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Sarah's mother, Marcella, was born in an underground [[American Indian]] sod dwelling near tiny Fairvalley in Woods County in north central [[Oklahoma]]. Marcella's grandparents, William Henry Morris (1833-1901) and the former Mary J. Barter (born 1838), had been among the pioneers who staked out 160 acres in the Oklahoma Land Rush. W. H. Morris was born Monmouth County, [[New Jersey]]. Prior to the [[American Civil War]], he came to Linn County, [[Iowa]], where in 1855, he married the 16-year-old Mary Barter. He then attended medical school in Keokuk, Iowa, having completed his instruction in 1864. The couple later moved to Oklahoma; three years after his death, Mary B. Morris was still living in Alva in Woods County, Oklahoma.

Sarah's mother, Marcella, was born in an underground [[American Indian]] sod dwelling near tiny Fairvalley in Woods County in north central [[Oklahoma]]. Marcella's grandparents, William Henry Morris (1833-1901) and the former Mary J. Barter (born 1838), had been among the pioneers who staked out 160 acres in the Oklahoma Land Rush. W. H. Morris was born Monmouth County, [[New Jersey]]. Prior to the [[American Civil War]], he came to Linn County, [[Iowa]], where in 1855, he married the 16-year-old Mary Barter. He then attended medical school in Keokuk, Iowa, having completed his instruction in 1864. The couple later moved to Oklahoma; three years after his death, Mary B. Morris was still living in Alva in Woods County, Oklahoma.

Hudson-Pierce traces her ancestry in the future United States to [[Lewis Morris]] (1671-1746), the [[Great Britain|British]] governor of New Jersey from 1738 until his death. Previously Lewis Morris had been royal governor of the New York colony, which included New Jersey prior to the separation in 1738. This Lewis Morris' grandson, also [[Lewis Morris]] (1719-1798), was a landowner and developer who in 1776 signed the [[Declaration of Independence]] as a representative at the [[Second Continental Congress]] from [[New York]]. Lewis Morris was a half-brother of [[Gouverneur Morris]] (1752-1816), the [[New York City]] native who was editor-in-chief of the [[United States Constitution]] and author of its preamble.

Hudson-Pierce traces her ancestry in the future United States to Lewis Morris (1671-1746), the [[Great Britain|British]] governor of New Jersey from 1738 until his death. Previously Lewis Morris had been royal governor of the New York colony, which included New Jersey prior to the separation in 1738. This Lewis Morris' grandson, also [[Lewis Morris]] (1726-1798), was a landowner and developer who in 1776 signed the [[Declaration of Independence]] as a representative at the [[Second Continental Congress]] from [[New York]]. Lewis Morris was a half-brother of [[Gouverneur Morris]] (1752-1816), the [[New York City]] native who was editor-in-chief of the [[United States Constitution]] and the author of its preamble.

Before her third birthday, Marcella Morris was playing on the soft dirt roof of her dwelling. She slipped, fell through the roof, sustained brain damage, and lapsed into a coma. Marcella's mother, meanwhile, was dying of [[typhoid fever]] when this accident occurred. Marcella's six-year-old brother, Jimmy, had died of the fever some six weeks earlier. Marcella's father left his two daughters in the care of a kindly neighbor, Clara Knox, who became Marcella's foster mother. In 1914, Marcella's father remarried, and Marcella, at the age of eight, left the security of life with Clara. Marcella did not marry until she was in her late thirties and then only after her father, Sarah's grandfather, had died. Having lived into her nineties, Clara thereafter told Sarah of the tragic circumstances of Marcella's life.

Before her third birthday, Marcella Morris was playing on the soft dirt roof of her dwelling. She slipped, fell through the roof, sustained brain damage, and lapsed into a coma. Marcella's mother, meanwhile, was dying of [[typhoid fever]] when this accident occurred. Marcella's six-year-old brother, Jimmy, had died of the fever some six weeks earlier. Marcella's father left his two daughters in the care of a kindly neighbor, Clara Knox, who became Marcella's foster mother. In 1914, Marcella's father remarried, and Marcella, at the age of eight, left the security of life with Clara. Marcella did not marry until she was in her late thirties and then only after her father, Sarah's grandfather, had died. Having lived into her nineties, Clara thereafter told Sarah of the tragic circumstances of Marcella's life.