Revisiting the evidence: William Marion Morlan (1851-1930) and Eveline Awalt (1851-1913); Appanoose County, Iowa

Thomas MacEntee started the year 2015 with a project called the Genealogy Do-Over.  I have spent the past 8 years scanning and attaching records to my ancestry.com tree without much (if any) analysis.  I needed a genealogy analysis do-over, and so I am starting with my mother's maternal grandparents: William Marion Morlan (1851-1930) and Eveline Awalt (1851-1913) who lived their entire life in Appanoose County, Iowa.  I have spent the past year attending most of the Legacy Family Tree Webinars, genealogy societies' webinars, occasionally listening in on Dear Myrtle, RootsTech, and attending the 2015 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and am ready to take the plunge to correctly analyze my data and cite sources correctly.
Quick links to documentation in this post
  1. Original Family Group Sheet (it contained errors, but it is what I had to start with)
  2. Gravestone of William & Eveline Morlan
  3. Obituary of William Marion Morlan
  4. Funeral Card for William Marion Morlan
  5. Funeral Home Record for William Marion Morlan
  6. 1925 Iowa State Census
  7. 1920 US Federal Census
  8. 1915 Iowa State Census
  9. Death Notices of Eveline Morlan
  10. Death Record for Eveline Morlan
  11. 1910 US Federal Census
  12. 1905 Iowa State Census
  13. 1900 US Federal Census
  14. Left To-Do

In the beginning. . .
In the 1970's I came into possession of a Family Group Sheet of the William M. Morlan family.  I remember at the time my mother's affirmation that this information was correct and her 2 sisters agreed.  My grandmother was alive at the time and either she never saw this information or chose not to offer an opinion as to its veracity.

Spoiler Alert:  information on this Family Group Sheet is not entirely correct and thoroughly NOT documented!

This is the front and back scan of document MOR-AWA-1: (Since this is my first attempt at using Elizabeth Shown Mill's Evidence Explained, please feel free to offer suggestions and comments on my citation attempts.)

Front of Family Group Sheet:

Unknown, "Family Group Sheet of William M. Morlan," supplied 1970 by Unknown, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Colorado Springs, Colorado; No specific documentation for any piece of data.    Document MOR-AWA-1

Back of Family Group Sheet:

Unknown, "Family Group Sheet of William M. Morlan," supplied 1970 by Unknown, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Colorado Springs, Colorado; No specific documentation for any piece of data.    Document MOR-AWA- 1


Analysis:  It saddens me that I do not know where this Family Group Sheet came from, and that it apparently is the 14th Family Group Sheet by this person.  Since it is stamped with "St. Louis Genealogical Society", I will write them for further information.  Since there is no source information for anything on this family group sheet, everything must be researched and documented.


 TO DO:  Write to St. Louis Genealogical Society for further information on this Family Group Sheet (attach a copy).

Gravestone of William Marion Morlan and Eveline Awalt:

In the fall of 2007  I traveled to Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa and photographed several of the gravestones in Elgin Cemetery which I finally posted on IowaGravestones.org later the next year.  This is one of the photos I took of the gravestone of my great-grandparents (this photo has not been posted to FindAGrave.com nor IowaGravestones.org):
W. M. Morlan and wife Eveline Gravestone Photograph, 2007; digital image, privately held by Joan Hanlon, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Colorado Springs, CO; gravestone photo from Elgin Cemetery, Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa, showing the inscription of the birth and death years of W. M. Morlan as 1851-1930 and his wife Eveline as 1851-1913.  Document Number: MOR-AWA-2
The gravestone does corroborate the birth and death years noted on the Family Group Sheet.

Obituary of William Marion Morlan

In 1994 my mother was moved to a nursing home and over the next several years I acquired some of the papers she had hoarded for decades.  Most were thrown away as the house was cleaned, but of the ones that survived was a newspaper clipping of her grandfather's obituary. I recently attempted to find the obituary on the newspaper site for many of the Appanoose County newspapers,  http://centerville.advantage- preservation.com/ , however at this time they do not have 1930 papers available.

TO DO: Keep checking the Appanoose County newspaper site to see if they add the 1930s newspapers so I can correctly cite the source of the original obituary.

This is just a snippet of the newspaper clipping.  It certainly provides quite a bit of information on the family. The obituary provided the following bits of information:
Morlan, William Marion, "Obituary William Marion Morlan," undated clipping, ca. January 1930, from unidentified newspaper; privately held by Joan Hanlon, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,]  Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1994.  Inherited in 1994 by Joan Hanlon from her mother Esther (Milburn) Hanlon, granddaughter of William Marion Morlan.    Document Number: MOR-AWA-3

  • Full name:  William Marion Morlan
  • Parents:  William Morlan and Jane Morlan (who had moved from Indiana)
  • Birth date:  20 October 1851
  • Birth place: northwest part of Appanoose County, Iowa
  • Worked on the farm with his father until he was married, after which "he lived in the same vicinity, a part of the time in Wayne county, until in 1912 when he brought his family to Mystic which remained his home."
  • Married in 1871 to Miss Eveline Awalt
  • Father of 10 children, 4 were deceased.
    • Deceased children were Charlie, Roy, John, and Mamie.
    • Living children were: Mrs. Cora Cox of Rockford, Illinois, Mrs. Ella Jumper of Puxico, Missouri, Henry of Dunseith, North Dakota, Mrs. Nellie Milburn, Mrs. Docia Milburn, and Mrs. Clara Elgin of Mystic, Iowa.
  • His wife died 23 July 1913
  • The past 3 months he had lived with his daughter Mrs. J. E. Milburn [Nellie Morlan Milburn]
  • His death date was 29 January 1930
  • He had been a city councilman and mayor
  • He held to his parents' religious beliefs of "Old School Baptist".
  • He had 26 grandchildren
  • He had 2 great-grandchildren
  • He had 3 surviving brothers:  Henry, Robert, and Bluford.
  • Burial was at Elgin Cemetery
  • Out of town guests were listed.  Personal note: absent from the list was my mother Esther Hanlon, granddaughter of William Marion Morlan.
FUNERAL CARD:
In addition to the obituary, I also obtained the Funeral Notice for William Marion Morlan from which I obtained the date of burial.
William Marion Morlan funeral notice, Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa, citing services on 1 February 1930; privately held by Joan Hanlon, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,]  Colorado Springs, Colorado.  This printed, black-bordered announcement, 3" x 5", was inherited in 1994 by Joan Hanlon from her mother Esther (Milburn) Hanlon, granddaughter of William Marion Morlan.  Document Number: Mor-Awa-4
With this information it was apparent William Marion Morlan was not alive when the 1930 US Census was enumerated  in Appanoose County, Iowa in April, 1930.

Death Information for William Marion Morlan.

FamilySearch.org contains the index to "Iowa, Deaths and Burials, 1850-1990".  William Marion Morlan is listed in this index which can be viewed here: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVHM-D6D

While the Family History Library was still offering their photoduplication service, I was able to request the original record referenced on the index.  The record I received was the Funeral Record from Ray Swanson's Funeral Home, Mystic, Iowa.
The funeral record contained the following information:
  • Name:  William Marion Morlan
  • Address:  Mystic, Iowa
  • Died at:  Daughter's name Mrs. Joe Milburn
  • Length of residence in City:  38 years
  • State of life: Widowed
  • Name of wife: Evaline Morlan
  • Date of birth: 20 October 1851
  • Date of death: 29 January 1930
  • Age: 78 Yrs. 3 Mo 9 Days
  • Birthplace: Appanoose County, Iowa
  • Occupation: Coal Miner
  • Name of employer: Peerless Coal Co
  • Name of father: William Morlan
  • Name of mother: Jane Jones
  • Informant:  J. E. Milburn, Mystic, Iowa
  • There was a checkmark next to the question "Was there an autopsy?"  I will follow up to determine if there was an autopsy or not.
  • Cause of death: Senility
  • Date of burial: 1 February 1930
  • Place of burial: Elgin Cemetery
TO DO:  Need to add citation.

Next stop:  The 3 page 1925 Iowa State Census. 

Citation: 1925 state census, Appanoose County, Iowa, population schedule, Mystic and Walnut, page 25, line 120, W. M. Morlan household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Feb 2015); citing State Historical Society of Iowa 1925 State Census. 

There is no stamped nor penned page number on this census.  The ancestry.com pages for W. M. Morlan are on pages 26, 27, and 28.  Was not sure how to cite this?

The 1925 Iowa State Census is the treasure trove of all censuses! 
Three pages of questions.  Of course, it is a treasure trove only if the enumerator ASKED the questions and obtained ANSWERS!
William was living by himself. These are the facts I was able to obtain from this census:
  • Name:  W. M. Morlan
  • What church are you affiliated with?  Answer: "None"
  • Of the 9 questions regarding occupation, there were no questions answered
  • Of the 9 questions regarding military service, there were no questions answered
  • Place of birth: Iowa
  • Name of father: Wm Morlan
  • Place of birth: Tennessee
  • Name of mother: L. J. Jones
  • Place of birth: Indiana
  • Place of parents' marriage: Indiana
  • Widowed
  • Owned home free of mortgage
  • Value of home: $600
  • Highest grade completed:  6 years of grade school
  • Can read and write
  • Number of years in Iowa and the US:  74 (his whole life)
This census in conjunction with the obituary, is proving the Family Group sheet in error regarding William's father's name.  My mother also thought William's father's name was Bluford.  It could be that William Morlan, William Marion Morlan's father, had a middle name of Bluford, or was known as Bluford?  But there is no proof at this point.
TO DO:  Need to add citation.

Backward in time to the 1920 Census.


Citation: 1920 U.S. census, Appanoose County, Iowa, population schedule, Mystic, enumeration district (ED) 32, sheet 6-A, p. 270 (stamped), dwelling 119, family 119, Marion Morelan; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Feb 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll T625_477.

I could not find a listing for a William or a W. M. Morlan (or any of its variations) in Appanoose or Wayne County, in Iowa in 1920.  There is, however, a Marion Morelan listed as widowed living in Walnut Township.  He is living next door to his daughter, Mrs. Carl Elgin.  These are the facts derived from the 1920 Census:

  • Owns home free of mortgage
  • Age 68
  • Born in Iowa
  • Father born in Tennessee
  • Mother born in Indiana
  • Can read & write
  • Can speak English
  • Is a miner in a coal mine for wages

TO DO:  Need to add citation.
The 1915 Iowa State Census queried individuals and did not group families together.  The census is displayed on cards.

These are the facts garnered from the 1915 Iowa State Census for W. M. Morlan:
  • Widowed
  • Can read and write
  • Age 63
  • Years in Iowa: 63
  • Completed 7 years of common school
  • Total earnings for 1914 from occupation: $200
  • Months unemployed in 1914: 8
  • Value of farm or home: $500
  • Owns home
  • Birthplace: Iowa
  • No indication of military service
  • No church affiliation
  • Father's birthplace: Indiana  (differs from the 1920 and 1925 census which states Tennessee)
  • Mother's birthplace: Indiana
As noted on the gravestone, William's wife Eveline died in 1913.  I searched the newspapers for the Centerville, Appanoonse County, Iowa area (available online for free).  I want to mention, if at first you don't succeed in reaching that site, try, try again. Some days it is up, some days it is unavailable, some days it is slow, some days it works fine.  I haven't been able to reach the site all weekend, so I can't create the citations for the newspaper articles I had previously found.

There were 2 death notices for Eveline.  One stated "Mrs. Morlan Dead" and noted she had several grown children. The other small article was headlined "Mrs. Morlan Died At Mystic" and mentioned she was the wife of Marion Morlan.  More like death notices, neither contained a lot of information as you would normally find in an obituary.
TO DO:  Need to add citation.

TO DO: Search the Appanoose County Newspaper site for alternate spellings of Morlan to see if there was ever a full obituary written for Eveline.

Death Information for Eveline Awalt Morlan.

FamilySearch.org contains the index to "Iowa, Deaths and Burials, 1850-1990".  Eveline Morlan is listed in this index which can be viewed here: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XV41-CZ7

The index provides the following information:
Name:  Eveline Morlan
Burial Date:  24 Jul 1913
Death Date: 23 July 1913
Death Place: Walnut Township, Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa
Age: 61
Birth Date: 1852
Birth Place:  Iowa
Occupation:  Housewife
Father's name:  John Awalt
Father's birth place:  Indiana
Mother's name:  Carlindia [Personal note:  now I know where the original family group sheet found this information. Her mother's name was Clarinda Ockerman which will be show later in this post.]

TO DO: Order a copy of the original record for "Iowa, Death and Burials, 1850-1990" for Eveline Morlan.  Film number 1673930.

The next older census:  1910 US Census


Although Ancestry.com indexed the 1910 Census for William's family as "Wavion and Erline" Morlan, looking at the original record the handwriting appears to show that it is for Marion Morlan and his wife Eveline.  They have a family of boarders living with them, the Andrew Sheldon family.  That surname does not ring a bell with any surnames I have seen in this family, so I do not believe the boarders are related at this time.

The facts from the 1910 census for William are:

  • 58 years old (1852), born in Iowa
  • Married 37 years (1873)
  • Father born in Tennessee
  • Mother born in Indiana
  • Miner in a coal mine for wages
  • Currently unemployed, out of work for 8 weeks.
  • Owns home free of mortgage
  • Can read and write

The facts from the 1910 census for Eveline are:

  • 58 years old (1852), born in Iowa
  • Married 37 years (1873)
  • Gave birth to 10 children, 6 are alive
  • Mother & father born in Indiana
  • Can read and write

The facts from the 1910 census for their son Henry are:

  • 30 years old (1880), born in Iowa
  • Single
  • Mother & father born in Iowa
  • Can read and write
  • Currently unemployed, out of work unreadable
TO DO:  Need to add citation.

Continuing back:  1905 Iowa State Census

The 1905 Iowa State Census does not indicate family relationships.  It is only a list of people with their post office address. This census for Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa shows the following:

  • Marian Morland
  • Eveline Morland
  • Henry Morland
  • Clara Morland
TO DO:  Need to add citation.
More of the children are at home in the 1900 census and hopefully we will confirm a closer birth month and year for everyone. The census was taken the 2nd and 4th day of June 1900 in Walnut Township, Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa.  The household is that of William M. Morlan and his wife Eveline.

The facts from the 1900 census for William M. are:

  • 48 years old (Oct 1837), born in Iowa
  • Married 27 years (1873)
  • Father born in Tennessee
  • Mother born in Indiana
  • Miner in a coal mine for wages
  • Currently unemployed, out of work for 1 month.
  • Owns home, has mortgage
  • Can read,write, and speak English

The facts from the 1900 census for Eveline are:

  • 48 years old (Dec 1852), born in Iowa
  • Married 27 years (1873)
  • Gave birth to 10 children, 6 are alive
  • Mother & father born in Indiana
  • Can read,write, and speak English

The facts from the 1900 census for the children are:

Child's name Age Birth Mo Birth Yr Occupation Mo Unemployed
Cora E 25 Oct 1874 Servant 0
James H 20 ??? 1879 Coal Miner 2
Doshia 17 March 1883 Servant
Clara 10 Sep 1889 At School
Glen (grandson) 4 Feb 1896

TO DO:  Need to add citation.

Continuing back: the 1895 Iowa State Census

The 1895 Iowa State Census grouped families together, but did not indicate relationships.
These are the facts from the 1895 Census of Mystic, Appanoose County, Iowa taken the first of January 1895 in Walnut Township.

The facts from the 1895 census for Marian W. Moreland are:

  • 43 years old, born in Ohio [Personal note:  I think this is wrong. This is the only time a census indicates he was born in Ohio.  And the word Ohio is spelled out, not abbreviated.
  • States he has no religious belief
  • Coal Miner
  • Subject to military duty
  • Entitled to vote at general election
  • No marks which would indicate any military service

The facts from the 1895 census for Evaline Moreland are:

  • 43 years old, born in Appanoose County, Iowa
  • Gave birth to 10 children, 6 are alive
  • Keeping house
  • Religious beliefs:  M. E.

The facts from the 1895 census for the children are:

Child's name Age County of Birth Religious Beliefs
Cora E 20 Wayne County M. E.
Ella 17 Appanoose County none
Henry 15 Appanoose County none 
Nellie 13 Appanoose County none 
Doshia 11 Appanoose County none
Clara 5 Appanoose County none 

TO DO:  Need to add citation.

Left to do in the coming weeks:

Summary info

The surname of this family was found to have been spelled several ways:

  • Morlan
  • Morland
  • Moreland

The given name for William appeared as:

  • William
  • W. M.
  • Marian
  • Marion
  • William Marion
  • Wm. M
  • Marian W
Location: Appanoose County, IA, USA

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