The biography I have for Mary Ellen Forqueran is courtesy of Mark Wilson, a cousin of ours from MN and is as follows:
 Mary was born in Virginia, possibly in Hampshire County, on September 15th, 1826 to William and Susan (Miller) Forqueran. The Forqueran's were said to be of French Heugenot origins, with the early members of the family emigrating to the Colonies to avoid religious persecution. The earliest member of the Forqueran family in the United States was 'Jean Forqueran y sa femme' [John Forqueran and his woman], who arrived in Virginia in 1700. Mary probably grew up in Virginia, and eventually ended up in Kanawha County, where she married John Wesley Morrison in 1842.
After the death of John's father, Andrew, and the division of the family property, in 1850, the family headed west. They can be found in Cleveland Township, LeSueur County, Minnesota, by 1857, where they settled on their farm and raised their family. On August 13th, 1868, just six months after their youngest child was born, John died, it is said, of "Black Diptheria". He left Mary Ellen a widow at 41 years of age, with eleven children, ranging in age from the oldest, Robert, who was 23 years of age, to the infant daughter, who was 6 months of age. Showing the fortitude that defined her character, Mary Ellen remained on the farm for another 20 years, raising her family.
By the early 1890's, Mary was living with her daughter, Josephine, and her husband, Hank Van Vleet. They all moved further north in Minnesota, to an area in Meeker County just south of Eden Valley. They remained there for just a few more years, until a decision was reached to move out West. One of Mary's sons, Charles, had moved to Ritzville, in Adams County of Washington State. Hank Van Vleet's brother, Charles had moved to Idaho, and expressed an interest in moving to Washington as well, so in 1902, Hank and Josephine moved with their family to Ritzville.
Mary remained behind until the family was settled out west, then took the train to Washington to join her daughter. According to a family story, Mary arrived before Hank and Josephine were expecting her, and she was forced to take a room at the local hotel. A few days later, while looking out a window, Mary saw Hank driving his wagon into town to get her. She leaned out the window, waving a hankie and calling out, "Here I am, Hank! Here I am!"
It appears that Mary did not take to life on the plains of eastern Washington, where Hank and his brother, Charles had started a wheat farm. She also expressed a fear that she would died out West, far from her home in Minnesota. In any event, Hank and Josephine soon returned home with their family, with Mary joining them. By 1905, they had settled on a farm near Kimball, in Kingston Township of Meeker County, Minnesota. Mary lived with the Van Vleet's until her death on November 15th, 1915.
Her burial was in a tiny cemetery just outside of Eden Valley. This cemetery was already the burial place for two of ther grandchildren: Hank and Josephine's daughter, Lucy; and James and Georgia Morrison's daughter, Annie. She is buried next to her granddaughters, far from her original Virginia home, and far from her husband's burial place in LeSueur County.
Sources:
- Federal Census': 1850-1880
- Minnesota State Census: 1857; 1865; 1875; 1885; 1905
- Death Record: Stearns County, Minnesota
- Grave Marker
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