"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco:
W. H. Lever, 1901.  p. 324.
 
JOSEPH DELONG

     To the successful farmer and fruit-grower, whose name gives caption to this
article, belongs the proud distinction of being the first actual settler now
living withing the present limits of Whitman county, the gentleman who shared
the honor of pioneership with him being George Pangburn, now deceased. It is a
pleasure to be able to add that the fair and fertile political division which
bears the name of the martyred missionary has every reason to be proud of the
man who, with the associate mentioned, first disputed its possession with the
Indians; for, though he has never been ambitious for leadership among his
fellows and never has been a candidate for any office or for personal preferment
of any kind, he is one of the solid and substantial citizens of the county, a
splendid representation of the class which forms the real boast of any
community.
     Mr. De Long is a native of De Kalb county, Indiana, born September 2, 1839.
He resided in the community of his birth until sixteen years old, acquiring a
considerable part of his educational discipline there. In 1855, however, he
moved to Iowa, and in 1857 went to Harrison county, Missouri, where his home was
until 1861. In that year he returned to Iowa, and in 1862 he set out across the
plains to Oregon, driving oxen to pay the expense of his passage. As soon as the
train reached Umatilla county he and one William Brunton started on foot to
Walla Walla. In 1863 our subject went to Tuckanon and turned his attention to
the basic art of agriculture, continuing it until 1865, in which year he came to
the central ferry on the Snake river. 1867 is the date of his and George
Pangburn's advent into the section now known as Whitman county, the site which
those two van-leaders of civilization chose being Union flat. Two years later
Mr. De Long removed thence to a point ten miles northeast of Endicott, where he
now lives. He afterward sold the place on Union flat. His present realty
holdings aggregate three hundred and twenty acres, through which the Palouse
river passes, and he has a fine fifty-acre orchard of apples, peaches and
apricots upon it. Other valuable improvements are in evidence and an air of
thrift is distinctly perceptible everywhere about the premises.
 

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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in July 2009 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.