Henry Franklin "HF" Moreland

Abstract:

This blog provides a concise summary of the author’s initial research into military veterans in the family tree.  The article will summarize key historical information of the selected ancestor, Henry Franklin Moreland, derived from genealogical records from the Wallis and Moreland families held by the author.  Supplemental details of Henry Franklin Moreland were obtained by research in the Ancestry.com research database.

Article

This research project began by exploring family genealogy to determine how many of my ancestors were veterans.  The topic is of interest as I am the father of a Navy sailor, a retired Army officer, and son of an Army veteran-so three generations of military service.  I recalled from oral history and scattered family records that many ancestors have been veterans, so I decided to trace my own family tree, identify those who were veterans, and if possible, find one that served during the Civil War. I have a significant amount of paper genealogical material that covers my mother’s side of the family.  Yet a perusal of both the Wallis (paternal) and Moreland (maternal) sides of the family produced only one ancestor with military service before 1900, my great-grandfather Henry Franklin, or H.F. Moreland. H.F. Moreland is a fascinating character as I learned after reading his story in a printed family history passed to me after the death of my mother. We can trace the Moreland family line back to Fiedler B. Moreland, who was born in 1792 in Maryland, while great-great-grandfather Fiedler Henry Moreland was born in 1851 in Kentucky.    Born in 1873, H.F. Moreland grew up in Robertson County, Kentucky, where he apprenticed as a metalworker after finishing his first year of high school.  Around 1895, he began working as a tinner for Morris Tinshop in Cairo.  For those of who not familiar with Southern Illinois, Cairo is pronounced with a southern drawl, “Kay-Ro” not Cai-Ro.” H.F. Moreland became skilled enough in his vocation to open his own metal business and acquire property in town.[1]

H.F. married Edna Belle Mayes on 23 June 1901 at the First Presbyterian Church of Cairo where both were members.  With that marriage, H.F. and Edna Belle joined the well-to-do middle class of the town.  Although H.F. never completed his formal education, he was an intelligent man who could adapt and learn new skills during his entire life.[2] For example, by reading Popular Science magazine, and other related publications, H.F. build his own short wave radio receiver and transmitter and learned how to communicate with people around the world. 

Of interest to my research project was H.F. Moreland’s military service.  H.F. enlisted in the local infantry company of the 4^th Regiment, Illinois National Guard in 1904. H.F. apparently did well during his time in service, rising in the ranks as the regimental color sergeant before his discharge in 1910.  In 1907 Color Sergeant Moreland had the honor of leading the regimental color guard during two Presidential visits to Cairo: President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, and President Howard Taft in 1909.[3]  Below is a reproduction of Color Sergeant H.F. Moreland in uniform, taken about 1907:

H.F. also had a musical flair, learning how to play several instruments well enough to perform in local bands.  H.F. was one of the organizing members of the local Knights of Pythias band in October 1920, and as late as 1932 was known to be playing with the local American Legion post band.[4]  Below is an image of H.F. Moreland in the Legion band, taken around 1932:

Unfortunately, the upward arc of H.F. Franklin’s story did not continue without interruption.  In 1927, H.F. was arrested by Federal agents for “contributing to the fabrication of alcohol” by using his metalworking skills to build stills for local moonshiners. H.F. managed to avoid jail time, but his finances and reputation in Cairo lay in ruins.  Apparently, local society was fine with skirting Prohibition rules as long as you weren’t caught by Federal agents!  According to family tradition, H.F. was pressured by his eldest daughter and Edna Belle into mortgaging his metal business to buy and renovate a run-down house in the good part of town.  Before H.F. could finish the project, the collapse of the American economy during the Great Depression led to the loss of a second home, and the collapse of his metalworking business. Embittered by the second blow to societal status and family finances, H.F. and Edna Belle were forced to move into to a run-down house on a farm owned by one of his adult daughters.  In time, Henry Franklin’s finances somewhat as he continued to do sheet metal work for wealthier clients, although his finances were apparently bad enough that he applied for a Social Security pension in 1938.[5]  Eventually H.F. was able to buy a used Model T car to do some traveling on the weekends.  By World War II he and Edna Belle owned and operated a gasoline station in town.  After the war, H.F. and Edna began spending their winters in Florida, where H.F. had arranged to build cottages for a real estate developer in exchange for their own small lot and winter cottage. The planned trip to Florida in 1951 was cut short when H.F. had to undergo emergency surgery on his prostate at Old St. Francis hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  Unfortunately, complications from the surgery caused the death of Henry Franklin Moreland on 29 October 1952. [6]

So, while researching the veterans in my family, I became closely acquainted with the life story of my maternal great-grandfather.  Although he was a lifetime worshipper at the local Presbyterian church, the family records are silent as to the true state of his salvation, and relationship with the Lord.  In reflecting on how his personal choices twice caused financial ruin, I think it is important to view my great-grandfather’s life in the light of Paul’s admonition against chasing worldly riches: “But godliness with contentment is great gain…And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”[7]

Sources

Moreland, Thomas Franklin. Henry Franklin Moreland & Edna Belle Mayes Moreland, privately published, 2002.

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Census Place: Villa Ridge, Pulaski, Illinois; Roll: m-t0627-00870; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 77-18. 

United States Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

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[1] Thomas Franklin Moreland, Henry Franklin Moreland & Edna Belle Mayes Moreland, privately published, 2002, 15.

[2] The Federal Census of 1940 indicates H.F. Moreland only completed one year of high school. Year: 1940; Census Place: Villa Ridge, Pulaski, Illinois; Roll: m-t0627-00870; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 77-18. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[3] Moreland, 11.

[4] Moreland, 9.

[5] Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.  It’s unclear if a pension was granted to H.F. Moreland, although it seems possible, as the 1940 census lists “other sources of income” besides his wages as a metalworker.

[6] Moreland, 6-7.

[7] Ephesians 6: 6-10. King James Version.