First things first

Here is the caption that accompanied photo at left: "Morley's monument in its original location in the Masonic Cemetery in las Vegas. The monument, made of a rare Italian marble, includes 2 bronze plaques, which reads: "Wm. Raymond Morley, Born Sept. 15, 1846. Died Jan, 3. 1883. In whom were combined courage, loyalty, love and honor: every manly virtue and all noble qualities of heart. This monument is erected by his friends." Click here for source of the photo is from Find A Grave.

Our interest and fascination in The Morley Family began after reading David Ryan's mini-travelogue about US 60 from Socorro to Phoenix in 2016.

We became very curious about the Morley Memorial monument near Datil.  So, let's address that topic first.

The patriarch of The Datil Morleys was William Raymond Morley. We will cover his Life in a separate post.  Suffice to say he was both a brilliant and daring railroad location engineer, as well as an equally daring opponent of New Mexico's powerful Santa Fe Ring.

Morley died in Old Mexico in early January 1883.  The widely accepted reason for his untimely death at the age of 36 is credited to an accidental gunshot wound.  Morley's grandson, Normal Cleaveland, was a staunch voice that Morley was murdered.  Cleaveland's assertions are a lonely outlier to a prevailing consensus that it was death by accidental gunshot.

In any event, Morley's remains were transported from Old Mexico to New Mexico for internment in the Las Vegas Cemetery. Twenty two months after the funeral, an imposing Memorial Monument was erected over Morley's grave. 

According to one of two Find-A-Grave webpages for Morley, he was disinterred and moved to Datil, New Mexico in April 1990. Presumably the disinterment and the Las Vegas Memorial Monument movement to a point near Datil, was supposedly done by Morley's grandson, Norman Cleaveland.  Norman became (in his own words) "obsessed" with his Grandfather's Life & Death.  Based on what we have read of Norman's passionate obsession, it is easily understandable that he could have been motivated to move the Memorial Monument to Datil.

Note that this Smithsonian article states the Monument was moved in 1993 and rededicated October 27, 1993: https://www.si.edu/object/siris_ari_336469  However, we can find no media coverage of such an event.

As of March 2022, there is no record of  William R. Morley's grave in the Las Vegas Cemetery although Find-A-Grave still lists his grave in Section G Row 17.   Meanwhile there is a record of a William R. Morley in the small Datil Cemetery.

What was once apparently an imposing Memorial Monument in the Las Vegas Cemetery is now located beside US Highway 60 near Datil.  Moving such a large, heavy and unwieldy structure along with related accoutrements would have been a daunting and complicated project seemingly beyond the ability of a single individual to accomplish.

The Monument was originally erected in October-November 1884. It was unveiled on November 9, 1884.   The "Las Vegas Daly Gazette" carried a small notice of the event at the bottom of Column Two on Page 4 of the November 11th edition.

See: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90051703/1884-11-11/ed-1/seq-4/

Based on our extension study into the matter we conclude:

1) The Morley Memorial Monument near Datil was once located in the Las Vegas Cemetery.

2) Questions about "who, how & when" the Morley Memorial was moved are intriguing but largely irrelevant.

3) The Morley Memorial now stands as a reminder, gateway and challenge to learn about the compelling and timeless stories of  The Morleys of Datil.

4) The complex collection of historical "back stories" inherent in The Datil Morley Memorial together comprise one of the most intriguing cultural legacies noted alongside US Highway 60 along its entire length. 

A full investigation of the "who, how & when" Memorial movement questions is beyond the scope of this blog.  We will leave it to historical researchers of the future to shed light on those topics.