Iva and Frank Fielden

Last week, my sister Brenda went on a tear and starting scanning and emailing me a bunch of old family pictures she’d dug out.  One of the pictures she sent me is the one on the left of Iva and Frank Fielden.  She then asks, “Who are they?”

Considering that I hadn’t spent much time on that part of the family in the past couple weeks, I couldn’t give her a solid answer.  I knew that Frank was our great-grandfather.  Iva, however, was causing me to draw a blank.  So, without further ado, here is my very meager attempt at a biography for Frank Fielden.

Frank was born January 29, 1898 in Kentucky to Arley and June (Bennett) Fielden.  At some point between 1898 and 1910, the family moved to Jasonville, Greene County, Indiana.  Frank married Zeda Mattox in Clay County, Indiana in the summer of 1917.  The following year, they had a daughter, Edeine.  According to Frank’s World War I draft card, and some census records, he supported his family as a coal miner.  On June 11, 1920 Zeda died, and Frank was left with a toddler to raise.  As was the norm back then, he handed her off to someone else to raise.  Edeine was raised by Zeda’s sister Iva and her husband Lester Bemis.  According to my aunt, Frank would visit Edeine, but she would cry when she saw him, so he moved out of the area.

In 1929, Frank married Julia Beatty and they lived in Hymera, Sullivan County, Indiana.  In 1933, they had a son George followed by Bobby two years later.  Julia died in March 1945.

Sometime between 1945 and 1958, Frank married Iva, pictured above.  The reason I give that date range is (a) after Julia died, and (b) my aunt remembers first meeting Frank between the years of 1958 and 1961, which is when the picture was probably taken.  The Frank in the picture looks to be in his 50’s or early 60’s which would confirm this.  At some point along the way, Frank moved to Pontiac, Michigan where he would live out his remaining days.  I vaguely remember meeting him once, probably at my grandmother’s funeral in 1979.  Frank died in 1982 at the age of 84.