Clark, Alfred

CLARK

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/28/2021 at 23:31:12

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.596

ALFRED CLARK
Alfred Clark has the honor of being the oldest resident of Otter Township, having made his home here since the 14th of May, 1847, and with pioneer conditions in this section of the state he is thoroughly familiar. He performed the arduous task of converting wild land into a good farm and today he is owner of one hundred and eighty-six acres under a high state of cultivation and well improved with good and substantial buildings. Here he is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of former toil.
Mr. Clark was born in Randolph County, Indiana, January 9, 1827, the only child of James and Alice (Hackett) Clark. His father, who was a farmer by occupation, died in the Hoosier state. The mother was born in Ohio, Febru­ary 2, 1808, but was reared near Richmond, Indiana, and came with our sub­ject to this state in 1847, making her home with him until her death. She passed away on the 17th of August 1893, at the age of eighty-five years.
Alfred Clark was only three years old when he left the county of his nativity and removed to Vermilion County, Indiana, and in that state he con­tinued to reside until his removal to Warren County, Iowa, at the age of twenty years. He brought with him his mother, grandmother, two aunts and their children, but all of the number are now deceased with the exception of one cousin, now living near Des Moines. Locating on his present farm on section 11, Otter Township, Mr. Clark purchased the land from the government, securing three forty acre tracts, which included eighty acres of timber land. It was not until the fall of 1847 that Otter Township was surveyed and laid off in sections and his land came direct to him from the government. He has made all of the improvements on the place and today has a comfortable home where he expects to spend the remainder of his life.
In 1850 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Clark and Miss Hannah Hay­worth, theirs being the first marriage license granted in Indianola. Mrs. Clark was a daughter of Dillon Hayworth, an early settler of Lincoln Township, who came to this state from Vermilion County, Indiana, in 1845, and after spending one year in Keokuk County became a resident of Warren County. Mrs. Clark died on the 12th of November, 1905, when nearly seventy-six years of age. She was the mother of eight children, but only two of the number are now living. Mercy Bell is the wife of Lewis C. Hodgson and re­sides in Indianola, although he owns a large farm in Lincoln Township. D. F. now operating the home farm for his father, married Miss Maggie Meyers and they have four children: Harry, Weata, William and Judd, all at home.
When Mr. Clark came to this county he found the region but sparsely settled and one of the horses belonging to his party was stolen by the In­dians. Wild game was still plentiful and he had ample opportunity to in­dulge his love for hunting. Knoxville and Des Moines were his nearest markets and one could ride for miles over the boundless prairies without coming upon habitation. Mr. Clark has borne his full share in the work of development and improvement and may well be numbered among the honored pioneers and worthy citizens of the county. He is a faithful member of the Friends' Church and a Republican in politics since the organization of that party, serving as a trustee of Otter Township for many years.