Family history, Moreland
Moreland general history
[excerpted from Portrait and Biographical Record: Biography of Johnson County, Iowa; not sure of year; definitely after 1911]
Alexander Lemon Moreland
The Morelands were prominent among the early pioneers of eastern Iowa and have been representative of the best interests of the region.
The farm in Penn township [sic], Johnson county [sic], now owned by Alexander L. Moreland, is one of the finest in the neighborhood, being well drained and containing substantial buildings.
Mr. Moreland, who is a veteran of the Civil War, has lived retired from active life for several years, but continues to reside on his farm, and takes an active interest in the affairs and issues in his locality. He is one of the most substantial and best-known citizens of his county, and has been identified with various enterprises besides his farming operations.
He is president of the North Liberty Savings Bank, with which he has been connected for some years.
Mr. Moreland is a native of Perry county, Pennsylvania, born February 20, 1842, son of John L. and Mary (Hetrick) Moreland, and grandson of Captain David Moreland, the latter a soldier in the War of 1812 and a native of Ireland.
John L. Moreland was born March 3, 1807, and died July 3, 1878. His wife survived him many years, passing away January 1, 1900. They left Pennsylvania in 1843, with their five children, going west in search of a desirable location for a home.
They made the trip in a prairie schooner, with four horses, and camped out on the way, finally locating in Illinois. There were no bridges and it was with difficulty they crossed many of the streams on the way.
After remaining in Illinois two years, in 1845 they came on to Johnson county, Iowa, and there made a permanent home.
The father had been reared on a farm and in youth had learned the trade of fuller [blacksmith], which he followed for a time.
On March 28, 1833, he married Mary Hetrick, who bore him six children, three of whom now survive.
The eldest child, David Semern, was killed at the battle of Shiloh [Civil War battle site in Ohio].
The survivors are: Alexander L.; William S., of Audubon county, Iowa; Sarah E., wife of Isaac Myers.
The family located on Section 12, Penn township, where they improved land and developed a fine farm, of which the two surviving sons eventually took charge.
The father was an industrious and energetic farmer and became influential in the life of the community.
In early days money was very scarce, as trade was carried on by the method of exchange.
At one time the father took a load of potatoes to Iowa City and traded them for a pair of boots, which instance illustrates the comparative value of the commodities in those days.
Alexander L. Moreland was reared on the home farm in Penn township and educated in the school near his boyhood home.
Later he engaged in farming on his own account, in which he has been most successful.
In 1868 he married Miss Mary Zeller, a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Zeller, early settlers of Johnson county.
She was a popular school teacher before her marriage and her family was prominently identified with various interests in pioneer times.
Her father secured land and developed a fine farm, which is the property of Mr. Moreland, so that Mrs. Moreland now resides on the place where her girlhood was spent.
Mr. Moreland purchased the Moreland home in 1876.
In 1876 he had purchased the David S. Miller place, which he improved in various ways, remodeling the house and building a new barn, etc.
He purchased 187 acres of the present home, the Zeller and Moreland farms later.
He also owns 217 acres of fine pasture land near his home.
He has a good tenant on his farm on Section 12, who rents the land by the year.
The land has been brought to a high state of cultivation and produces 80 bushels of corn and 50 bushels of oats to the acre.
Mr. Moreland enlisted in Company E, Twenty-eighth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered in October 10, 1862, and mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, July 31, 1865. This company was organized as Iowa City and was composed of Johnson county men.
They were under the command of Colonel William E. Miller, Major C.B. Lynch, and Lieutenant-Colonel John Connell, of Toledo, and the captain of their company was Captain David Stewart.
They participated in the battles of Fort Gibson, Champion Hills, Jackson, and siege of Vicksburg; took part in General Banks’s Red River Expedition; and were engaged at Sabine Cross Roads, in Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek. Mr. Moreland was wounded at Winchester, Virginia, September 19, 1864, when he sustained an injury to his leg.
His cousin, Amos Moreland, was captured at Sabine Cross Roads, April 8, 1864, sent to Tyler, Texas, and held until the close of the war.
He was also engaged in many skirmishes.
At the close of his service, during which he had won a most honorable record, Alexander L. Moreland returned home and took up private life, turning his attention again to farming.
He is an active member of G.A.R. Post No. 8 at Iowa City.
Children as follows were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moreland: Mary C., wife of Charles Colony, Jr.; Clara died young; Cora E. wife of W.W. Young; Florence A., wife of Orville Wolf (see Wold and Young sketches).
Mr. Moreland retired from active work in 1903 and has since had leisure to enjoy the fruits of his toil and take a more active part in other affairs. He is a member of the Old Settlers’ Association and actively interested in its activities.
He and his wife have reared a fine family to be a credit to them and to the community.
They have fourteen grandchildren.
The reunion of this family annually on Thanksgiving Day, will always live in the memory of their children and grandchildren.