Gernhard (Bert) Morrison was born on June 21st, 1871 in Jewell, Kansas. Later in life, perhaps when he was about 19 years old, he married Mariamme Townsend on December 29, 1890. They had one only child, Nora Melinda Morrison, born in Ames, Iowa on November 1, 1891. Mariamme Townsend died when Nora was only 22 months old. The following story was told to me by Jim Olander whose grandmother was Nora Melinda Morrison:

Something tragic happened in the life of Gernhard and Mariamme shortly after the birth of Nora that caused Gernhard to leave his wife Miriamme. This caused Miriamme to become very depressed to the point where she attempted suicide by drinking lye. This did not immediately kill her but it did burn her throat so severely that she could no longer eat or drink anything. She eventually died of thirst and starvation. After the death of her mother, Nora went to live with her mother's parents: James and Melinda Townsend.

He later married Henrietta Dahl who also was born in Jewell, Kansas in approximately 1875. For a few years, they lived south of 202 East Lincoln Way in Ames, Iowa. (The house at 202 E. Lincoln Way is where Zebulon and Anna Morrison used to live. My dad also lived there while growing up.) Bert and Henrietta left Ames and headed to Los Angelos, California for awhile. Later, they left for Fruithurst, Alabama before ending up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Soon a son was born to Bert and Henrietta. They named him Martin. Below is a picture of Bert, Henrette, and Martin.

My dad told me Bert owned a store there that he seemed to remember it to be a soda fountain. During the time my dad was in the service, he visited Bert in St. Petersburg. He died on May 27th, 1939 in St. Petersburg Florida located in Pinellas County.

Bert was artistic and like to draw. There are a couple of examples of his work that he did when he was 15 years old located on the Letters page. You can also read a letter he wrote to his cousin Oscar.

Bert's Bio now posted on the Letters page as of 2-11-2004!