The Proeger Family · Generation 5 — Kristin's great-great-grandparents

Edmund A. Cearley

Father of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland · 1877–1954

Edmund A. Cearley

Confirmed

Father of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland · 1877–1954

Married
Merrill Zilman Piland Sr.
Children
Ruby Edna Cearley Piland
Sources
3

Research status

Research status: CONFIRMED as the father of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland; the days of his birth and death are Probable. The 1930 census of Austin, read from the image, lists Edmond A. Cearley, 52 and widowed, as the father-in-law of the head of the house, Merrill Z. Piland, whose wife is Ruby E.; two Cearley sisters-in-law are in the same house S1376. The Travis County marriage licence of 1921, also read from the image, gives the bride as Miss Ruby E. Cearley, and the census says that both she and Merrill were in their first marriage S1444. So the father-in-law is her father. The image was read on 4 October 2026 and was not opened again when this card was written.

Life in the order the records give it

Census1930
His first name is spelled Edmond on the 1930 census page and in the draft index, and Edmund in the 1910 census index and the death certificate index. The index of the death certificate names his parents as John Pinkney Cearley and Jane Shelby Easton; they are not in this record, and neither is his wife Georgia.
Census2026
History of this card. 12 Oct 2026
card written when he was added to the family tree, from the 1930 census page and the 1921 marriage licence read for his daughter’s card (S1376, S1444) and from the death certificate, draft registration and 1910 census indexes (S1725).

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1903
Father of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland (born about 1903), the wife of Merrill Zilman Piland Sr.. In April 1930 he lived in their house at Austin S1376.

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable
Probable confirm or correct → Edmund A. Cearley was born on 29 November 1877 in Williamson County, Texas, and died at Austin, Travis County, Texas, on 9 June 1954, aged 76. Both days come from the index of his Texas death certificate; the index of his First World War draft registration gives the same day of birth S1725. What is weak or missing: these are indexes, and no image of the certificate or of the draft card has been read; the draft index gives his birthplace as Travis County, not Williamson; and that the Edmond A. Cearley of the 1930 census is the man who died in 1954 rests on his name, his age and Austin. Know more, or think this is wrong? Use “Add to this record”.
Probable
Probable confirm or correct → The index of the 1910 census of Travis County lists Edmund A. Cearley and his wife Georgia with Ruby E., born about 1903, Etta M., Homer S. and Lavern J.; the draft registration index names Georgia Cearley as his nearest relative S1725. What is weak or missing: the census page has not been read, so the relationship column is not known; her maiden name has not been found. By 1930 he was a widower. Know more? Use “Add to this record”.

In the record Generation 5 — Kristin's great-great-grandparents

Edmund A. Cearley · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

3 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S13761930 census — Merrill Z. Piland household, Austin, Travis County, Texas, Ward 4, ED 227-12, sheet 5A, lines 40–44, 9 April 1930. Ancestry, “1930 United States Federal Census”, record 60723924. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 4 October 2026. Confirmed Piland, Merrill Z., head, owns a home worth $4,500, 26, first married at 18, born Texas, manager of a grocery; Ruby E., wife, 27, first married at 19, born Texas; Edmond A. Cearley, father-in-law, 52, widowed; Jennie L. Cearley, sister-in-law, 21, a stenographer; and a married sister-in-law, 29. ⚠ The index reads his middle initial as T; the image has a looped Z. The married sister-in-law’s surname is not clearly legible and is not given here. Also serves the card of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland. Also serves the card of Edmund A. Cearley, the father-in-law on line 42.
  2. S1444Travis County, Texas, marriage licence and return, 1921 — M. Piland and Ruby E. Cearley. Ancestry, “Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1837–1965”, record 40780631. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 6 October 2026. Confirmed M. Piland and Miss Ruby E. Cearley; licence issued 23 September 1921; married on 25 September 1921 by A. T. Coleman, pastor of Walnut Creek Baptist Church; recorded 28 September. ⚠ The licence number reads 735 or 736; the groom is named only as “M. Piland”, but the bride and the date fit his 1930 census (married at 18) and his wife Ruby Edna Cearley. Also serves the card of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland.
  3. S1725Indexes — Edmund A. Cearley, born Williamson County, Texas, 29 November 1877; died Austin, Travis County, Texas, 9 June 1954. Ancestry, “Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903–1982”, record 21827661 (index text); FamilySearch: First World War draft registration index (78TD-8DPZ); 1910 census index, Justice Precinct 4, Travis County (M2Q9-QRG). Indexes read on 4 October 2026; no image read. Probable Death certificate: Edmund A. Cearley, born 29 Nov 1877 in Williamson County, died 9 Jun 1954 at Austin, aged 76; father John Pinkney Cearley, mother Jane Shelby Easton. Draft registration: Edmond A. Cearley, born 29 Nov 1877, Travis County; nearest relative Georgia Cearley. 1910: Edmund A. and Georgia Cearley with Ruby E. (born about 1903), Etta M., Homer S. and Lavern J. ⚠ Index only: no image has been read, so the relationship column of the 1910 page is not known. The draft index gives Travis County as his birthplace and the death certificate index gives Williamson County. That he is the father of Ruby Edna Cearley Piland rests on the 1930 census page (S1376), not on this entry. Serves the card of Edmund A. Cearley.

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Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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