Person talk:Mary Clark (245)

Who was the wife of Cyrus McIlree? [8 December 2023]

The information on the wife of Cyrus McIlree does not agree well with sources. It appears that Nathaniel Clark and his wife Eunice had a daughter named Mary Angeline who was born about 1849. She was listed as Mary in the 1850 census and Angeline in the 1860 census. This appears to be the only Mary A Clark of approximately the right age in Pike County, Indiana. If she was the wife of Cyrus, then her birth year of 1856 and age of 23 in the 1880 censuses are incorrect.

Alternately, the wife of Cyrus wasn't the daughter of Nathaniel and Eunice. There are no sources to indicate why it is believed that she was their daughter, other then that she lived in Pike County.

Given the common practice of people to understate or exaggerate their age, it seems possible but not certain that the wife of Cyrus was indeed the daughter of Nathaniel and Eunice. Therefore, I plan to change her birth year to "about 1849" with an alternate birth year of 4 Oct 1856, and add notes about the uncertainty.

Please add to this conversation if you don't agree with this approach. Thanks--DataAnalyst 16:06, 8 December 2023 (UTC)