sibling: one sister, Helen Cadwell Long (b. 1834)  [1].
• Uncles: Michael William Holt (1811-1858) [1], William John Long [1] and Thomas Webb.
• Aunts: Anne Webb (1814-1850) [1] and Mary Webb (b. 1823)  [1].
• Cousins: Annie Holt (d. 1918)  [1], Mary Alves Long (b. 1864) [1], Mary Jane Holt (1849-1850), Sallie Holt, William Michael Holt, Annie Webb Long (1846-1914), Elizabeth Strudwick Long (b. 1850), Jane Taylor Long (b. 1848), John Long (1852-1854), John Henry Long (1856-1917), Sabra Ramsey Long (b. 1844), William Osmond Long (1854-1928), Margaret Taylor Webb (1855-1939), John Norwood Webb (1858-1934), Annabella Giles Webb (1860-1935), Benjamin Huske Webb (1863-1866), Alves Webb (1865-1924), James H. Webb (1868-1927), Thomas H. Webb (1871-1939), Robin Webb (1874-1941) and Eliza Plumer Webb (1876-1877).
• Others: Anna Barringer (stepdaughter) [1], Paul B. Barringer (stepson) [1] and Rufus C. Barringer (stepson) [1].

References

1. Mary Claire Engstrom. The Book of Burwell Students: Lives of Educated Women in the Antebellum South. (Hillsborough: Hillsborough Historic Commission, 2007).
2. Burwell School Catalogue of 1848-51.