Morris Blog

The 1850 Census shows Peter Reel, age 1, living in Beccaria, Clearfield, Pennsylvania with his parents, Samuel J. Reel, age 31 and Abigal S. Reel, age 21. His father is listed as a blacksmith, born in Pennsylvania. His mother is also listed as born in Pennsylvania.

The image of the 1850 census:

1850 Census showing Peter Reel age 1

After his father died, young Peter Reel found it difficult to live with his step-mother. He was adopted by Dr. James M. Stills, the brother of the founder of osteopathic medicine in the United States. On the 1870 census, Peter is listed as a farmer living with Dr. Stills. He told his family about making house calls with the doctor.

Here is the image of the census:

1870 Census showing Peter Reel living with Dr. James M. Stills

Meanwhile, Peter’s sister also left home, working as a housekeeper for a local farmer.

1870 Census showing Mary Jane Reel working as housekeeper

The 1875 census of Eudora, Kansas, shows John Buck, Polly J. Buck and her three sons, Harmon, George, and Samuel. Samuel was born after her first husband, Samuel Jeremiah Reel, died. Her new husband is listed as  saloon keeper. By 1875, her step-children, Peter and Mary Jane, had left home.

Here is a copy of the 1875 census:

Polly J. Buck and Reel children in 1875 census, Eudora, KS

The 1870 lists her sons with the last name of her second husband, and also lists a son by him, William Buck.

The 1870 census for Eudora Kansas showing Polly J. Reel Buck and her children:

1870 Census showing Polly J. (Reel) Buck and children with new spouse

My mom and I went to Kansas some years ago to investigate family stories. We knew that Samuel Jeremiah Reel, his wife Polly, and their children lived in Eudora, KS, a small German settlement near Lawrence. We were pretty frustrated when we could not find them in the 1860 census microfilm at the university. After trying just about every way I could imagine to locate them, and having gone over the records several times, we were just about to leave in frustration when I decided to look for a blacksmith in Eudora, since I knew that was his profession. Sure enough, I found them right away! The name had been spelled in a manner that probably made sense for the German speakers of the area. Instead of REEL it was RIGEL. All the family was listed just as I expected, but just the last name was wrong. Oh, one of the children is misnamed also. The record lists a Hannah (male) which ought to be Harmon, but close enough. Here is a copy of that census record:

Reel Family in Eudora Kansas 1860

Peter Alexander Reel, father of Harriett Reel Morris, was serving as a policeman in 1880 in Los Angeles. Here is the 1880 census listing him as a policeman.

1880 Census showing Peter Reel as policeman

Here is a photo of Peter in his uniform:

Peter Alexander Reel, policeman

The attached image shows Mary Jane Reel listed in the 1870 Census. She is number 24, listed as a housekeeper for a local farmer, James Coussey. Mary Jane is the sister of Peter Alexander Reel. Their mother died in a landslide when Mary Jane was two years old and her brother was about four years old. Their father then married a woman named Polly and they moved to Kansas. The father, Samuel Jeremiah Reel, was a blacksmith. He died the day of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas.

1870 Census showing Mary Jane Reel, age 19, as housekeeper

Mary Jane later married a Mr. Mulsow and raised a large family in Yates Center, Kansas. Her descendants still live in that area.

Here is a drawing of Peter Reel, the father of Harriett June Reel Morris. Peter must have been an interesting character. The drawing was probably done by his oldest daughter, Echo, who was a very good artist.

Peter Reel, pencil drawing

When my grandmother, Harriett June Reel Morris, had to move out of her little rented house in Pasadena, we found a lot of little notes all around the house. She used them to keep her in a good positive mood. Here is one that we managed to save:

This one was addressed to Carl and Marge and reads:

I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I  wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on. Oh woe is me – with papers papers everywhere.

Here’s a quick overview of our family history. More details will follow as I have time to post things.

Harriett June Reel met a charming young man at the fruit canning plant in Los Angeles where they both worked. Harriett sorted the fruit as it came down the conveyor belt. Lewis Augustine Morris was the young man who carried the big boxes of fruit to fill the conveyor belt. Their families were not too keen on the match as his family was Roman Catholic and her family was Presbyterian. They ran off to Santa Ana, way down in Orange County, to get married.

Here is a photo of the newly weds:

Young Lovers

At first they lived with his family. For some months, early in their marriage, they tried living on some property the family owned in the San Fernando Valley, but it was too far from everything. (The location is near the present day Hansen Dam.) Harriett was proud of the fact that the family had horses. I think she enjoyed them. Here’s a photo of young Harriett with the horse:

Harriett with horses

For some time, Peter Reel (Harriett’s dad) wouldn’t let Lewis in the house! He eventually got accustomed to having a Catholic son-in-law. Harriett and Lewis went on to have seven children over a ten year period: Lewis Reel Morris, Evelyn Mae Morris, William Morris, Richard Morris, Caroline June Morris, Carl Morris, and Marjorie Ellen Morris.

Welcome to the Morris Family Blog! We can use this to share information about our family, which includes the children and grandchilden of Lewis Reel Morris, Evelyn Mae Morris Lacko, Dick Morris, Kay (Caroline) June Morris Pulskamp, Carl Morris, and Marjorie Ellen Morris Zunich. Whenever possible, we will also include stories from the Morris family that predate these people. It would be wonderful to connect with each other, share stories, and photos and learn more about our family. I no longer accept Comments because I got too many spams, but email me at ellen (no space here) @pulskamp.org if you want to comment or ask a question.