Landay Whitaker, the great grandfather to Murell, passed away in 1905 from consumption (tuberculosis). Rachel Whitaker Clouse passed away on 16 Sep 1907 from tuberculosis. Her sister in law (William’s sister Hannah) passed away from tuberculosis in 1906. And Hannah’s daughter Etta Marie, age 16, passed away from tuberculosis in 1908. In the first decade of the 20th century, tuberculosis was in fact the number one cause of death in the United States. Effective treatments for this horrible disease were not developed until after WWII.
Uncle Sam’s oldest son William Elbert was a firefighter in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. I do not find anyone named Harry who was a firefighter during this time period.
Ancestors Across the Ages 