Contents
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Showing both families — every line on the page. Pick a side to hide the other
family's ancestors; Earl, Kristin and their three children stay on either way.
Person · Alex Leonard Piland
The record
- HHomethe fan · what changed · open questions
- MMigrationbirths and deaths on a map, by decade
- TTimeline654 entries · 5 eras
- PPeople312 cards, by generationAlex Leonard Piland
- LLines13 surname pages
The evidence
- DDocuments896 thumbnails, filterable
- SSourcesS1–S1227, with where each is cited
The findings
- How the wall came downProeger line
- The glass patentsProeger line
- How the Caffey half was closedCaffey line
- What the DNA saysits own page
- Four routesMigration
- The asymmetryLines
- Open questions20 questions
- Add to this recorda form, read by Earl
How to read this record
Every claim is tagged
Most family trees flatten everything into the same confident typeface. This one does not.
The three research tags below are the whole point of the exercise: they say what a document
proves, what the weight of evidence suggests, and what nobody has found yet. A fourth marks
what the family stated directly, where no document has been retrieved at all — it is kept
separate on purpose and is never quietly promoted to confirmed. A fifth, added on
13 September 2026, marks biological evidence: a DNA result is not a document, and it is not
testimony either. Two further labels mark where this page withholds information
rather than lacking it.
ConfirmedAttested by a document that was actually retrieved and read — a census sheet, a
government index, a grave marker, a family-written obituary.
ProbableStrongly supported but not nailed down: a user-contributed tree, a masked index field,
or a chain of consistent circumstances. Believable, not proven.
Not foundSearched for and not located. This is a statement about the search, not about the
person — the record may well exist somewhere unsearched.
Family testimonySupplied by the family and recorded on their word — no document has been retrieved for
it. Note the diamond rather than the dot: this is provenance, not proof, and it stands
apart from the three record tags above S24.
DNA evidenceBiological evidence consistent with a claim. It corroborates origins; it does
not by itself establish a person or a link. Note the bar rather than a dot or a diamond:
no DNA result on this page is ever counted as confirmed, because no document
was read for it S46.
Living — withheldThe person is living. By the privacy rule for this page, name and relationship are
shown, and at most a year the family has already published. Full dates of birth, ages,
places of residence and record identifiers are held back.
Research in progressA branch that is actively being worked on. The node exists in the structure so the
shape of the family is honest; the detail is simply not in yet.
- Born
- Not found
- Died
- Not found
- Married
- Lula Gay Montgomery Piland
- Sources
- 3
Research status
Research status: CONFIRMED. Husband of Lula Gay Montgomery; father of Alex Charles Piland (1891-1953) and Merrill Zilman Piland Sr (1903-1976). Sources: Texas death certificates of the sons name ’Alex Leonard Piland’ x ’Lula Gae/Gay Montgomery’ (Alex Charles 1953, Ancestry Texas Death Certificates 2272 record 82086374; Merrill Z. Sr 1976, FamilySearch K38T-LGG). Birth, death and marriage not yet read; no dates entered. Added to the family tree on Earl’s approval of 4 October 2026. Added 4 October 2026
Life in the order the records give it
Census1910
In the 1910 and 1920 censuses of Hays County he is Lenard and then Leonard E. Piland, farmer, husband of Lula
S1212 S1213; she is a widow by 1930, so he died between January 1920 and 1930
S1214Family parents, marriages, children, siblings
Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it
Weak or missing
What is weak or missing: his birth, death and marriage have not been read; no dates are given here. Know more? Use “Add to this record”.
In the record
Generation 5 — Kristin's great-great-grandparents
- S12121910 census — Lenard and Lula Piland, Hays County, Texas. Ancestry, “1910 United States Federal Census”, record 121853558. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 3 October 2026. Confirmed Hays Co., ED 41, sheet 4A, April 1910, a rented farm: Lenard Piland, 47, farmer, and Lula, 38, both born in Texas, married 25 years; Lula has borne 7 children, 4 living. Children Ellet 18, Ettie 12, Bula 9 and Merrel 6, a married daughter Nellie Lowe with her husband, and Lenard’s brother Charlie. ⚠ This census gives Lula’s parents as born in Texas; 1900, 1920, 1930 and her death certificate all say Tennessee, so Tennessee holds.
- S12131920 census — Leonard E. and Lula G. Piland, Hays County, Texas. Ancestry, “1920 United States Federal Census”, record 43433964. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 3 October 2026. Confirmed Hays Co., Precinct 5, ED 73, sheet 13B, 22 Jan 1920: Leonard E. Piland, 56, farming, born Texas; wife Lula G., 46, born Texas, father and mother born Tennessee; Beulah L. 19, a telephone operator, Merrill 16, and Laura B. 8. ⚠ Her age (46) points to about 1874, against 1871 on her death certificate and Aug 1871 in 1900; the earlier date holds. The census middle initial E. does not match the “Alex Leonard” of his sons’ death certificates; that is not settled.
- S12141930 census — Lula Piland, widowed, Hays County, Texas. Ancestry, “1930 United States Federal Census”, record 63037784. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 3 October 2026. Confirmed Hays Co., Precinct 5, ED 105-10, sheet 13B: Lula Piland, 57, head, widowed, born Texas, parents born Tennessee, renting at $13, with her daughter Laura B., 18. ⚠ Shows Leonard E. Piland had died between January 1920 and 1930; his death record has not been read.