John R. Clark

page 578

The paternal ancestors of Mr. Clark were New Englanders, and his father, Wareham G. Clark, was born and reared in the state of Connecticut, and engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York city for several years prior to coming west in 1840. On August 23, 1843, at Troy, Van Buren county, Iowa, he married Jane L. Rankin, a native of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish parentage. This worthy couple were among the very first to come to the newly opened territory of Iowa, taking up their abode in Monroe, or, as it was then called, Kishkekosh county, at a place afterward known as Clarks Point, three miles northwest of Albia, where young Clark had made claim on May 1, 1843. He was one of the enterprising farmers of the county, and remained here until his death, June 16, 1890, in his seventy-eighth year.

He was the representative of Monroe and Appanoose counties in the second constitutional convention, held in Iowa City in May, 1846, and in other ways was prominently connected with the history of the growth and development of Monroe county. His wife died in 1898, in her seventy-third year, having become the mother of twelve children, one daughter and eleven sons, all of whom are now living; the oldest is fifty-eight years of age and the youngest thirty-six, and ten of them are residents of Monroe county, one of Nebraska and one of Idaho.

One of the twelve is John R. Clark, who was born at Clarks Point, Monroe county, January 3, 1855, and has been a continuous resident of this county ever since, with the exception of two years spent in Nebraska, form 1878 to 1880. In the same year as his birth he parents sold the original place with the intention of moving to Texas, but hey were deterred form this course by the sickness of John R., which was thus a fateful event and probably changed the course of the lives of the whole family. The parents then bought the place which has ever since been known as the old homestead, situated four and one-half miles southwest of Albia, and where the children al grew up and received such educational advantages as were obtainable in the district schools.

Mr. Clark has always been an observant man, and has thus supplemented the knowledge which he obtained in his youth so as to be prepared for a successful business career. And the fact that he was reared on a farm, with all its wholesome environments, and that he has been taught the habits of economy and industry and has been strictly temperate and moral in his life, have all aided him in attaining an influential place in the world. He engaged in farming, threshing and sawmilling for some time, and later, with his older brother, W. Grant Clark, opened an agricultural implement store in Albia under the name of Clark Brothers. This is one of the leading firms in the county. The proprietors have dealt extensively in real estate and now own nearly one thousand acres of land in the county, and besides dealing in implements carry a stock of flour, feed, etc., and are proprietors of Clark Brothers and Company, undertakers and dealers in furniture, this establishment being the leading business of that kind in the county.

Mr. Clark has always been interested in political matters and has mainly voted with the Democratic party since he attained his majority. In November, 1892, he was elected county auditor and served two years, but was defeated in the race for re-election by the Republican landslide in 1894. In 1896 and 1900 he was one of the delegates from the sixth district of Iowa to the national Populists’ conventions. In 1896 he became the owner of the Monroe County News, the only Democratic paper in the county, and it is largely due to his management that the paper has gained such a foothold in Monroe county and has become one of the leading Democratic organs of southern Iowa. Mr. Clark is a member of the Masonic order, and in religious matters assumes liberal views.

On March 2, 1883, Mr. Clark was married at Creston, Iowa, to Miss Lilla E. Boggs, who was born and reared in Monroe county, the oldest child of Percy and Jemima Boggs, who also were among the very earliest settlers of Monroe county and are still living at Albia. They are both of Virginia birth. Her grandfather, Josiah C. Boggs, built the first house in Troy township, and possibly in the county, for it was constructed as soon as possible after the first day of May, 1843. Mr. Boggs was prominent in the early history of the county and died at the age of eighty-three years, having reared a large family.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark are: Lura R., born April 23, 1884; M. Grace, September 23, 1885; Wareham Grant, March 9, 1887; Lilla E. Beth, June 18, 1890; and Jessie R., April 27, 1894. the two oldest are graduates of the Albia high school, and Grace completed a course at the C.C.C. College of Des Moines in stenography and typewriting. The family reside in a modest home in the north part of Albia, and here Mr. Clark devoted much of his time to fruit culture when not occupied with his business.