No, ma'am. Pecan is in the Walnut family and is very similar to Hickory; Pinnately compound and finely saw-toothed leaves. And the leaves don't say Tulip, by a long shot. The glossy leaves make me wanna say Blackgum (Black Tupelo.) Looks like it might be a smaller tree so that would explain the bark not fully developed, and the leaves not as oval as the bigger ones I see here. I would have though Blackgum might be hard to split but maybe not if it was small...
I think the age thing may be causing difficulty. It was a mature tree in the woods. It had no branches left after it was blown in half during a storm a couple of years ago. The leaves shown are new growth coming out of a trunk that measures about 16" across.
Thanks for spending time looking. I spent a while looking up Pear because of this post and everything comes up Bradford which I'm sure it isn't. Pyrus pyraster seems to be a European tree. Is Pear a forest tree in the mid-Atlantic? The leaves and bark look right.
That's hindering me as well; I've seen quite a few Blackgum "on the hoof," but never cut or split any since it has a reputation as hard to split, and I haven't seen any dead ones. Hickory has that rep as well, yet I've had some that wasn't bad at all to split as well as some that was impossible. But yeah, Blackgum leaves can turn a brilliant red in the fall, keep an eye out for that.
OK. There is a smaller one within a few feet. Here is a leaf pic and a bark pic. Whatever this stuff is I ended up with just under 1/3 cord.
Thanks for hanging with me on this one, Woody. I would have felt lucky with 1/3 cord of Hickory but given what I've read about Black Gum I feel plenty lucky with how easy it was to process.
Woody, not really sure what you are saying here. I think you should check the internet or a tree resource guide.
Claydog, I would love to see you post pics of the pear wood. Im very curious, if you plan on taking your dead tree down. I have Bartlets, Anjou,and Bosc but havent cut any of them yet.
As with Woody, thanks for hanging with me on this, Sis. The ease of hand-splitting "leaves" (pun intended) some doubt in my mind, but it's gotta be something and consensus seems to be building around Black Gum. Leave it to me to cut wood that creates a two-page thread over two weeks for an ID. Sorry!
My go-to resource is the Audubon Society Field Guide. Yes, I'm aware that Hickory and Pecan are both in the genus Carya. I didn't mean to confuse anyone, but I think your confusion started before that.
Early on, you stated that the first pic posted was of a simple leaf (you also said "there ain't very many trees with simple leaves" when, in fact, most hardwood trees have simple leaves.) The OP confirmed that the leaf was from the wood in question, but later you post that it's "probably some type of hickory" when that's not possible, given the simple toothless leaf. Quit trying to confuse us! 
Im glad to see that you finally understand that Pecan is not a Walnut.My go-to resource is the Audubon Society Field Guide. Yes, I'm aware that Hickory and Pecan are both in the genus Carya. I didn't mean to confuse anyone, but I think your confusion started before that.
If you check the Wood database it lists two different types of hickory. The true-hickories and the pecan-hickories, they are 2 sub groupings for hickory.
Hey don't worry about it, that's why we are here.... And the final verdict is?..........
On the contrary, posting is slow this time of year and we need something to do when we're not getting more wood so any ID thread is welcome, the longer the better....I'll even be drawn into the occasional friendly disagreement.
My first thought was that nrford may not be familiar with Blackgum (Black Tupelo,) but I was surprised to see that Sweetgum is an important lumber tree, so maybe he is aware of Blackgum as well.
The term "family" is used loosely around here, e.g. "the Red Oak family." The family is the taxonomic classification above the genus and species. I merely hinted, in passing and not helpful in IDing the tree in question, that both Pecan and Hickory (and Black Walnut) are in the Walnut family, "Juglandaceae." Sorry for muddying the waters...
Well I can't think of any other angles to take pics from so I'm content to call it BG. I was hoping he'd weigh in with one of those "______ 100%" calls, though. The ease of splitting is the only things that argues against BG from what I can see.
Yep, the range for Sweetgum starts down here in southern IN, IL and OH. Black Tupelo ranges up into MI but not into the NW part of the state, and it doesn't appear to be as desirable for lumber.
