Laura,
I am almost certain that those death listings came from the Sherfey &
Kidd funeral home book that the Clay County Genealogical Society sells.
The early years of mandatory record keeping were very sketchy so there
may be no "official" death record.
Kristina Stearley
Laura Ellen Mitchell wrote:
On the Indiana Clay Rootsweb page, once you choose Clay County Genealogy
Online, as you scroll down, there is a choice of clicking on Clay County
Deaths. When I did so, I found a death for: Cress, Harrison, Oct. 6,
1890 age 6 mos This seems VERY likely to be Harry Criss, born the same
year.
I then sent off to the Clay County Health Dept. for a death certificate.
They can't find him under several suggested spellings - Cress, Criss, etc.
He does not appear in the WPA death records for Clay County. Does anyone
know where this information on the web page came from? It is very
important, in that I think he is the last child of my great-grandfather,
John C. Criss, whom he calls "Harry" in a list of his children that was
written in 1915. I did not know this child existed until the Civil War
records came from the National Archives. After Harry's name it says
"dead". Harry was born Apr. 13, 1890. A WPA birth record shows a
different mother for him than my great-grandmother, but that could be a
mistake like many others in the records. So why can't I find a death record
if he appears in this Clay County Deaths list? But then, why doesn't he
appear in the WPA records? If I could obtain a death certificate, it might
clear up as to who really was his mother - Annie Elizabeth Kendall Newton
Asbaugh Criss or Mary Henley. So my first priority is to find out where the
website info came from, if anyone can help.
Laura E. Mitchell lmitch(a)iquest.net
2522 College Ave. lmitchell(a)vigo.lib.in.us
Terre Haute, IN 47803
(812) 234-0692