My husband's g-g-grandfather, Adam Hoke Shoptaw, was supposedly killed in
a boiler explosion at a sawmill on December 15, 1887. His nephew, James
S. Shoptaw was killed at the same time. Both men are buried at Hicks
Cemetery (intersection of 275 West and 200 South) southwest of
Bloomfield, Greene County, IN sharing a common gravestone.
I have written to the Greene County Health Dept. for copies of the death
certificate for both Adam Hoke and James S. Shoptaw. Greene County
Health Dept. has no record of their deaths. I thought perhaps they had
died in a different county and their death certificates were held
elsewhere. I have written to the Newspaper Reference Dept. of Indiana
State Library to see if any newspaper had carried an account of the
boiler explosion as that event seemed noteworthy enough to be reported.
The Newspaper Reference Dept. found no articles about the boiler
explosion in the Greene County newspapers around the December 15, 1887
time frame. They also checked the Bloomfield Democrat and found no
mention of the deaths.
Perhaps I have been given an incorrect date of death for these two men
and that's why I can't get any information. Anyone out there working on
the Shoptaw family? Can anyone shed some light on this minor mystery?
Thanks for any help received.
Carole Shoptaw
Fayetteville, North Carolina
czechgal(a)juno.com
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