from information published by S. A. Morgan in the Winter 1995 and Spring 1996 editions of The Morgan Newsletter
In
1992, when
I was first contemplating trying to find living Morgan relatives, I was
questioning my sister Leona about her knowledge of the Morgans.
While we were talking she suddenly said "you know Aunt Florence lost
her children in a tornado." To which I responded "Really, I
didn't know that." Later that night, while I was in bed half
asleep, I realized that Mom had told me the story of the tornado when I
was a young child. I started remembering some of the
details. As I recall, the story I heard was that Florence and her
sister-in-law, along with their children, were picked-up by the tornado
and the children were dropped in the river where they drowned.
Florence and her sister-in-law landed in a tree and were unhurt.
Florence lost three children and her sister-in-law lost two.
In viewing my memory of the events, two things should be remembered. I had not thought of this story in 45 to 50 years so my memory may not be too accurate of what I was told. The second thing is that my mother married my father five years after the event and her knowledge would only be what she was told by him.
A couple of months later when I started meeting my various "Morgan" cousins, one of the first things I asked them was about Florence's children that died in the tornado. Their stories and memories were as sketchy as mine. One of the last relatives I met on that trip was Geneva Boothe. Geneva is Florence's last surviving child and she told me the story that her mother told her.
Bobby Booth, the son of Ruby (Box) Booth, generously gave me a book written by Doug Mahnkey. The book included a story on the Melva Tornado from which I obtained the date and location of the tornado. In January, 1995 I obtained copies of the newspaper articles that were written at the time of the tornado and a story that appeared in a Taney County Genealogy publication.
In viewing my memory of the events, two things should be remembered. I had not thought of this story in 45 to 50 years so my memory may not be too accurate of what I was told. The second thing is that my mother married my father five years after the event and her knowledge would only be what she was told by him.
A couple of months later when I started meeting my various "Morgan" cousins, one of the first things I asked them was about Florence's children that died in the tornado. Their stories and memories were as sketchy as mine. One of the last relatives I met on that trip was Geneva Boothe. Geneva is Florence's last surviving child and she told me the story that her mother told her.
Bobby Booth, the son of Ruby (Box) Booth, generously gave me a book written by Doug Mahnkey. The book included a story on the Melva Tornado from which I obtained the date and location of the tornado. In January, 1995 I obtained copies of the newspaper articles that were written at the time of the tornado and a story that appeared in a Taney County Genealogy publication.
In August
1995, Geneva and I went to Branson, Missouri and spent a wonderful
afternoon talking with Lynn [Box] White and her husband Ernie.
Lynn's mother, Annie [Florence's sister-in-law], was pregnant with Lynn
at the time of the tornado. Lynn and Geneva's conversation (which
I tape recorded) is included below. I was given a warm welcome
by Lynn and Ernie and I am greatful for their assistance and
hospitality.
--
S. A. Morgan
Florence Morgan and Ranz Box
by S. A. Morgan
by S. A. Morgan
The History of Melva
from the Genealogy Section
of the Public Library in Forsyth, MO
The Melva Tornado
by Douglas Mahnkey
Melva
by Dorothy Cummings
Taney County Republican: March 11, 1920
Springfield Republican: March 12, 1920
Springfield Republican: March 13, 1920
Springfield Republican: March 14, 1920
Taney County Republican: March 18, 1920
Box cousins Lynn White (L) and Geneva Boothe.
Lynn is holding a colander slavaged from the Melva tornado
by her mother, Annie Box. Geneva is Florence Box' daughter.
This page dedicated to Geneva (Box) Boothe and Lynn (Box) White
