Sale of Sinking Fund Lands.1851 Garrard Morgan

James Tanner's post last week, Plumbing the depths of the Library of Congress for Genealogy, provided a link to a treasure chest.

The Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers project

There I found 1851 newspaper articles listing Great Great Grandfather Garrard Morgan  property in Indiana's weekly "Sale of Sinking Funds Land." And I found the reason he may have packed up his family and moved west from Decatur, Indiana to Mattoon, Illinois soon afterwards.

The Sale of Sinking Land Funds was listed weekly. Garrard Morgan's land was listed in four issues just as it is seen above. 

October 9, 1851

October 16, 1851

October 24, 1851

November 20, 1851

Laws of the State of Indiana 1851, Chapter CLXX – An Act for the relief of the owners of lands mortgaged to the sinking fund, February 14, 1851, offers an explanation as found in this google book.

Among the three land parcels named in Decatur County land mortgaged to the Sinking Fund is that of James Eward who may be part of the Hamilton family.

Note: The Links to Garrard Morgan and his move to Mattoon, Illinois are from Amy's Garrard Morgan histories at  The Ancestor Files blog. 

Garrard Earl Morgan. John and Mellie Morgan's tenth son was an artist.

 As a two-year-old, Earl was the older of the two baby boys his widowed mother raised following his father’s August 1894 death.

Born October 8, 1892 to John and Helen, Melvina “Mellie” Groesbeck Morgan Garrard Earl grew up in the old Farmers Ward where his family lived on Bryan Avenue. There he attended the Waterloo School with his siblings.

Earl signed his 1917-1918 US World War I registration card as “E. Grard Morgan.” His occupation at that time was Window Trimmer for The Vine Company, Chicago, Ill. The registrar reported he was tall, slender, with blue eyes and auburn hair. Earl claimed “exemption” because “wife solely dependent.” He’d recently married Merin Birgita Engman, a Swedish immigrant. Their only child was named Garrard and was called Jerry.

In 1928 his family lived on Wilson Avenue in Salt Lake City and his niece Helen Rex of Randolph, Utah spent the school year in his home while she attended the L.D.S. High School.

Sometime later Earl and Merin were divorced. Merin and Jerry lived with Grandma Mellie Morgan for a time.

I’d learned from Morgan descendants that Earl was very artistic. Several of his paintings hung in his mother’s home but none of them could be accounted for. I was understandably thrilled to see one emerge from my deceased Aunt Winifred Rex Andrus’ home this past year. It was signed G E Morgan and her daughters said they had never seen it before.

Its unknown when Earl painted this 10 x 12 inch oil on pressed board.  With my cousin’s permission I had a Giclée disc and print made of the original and offered copies to interested family members. I recently purchased a copy for myself and had it wrapped around an 1-1/2 inch deep frame with the edges cloned.

I’d be happy to order a copy again for interested family members. The print is still $37 on canvas. Having it wrapped onto a frame as I did doubled the cost and then some. Please let me know if you’d like me to order you one next time around.

Wikepedia. Giclée; The name originally applied to fine art prints created on IRIS printers in a process invented in the late 1980s but has since come to mean an inkjet print. It is often used by artists, galleries, and print shops to suggest high quality printing but since it is an unregulated word it has no associated warranty of quality.