Calvin Mattox is my 2nd great grandfather (see Edeine Fielden Pedigree).  He was born in 1855 in Indiana and married Rebecca Coppock in 1877.  They had 8 children, the youngest being my great-grandmother Zeda Mattox Fielden.  They lived in Lewis Township in Clay County, which is just north of Jasonville, IN.

Back in 1999 when I was home visiting family, I met up with Kathy Collins.  Kathy is my second cousin once removed and also a direct descendant of Calvin and Rebecca.  She was kind enough to share her research on the family and show me around to a couple of the local cemeteries, including Sanders Cemetery which is in the middle of nowhere.  Sanders Cemetery is where Calvin and Rebecca are buried, and I took pictures of their headstones.  If you look closely, his date of death is December 23, 1899.  Okay, so what’s the problem, you ask?  In the 1900 Census for Clay County, which was taken in June 1900, Calvin is listed as the head of household.  But, Calvin is deceased.  So what is going on here?  I can think of two possible scenarios:

1. The census taker was given incorrect information,
2. The date on the headstone is incorrect.

Unfortunately, I haven’t yet located online archives of the newspapers in Clay County, and the Indiana Death Index comes up with a big zero for Calvin.  This will require a trip to the Clay County Library to sort out.