Where is Jessie Hay Mathews on the 1880 Census?

Question

I am trying to build the family for Charles S. Hay and Charlotte Runyan Hay.

 

Lottie's marriage record shows her as a daughter of this couple. This couple is found in Clark, Indiana on most of their census records.

 

There is a census record for 1880 that shows Charles and Lotta, however, their birthdates are questionable.

Am I mixing up two families here? Are the ages simply wrong? If it is not them,  where are they?  They married on Nov 13, 1873 in Clark, Indiana. This is the only record that looks like it could match them.

Comments

Did you check the addresses on the census records?

---

The 1860 Census does not have a street, and the 1900 Census, they have moved towns.

Answer 1

If you look at the original census document for 1900 in Jefferson Twp. IN, the W for her middle initial could easily be read as an H. 

Jessie W Mathews

United States Census, 1900

Name	Jessie W Mathews
Event Type	Census
Event Year	1900
Event Place	Jeffersonville Township Jeffersonville city Ward 3, Clark, Indiana, United States
Gender	Female
Age	24
Marital Status	Married
Race	White
Race (Original)	W
Relationship to Head of Household	Wife
Relationship to Head of Household (Original)	Wife
Number of Living Children	0
Years Married	2
Birth Date	Nov 1876
Birthplace	Indiana
Marriage Year (Estimated)	1898
Father's Birthplace	Indiana
Mother's Birthplace	Indiana
Mother of how many children	0

HOUSEHOLD	ROLE	GENDER	AGE	BIRTHPLACE
Homer Mathews	Head	M	24	Indiana
Jessie W Mathews	Wife	F	24	Indiana

CITING THIS RECORD

"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMBN-3NY : accessed 12 May 2016), Jessie W Mathews in household of Homer Mathews, Jeffersonville Township Jeffersonville city Ward 3, Clark, Indiana, United States; citing sheet 4B, family 85, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,363.

Comments

Don't know why she was not in the 1880 census.

---

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Yes that is the big question. When I saw your original reply I was excited that I had simply overlooked that she was married already. Not sure how a four year old is misplaced.

Hmm, maybe she was an adopted orphan.

---

I thought adoption might be one possibility too. It's possible that she might have been staying with grandparents or other family members for a short time for some reason.

Would there be christening records of her siblings. Possibly, she would have been christened at the same location.

Did not find a death year or burial site for her either. Cemetery info might have a clue about her early childhood.