Clark, Samuel

CLARK

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 10/28/2008 at 13:45:02

Samuel Clark

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.223, Rockford Twp.)
Samuel Clark, farmer, P. O. Missouri Valley, Harrison County, was born in New York State in 1818. His parents moved to Indiana when he was a small boy. There he grew up, was married and made his home till about 1853. He was married, in 1840, to Miss Sarah Harding, born in New York State in 1820, daughter of William Harding. Mr. Clark as always followed farming. From Indiana, they moved to Wisconsin and lived there about a year, and then came to Eastern Iowa, where they lived till the fall of 1864, when they came to this county, and have made this their home ever since. The first year, they rented a farm, and then came on to their present farm. They bought it the first fall they came, but rented for a year, while they were making improvements on their own place. It was all raw prairie at that time. He paid $4.50 per acre for land, and bought 122 acres at first. His farm now consists of nearly 200 acres, which he bought of J. C. Foreman, of Council Bluffs. They have reared four children, three girls and one boy. All were married. The eldest daughter, who died in February, 1881, was living in Nebraska; their son is living in Kansas, one of the girls iis in Iowa and the other is in Nebraska. At first, Council Bluffs was their trading point. After buying his place, he did not hvae much money left, so for some time they had a pretty hard lot of it, but, by hard work and economy, they soon were in comfortable circumstances. For some time after coming, he was in the stock business, but now he does not farm himself, so he sold off his stock and rents his land. He is Republican in politics, but does not take much interest in political matters. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His first house was 16 x 20 feet, and was made of cottonwood, the lumber being sawed near here, and cost about $25 per thousand. Even the shingles were of the same material. The same house they still use, but they have made considerable additions to it. Mr. Clark is a son of Erastus Clark, born in Connecticut and one of a family of eleven children, who are scattered over the United States. Mrs. Clkar is one of six children, one sister and one brother being deceased. When our subject and wife moved to this county, they came with a team of horses and two yoke of cattle. Mr. Clark's father came with thiem, and drove a light buggy, our subject driving one team of cattle and Mrs. Clark the other, while their son, L. H. Clark, drove the loose cattle.