Let me start by saying that the 1940 U.S. Federal Census has been released. That Ancestry.com badge to the left links to it.
The primary focus of this site is the ancestry of my mother's family. I acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to Olive M. Batcher who researched and compiled the Hill-Wallace Family History, Library of Congress Number 95-83912. She has been extraordinarily patient and generous in helping me find my way in genealogy. If I'm still doing it wrong, it's through no fault of hers; and I'm keeping good thoughts for her.
I put considerable thought into whether I should identify this site as "Morgan-Hill" or "Washburn-Hill."
This site is primarily for the children of Lawrence Ervin Morgan who was born to Jacob R. and Catharine E. (Stemler) Washburn and subsequently adopted by Catharine's second husband, John W. Morgan.
This is not a trivial distinction because Lawrence E. Morgan, his biological father, Jacob Washburn, Jacob's father and paternal grandmother, and two of Lawrence' children died of Huntingtons Disease.
No disrespect to the descendants of John W. Morgan is intended.
I hope that Stemler researchers familiar with Fred Stemler's work will stop by. Finding Jacob Washburn was tricky, and Fred had written to my mother that he thought the J.R. Washburn to whom Catharine Stemler had been married was really Isaac Washburn. Happily, Carl Howard found Jacob and Catharine mis-indexed but living in Story County, Iowa, in June of 1880. Isaac was actually one of Jacob's brothers, and ultimately both Jacob and Isaac succumbed to HD in the Iowa State Hospital.