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 · Merrill Zilman Piland Sr.
The record
- HHomethe fan · what changed · open questions
- MMigrationbirths and deaths on a map, by decade
- TTimeline654 entries · 5 eras
- PPeople312 cards, by generationMerrill Zilman Piland Sr.
- 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
- 5 Sep 1903
- Parents
- Alex Leonard Piland & Lula Gay Montgomery Piland
- Sources
- 0
Research status
Research status: CONFIRMED. ’Merrill Z. Piland Sr’ (suffix carried here, not in the name field); son of Alex Leonard Piland and Lula Gay Montgomery. Sources: Texas death certificate index (FamilySearch K38T-LGG): Merrill Zilman Piland Sr, b. 5 Sep 1903 DeWitt Co., Tex., d. 23 Mar 1976 Austin, parents Alex Leonard Piland and Lula Gay Montgomery; obituary Austin American-Statesman 24 Mar 1976 p. 18 (’Merrill Z., Sr., 72, of Driftwood’; sisters Mrs. Laura Belle Stringer and Mrs. Leon (Etta) Lowe of Buda); he was the informant ’M. Z. Piland’ on his mother’s 1949 death certificate. Wife, son and foster son not yet in this record (possibly living). 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
Death1903
Merrill Zilman Piland Sr.: born 5 Sep 1903 in DeWitt, Texas; died 23 Mar 1976 in Austin, Travis, Texas
Family parents, marriages, children, siblings
Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it
Weak or missing
What is weak or missing: only the death index and obituary have been read; his wife and children are not in this record (they may be living). Know more? Use “Add to this record”.
In the record
Generation 4 — Kristin's great-grandparents and their siblings