Tag Archives: Moyer

Elizabeth Moyer Mattox Coppock

27 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by in Genealogy

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Today’s conundrum is Elizabeth Moyer, another of my 3rd great grandmothers.  Elizabeth was born circa 1822 in Indiana to unknown parents.  According to census data, her father was born in Canada and her mother in Ohio.  She married James Mattox in 1837 in Vigo County, IN and they were living in Riley Township at the time of the 1850 Census.  They had seven children who lived to maturity:  Pelina, Susan, Alzina, Napoleon, Marshall, Calvin (my 2nd great grandfather), and Alonzo.  By 1860, the family had moved to Clay County, IN.  James died at some point after 1860, possibly in the war, and Elizabeth became the head of the household for several years.  In 1873, she married Benjamin Coppock and was listed in his household in the 1880 census, along with her son Alonzo.  This is probably how Calvin and Rebecca got together.  What happened to Elizabeth after 1880 is questionable.  Benjamin married Mary Merrill Cutshaw in July 1882, so obviously something happened to her.  I have two theories:

  • Benjamin and Elizabeth divorced.  Nothing was mentioned in Benjamin’s biography in the History of Clay County about Elizabeth being wife #2.  There weren’t any children born as a result of the marriage, so maybe she was just glossed over as unimportant by the author.  Or, maybe the marriage ended poorly and it was left out on purpose.  It’s hard to say since death records before 1882 are difficult to find and divorce records are even more scarce.  If they did divorce, did she assume the name Mattox once again?  There is a death record in Indiana for an Elizabeth Mattox in 1896 that seems to fit, however, without more information I cannot be sure it is my Elizabeth.  A trip to the Clay County Library needs to be added to my trip home in the spring to find the actual death record and ferret out a newspaper article to confirm the identity of Elizabeth.
  • Elizabeth died between 1880 and 1882.  This is the more likely possibility, but again, I have nothing to document this at this time.

James Mattox

26 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Civil War, Genealogy

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James Mattox is another of my 3rd great grandfathers.  He is the father of Calvin Mattox.  James was born circa 1815 in Tennessee.  His parents are unknown, but there are a couple possibilities out there.  The first, and most likely in my mind, is Valentine Mattox and possibly a daughter of James Cundiff.  Most of the facts presented in Mattox Family: 1755 through 1987 by Shirley (Mattox) Churchill seem to fit.  The only discrepancy I have at the moment is James’s place of birth.  The timeline Ms. Churchill presents for Valentine would have James born in Kentucky, not Tennessee.  The second possible set of parents would be William Mattox and Nancy Harrington, however, the researchers proposing this don’t have a reference listed that confirms this theory.

Assuming Valentine was James’s father, they lived in Ohio County, KY for several years, before moving to Indiana.  It is thought that James was in Clinton County, IN in 1830 living with his half-brother Church.  He then married Elizabeth Moyer in Vigo County in 1837 where they lived until the 1850s. Based on census records, they had five children that reached maturity: Alzina, Napoleon, Marshall, Calvin, and Alonzo.  Calvin’s middle name is Church which further supports the idea of Valentine being James’s father. In 1860, the family appears in Lewis Township of Clay County, IN.  After that, James disappears and Elizabeth is the head of the household in the 1870 Census.

Many researchers have James’s death listed in 1862.  Again, there are no sources listed to confirm this piece of information.  Considering that his disappearance coincides with the Civil War era, it’s a possibility that he was a casualty of the war.  A check of several military databases gives a number of James Mattoxes, but nothing concrete.  One promising lead was a James N Mattox who served in the 99th Infantry, Company K.  He died at the regiment hospital at Camp Sherman, MS in 1863, but a notation in the US Burial Register, Military Posts, and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960, indicated that James was only 18 at the time of death, not 48.  Until I can find something solid, his death will be listed as 1860-1870.