Mattie Mathilda (Sills) Merrifield (circa 1866-1903) was born circa 1866 in Lyon County, KY to Lemuel and Elizabeth (Wallace) Sills. Lemuel was a farmer and Elizabeth kept house. The couple had nine children, and Mattie was the youngest. On September 15, 1882, Mattie married Simon Peter Merrifield, son of Warren and Susan Merrifield, in Lyon County. Prior to their marriage, Simon had been living in Louisville working in a rolling mill. By 1888, the couple was living on Campbell Street in Louisville’s Phoenix Hill Neighborhood. Together they had five children: Louis, Robert Warren, Eva Elizabeth, Earl, and Reba Susan. According to the 1900 census, Simon was working in a rolling mill and Mattie kept house. Their eldest son Louis (16 years) was working as a day laborer; Robert (14 years) and Eva (11 years) were in school; and their two youngest children were at home—Earl (6 years) and Reba (9 months). Simon’s sister Ellen V. Merrifield was also living in the home. On January 8, 1903 Mattie died from tuberculosis at the approximate age of 37. She was buried in Eastern Cemetery, but her exact burial location is not currently known. On March 7, 1909, Simon was found dead in a room at the Yenner Brothers Saloon on Fulton Street by Albert Tompkins who was opening the saloon that morning. According to the “Courier-Journal” article, his cause of death was heart disease, but the death records note cirrhosis of the liver. Simon was approximately 53 years old. He was buried in Section 4, Range 41, Grave 75 of Eastern Cemetery. The photo of Mattie and Simon is from Find A Grave user Barbara Ward.
