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Rev. Carroll Summerfield Long, D.D., PhD. (1850-1890) American Methodist Episcopal Church missionary was born on January 2, 1850 in Athens, Tennessee. He was the oldest son of Reverend William R. Long (February 18, 1819-November 4, 1847) and Sarah Elizabeth (Atlee) Long (April 4, 1829-December 5, 1889). He attended East Tennessee Wesleyan College (Athens, Tennessee) with the intent of practicing medicine. However, he had a change in plans and wanted to live a more religious lifestyle. He became licensed to preach on June 22, 1872 under Reverend J. W. Mann. Higher education was important to Long, and he would return to East Tennessee Wesleyan College to complete his studies, receiving a B.A. in the classics in 1878, a M.A. in 1881, followed by an PhD in 1886.

In October 1875, Long was admitted to the Holston Conference and was stationed in Asheville, North Carolina where he would serve for four years as the pastor of the church. During which he would also serve as the president of Candler College for two of those years. In August 1879, he was elected as the principal of Powells Valley Seminary (Well Spring, Tennessee), where he would hold the position for a short five months before accepting an appointment as missionary to Japan. Long and his wife sailed from San Francisco, California on February 28, 1880 and arrived in Nagasaki March 20, 1880. Long was determined to become emerged within the Japanese culture, and took up to the study of the language and customs upon his arrival. Within less than 13 weeks, Long was able to give his first sermon in the vernacular of the people. Reverend Carroll Summerfield Long would serve a total of eight years as a missionary to Japan. Some of his many accomplishments include founding Cobleigh Seminary (1881), becoming the presiding elder of the Nagasaki and Nagoya districts, as well as founding a school for girls in Nagoya (October 1888).

His missionary experiences were not experienced alone, and in many aspects, could not be completed without his family. On June 3, 1879 he married Flora Isadore Smith (1861-1952), the daughter of Reverend William Conway Smith (1830-1881) and Mary Eliza (Hemens) Smith (1835-1929). They met through “Pen Pal,” as Flora loved to read “The Children’s Corner” and began an relationship through the correspondence that the two would have. During their time in Japan, Carroll and Flora would have 4 children: Mary Elizabeth Long Dayharsh (1880-1975), Flora Hortense Long Harrison (1881-1968), Pauline “Haru” Atlee Long (1883-1931) and “Michi” Geraldine Long Bailey (1888-1985).

Reverend Carroll Summerfield Long made his last return trip to the United States on August 17, 1890, and due to bad health, passed away at the home his friend Reverend J.D. Robertson in Asheville, North Carolina on September 4, 1890 and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery (Athens, Tennessee).

James Jolene Loomis (1830-1871), Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Minister, was born in Newark, New Jersey. He moved to Albion, Michigan as a child where he stayed until he finished college. Loomis then taught for one year in Missouri before moving to Columbus, Texas to take a position with the County Clerk's Office. He joined the 21st Texas Volunteer Infantry at the start of the Civil War as a Methodist Episcopal Church South chaplain. After the war he became a school teacher in Columbus, Texas until 1867 when his wife, Mary Elizabeth Loomis died. He then moved himself and his children to Galveston, Texas where he taught school at the local Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was ordained by Bishop William May Wightman, he appears to be a local ordained minister. In 1870 he moved to Goliad, Texas and became the headmaster of the Paine Female Institute, a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Women's College. He was also a Freemason, belonging to the Caledonia Lodge in Columbus, Texas. His daughter, Luna M. Branch joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South as a missionary immediately after his death in 1871.