The information on this page was taken from an article written by Steve Lawrence for Historic Maury, XXVI, No.4, the publication of the Historical Society of Maury County, Tennessee.
Julius was the father of Rosa Emma Morel Smithson.
Julius Morel migrated to America from Switzerland in 1856. According to family lore, he came to America with a brother, Mark. Once they arrived in America, however, it appears they went separate ways. A story told by Mr. Ezell Morel, grandson of Julius Morel, follows:
"When my grandfather went to further his education, he had to leave Switzerland and go to France. France had compulsory military training. They did not want this, so he and his brother Mark Morel decided to come to American. To save their money, they walked across France and hired in on a ship and worked their way across. As they got to the coast of American, a storm came up and shipwrecked them some distance off the coast. They had to swim and wade to shore. After they got their citizenship papers, the Civil War broke out. My grandfather was conscripted and served as a sapper-miner-blacksmith. After the war, he followed the blacksmith trade and built a turning plow which he named The Morel Pride. In a contest with several other blacksmiths, he won a blue ribbon. My grandfather also had a vineyard and made his own wine to drink with his meals, as we drink coffee or teas with our meals."
Julius' passport, The Little Book, gives us a little information about his appearance:
"Dated August 26, 1856 . . . valid for Switzerland and foreign parts . . . District of Vaud. 3 Description . . .age 21, height 5'8-1/2", hair fair, forehead narrow, eyes blue, eyebrows chestnut brown, nose long, complexion plain. Swiss Confederation of Vaud . . . Police Department at Caisson. Originally from Montricher (northwest of Lausanne near Mr. Tendre). Profession servant, worker . . .at Daillen. August 23, 1856 . . .The Prefect (Chief of Police), S/R Mercer . . . Seal of Officials . . . Lausanne August 26, 1856 . . . The Swiss Consul. #5785 viva the French Legation in Switzerland in order to enter France. Born August 30, 1856*. Vu for New York . . .Le Harve, September 18, 1856."
*This date has to be incorrect. Mary Morel, Julius' widow, certified that he was born December 23, 1834. While the month and date can't be proven, the year would certainly be more realistic -- his passport states he was 21 in 1856 which would put his year of birth in 1835.
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Photo of Mary Thompson Morel
"Attached to the passport was a postcard without postage stamps, picturing Montricher, dated January 1, 1908 and addressed to Mon. Jules Morel. The inscription, 'Tue l'Eternel Sort acre vous . . . Ruth 2:4.' Translation -- "And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee."
The following is taken directly from the article by Mr. Steve Lawrence:
"Morel served the Confederacy throughout the war and near the close of the conflict he found himself "taken in" the home of a Williamson County family by the name of Primm. Soon he met Mary Boyd Thompson* and they were married in 1866. Morel began his post war "recovery", had he been wounded?, by employing himself as a blacksmith in a shop located near the present junction of Concord Road and the Nashville-Franklin highway. With his earnings, and possibly some funds from his wife, they bought a farm in 1881 on the Wilson Pike in the Koran Station area. By that time, most of the children had been born and Morel had become a respected farmer in the neighborhood.
The farm house that was built is presently occupied by another family. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) constructed a north-south line directly in front of the house some distance away near the Wilson Pike. The nearby spring, critical to the homestead, was preserved. Morel was a good farmer and did custom, i.e., cash-producing, work with his wheat thrasher and steam engine. His six sons were excellent help. Morel spoke fair English, but always with a French accent: family stories tell of local men provoking French profanity when angering him. By 1900, many of Morel's children had moved away from the homestead, and survived by his wife Mary, 16 years his junior, he died April 18, 1909. Morel is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin."
*Mary Boyd Thompson was the sister of Elizabeth Thompson, who married Baugh Primm.
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