William Clark (1833-1906)

CLARK

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 10/3/2022 at 09:28:42

William Clark
(February 16, 1833 – May 6, 1906)

In an analyzation of the character and life work of William Clark we note many of the characteristics which have marked the Scotch nation for many centuries — the perseverance, reliability, energy and unconquerable determination to pursue a course that has been marked out. It is these sterling qualities which have gained to Mr. Clark
success in life and made him one of the substantial and valued citizens of Iowa. He now resides on section 11, Lincoln Township,
where he is carrying on general farming. Mr. Clark was born in Roxburyshire, Scotland, on the 16th of February, 1833, and is a son of John and Janette (Lockie) Clark, both of whom were natives of Scotland. The mother died in that country and soon afterward the father, with our subject then a little lad of six years, crossed the Atlantic to Canada, settling about twenty-five miles west of Hamilton, where Mr. Clark purchased two hundred and thirty-one acres of land. To the development and cultivation of his farm he devoted his energies until his death, which occurred about 1874. While in that country he was again married, his second union being with Miss Janette Hope, who was born in Scotland and died in Canada in 1900, leaving four children. In the Dominion our subject acquired a limited education, and at the age of seventeen he began learning the blacksmith's trade, working in Stratford. He afterward conducted a smithy in the county of Huron for about ten years and then with the capital he had acquired, purchased a farm in the midst of the forest, cleared it of timber and transformed it into rich fields. Ere he left Canada he was married in Stratford, Huron County, on his twenty-third birthday, to Miss Jane Angus, who was born in Canada in 1834, a daughter of John and Ann (Dalgleish) Angus, both of whom were natives of Scotland, there remaining until after their marriage. Mrs. Clark has two brothers, one residing in Aurora, Illinois, and the other in British Columbia. On leaving Canada Mr. Clark came at once to Calhoun County, making the journey by train to Boone, and thence by stage route to Lake City, which was then a town of seven houses. Leaving the hamlet he came to what is now Sherman Township and secured a homestead upon which he lived for a number of years. Subsequently, however, he traded that property for a hotel in Manson, conducting it for a year. He then rented
the property for two or three years and when that period had elapsed traded his hotel for one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 2, Lincoln Township, just across the road from where he is now living. After leaving the hotel he purchased residence property in Manson and conducted a blacksmith shop, carrying on business along that line until about seventeen years ago, when he took up his abode upon his farm. In 1899 he purchased the quarter-section upon which he now resides and is successfully operating his land, the well tilled fields returning to him golden harvests, while the neat and thrifty appearance of the place indicates to the passerby that the owner is a progressive and practical farmer. He owns altogether four hundred acres of land and is assisted in its cultivation by his sons. In 1900 Mr. Clark was called upon to mourn, the loss of his wife, who died in May of that year, leaving six children: John, who is living at home: William, who married Lu Smith and resides in Calhoun County; Jennie, also at home; Ann, the wife of Lance Moore, of Hanson; Belle and Euthenia. In his social relations Mr. Clark is a Mason, belonging to Morning Light Lodge, F. & A. M., of Manson, in which he is junior warden. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in his political affiliations he is a stanch Democrat, believing firmly in the principles of the party. On that ticket he was elected township trustee and was one of the first councilmen in Manson. When that town was incorporated he served two terms in that office and was also a school director, road supervisor for two terms and street commissioner of Manson. When he arrived in Calhoun County there had been no township surveys, and the work of progress and improvement was yet in the future. Since then he has watched with interest the establishment of townships and school organizations, knowing that it indicates progress and settlement. As a citizen he is concerned in everything calculated to benefit his country and his own labors have been of material value in advancing the general good. [Source – Biographical Record of Calhoun County, Iowa, by S.J. Clarke, 1902, p.379]