RILEY P. CLARK
What a wonderful heritage a man gives his children when he leaves behind him a knowledge of a life well spent and evidence of the good he has accomplished for his community. To be considered the foremost man of his county in his day and a leader in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community does not fall to the lot of many men. Only those who are truly great in heart and mind, of indomitable energy and unfailing optimism are capable of winning the trust and confidence which place them in the leadership in matters of public good, especially in a new section. This knowledge is possessed by the children of Riley P. Clark, St., among whom is the subject of this sketch, Riley P. Clark, Jr.
Riley P. Clark, Jr., a well-known farmer and stockman of Exira township, was born in Jasper county, Iowa, November 1, 1864. He is the son of Riley P., Sr., and Juliet C. (Davis) Clark, the former of whom was born in Ohio in 1830, and died in September, 1891.
Riley P. Clark, Jr., was educated in Audubon county. His parents came to Audubon county in March, 1865, and located on the Doctor Ballard farm in Oakfield township. After leaving school Riley P. Clark, Jr., farmed on rented land. Mr. Clark rented land until 1893. He purchased eighty acres of land in 1887, and increased his holdings from time to time, until he now owns five hundred and fifty-seven acres of land. At one time he was a rather extensive landowner in Guthrie county, but later he sold that land. He raises about two hundred acres of corn every year and about two hundred acres of small grain. Mr. Clark feeds about a hundred and twenty hogs every year, and about three carloads of cattle. He owns a herd of registered Hereford cattle, numbering a hundred and fifty-six, and has exhibited them at county fairs, where they have won valuable prizes wherever they have been shown. He has a sale every year of Hereford cattle, and the prices received average about one hundred and seventy-two dollars a head. Mr. Clark has spent about twelve thousand dollars on improvements, which have been placed upon his present farm holdings.
On November 25, 1885, Riley P. Clark, Jr., was married to Hattie J. Reed, daughter of William and Mary (Rose) Reed. To this union the following children have been born, Rhea, Ethel, Curtis, Robert, Leilae, Thomas, Josephine, Hardy, Benjamin, Helen, William and Ponde. The last two are deceased. Rhea married Frank Mesching, and they have one child, Genevie. Ethel married Benjamin Whitmore, and they have one child. Mrs. Clark was born in Guthrie county, Iowa. Her parents were natives of Ohio, where she grew to womanhood. In 1859 her parents moved to Guthrie county, Iowa, where they remained the rest of their lives. William Reed was a soldier in the Civil War, and served his country valiantly during that great period of civil strife. He and his wife were the parents of four children, E. E., Benjamin, Hattie and Millie.
Mr. Clark is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, at Atlantic. He is a member of the board of supervisors, and in politics is identified with the Republican party. He is a prominent and influential citizen of Exira township and one of the best-known farmers of Audubon county.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 675-676.
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