Ok, this is my situation. My great grandfather, Clarence Calvin Clayton was born in Texas and there are varying dates of birth for him, even a variance in the years. His gravestone and death certificate give the date 11/19/1883, WWI draft registration says 10/16/1882, WWII draft registration says 11/21/1883, 1900 census says September 1883. Supposedly around the age of 10, he was orphaned. No one knows what really happened. None of the older members of the family (who are gone now) knew anything, not even his children, or if they did, they weren’t telling it. His mother was Mattie Rivers who married Calvin Clayton in Navarro County, Texas on 04/19/1883. This was a few counties away from where they lived at the time. She had either already had Clarence or was already pregnant with him when she married Calvin depending on which date you go by. Could never find any death records for Mattie and Calvin or any other info after the marriage which always seemed strange.
Here’s the thing: When my father first did a DNA test almost 10 years ago, we matched no one with the Clayton name except our known close cousins. Recently it came to my attention that we matched several people with Clark connections. Mattie Rivers (my great great grandmother) had a sister Gatsy Rivers. Gatsy was married to William Allen Clark and they had 4 children. William was also married to Molly Proctor (2nd wife after Gatsy died) and they had 2 children. I am showing a 3rd -4th cousin match to one of William and Molly’s grandchildren. I would only be related to the Rivers side of the family and should have had no connection to William and Molly’s children. I also have DNA connections to some of William Clark’s mother’s family, the High’s. So, I am thinking that Mattie and William possibly had a child together, Clarence. It would have had to be William or a brother of his, correct? I just wanted some other opinions on this. I contacted this cousin match, and he hasn’t gotten back with me yet. Looks like his mother is still living and I hope she can shed some light on this.
Thank you, I know this was long and probably confusing.
