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Lewis Baldwin Clark was born on February 22, 1826 in
Orange county, New
York to Isaac and Polly (Denn) Clark. He was one of several children
but
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Lewis B. Clark
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the names of all of them are not known. The siblings of which are known
include: Sarah Maria “Sally” Clark (married Peter Valentine Osborn,
Sr.)
of Garnerville, New York; Bersheba Ann Clark (married William J. Hitt)
of
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Sarah Carrie
(Orr) Clark
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Bridgeport, Connecticut; Ellen C. Clark (married Henry F. Loveless) of
Crandon, Wisconsin.
Lewis knew of the hardships brought on by death early in
his life. He
was a child when his father passed away, leaving his mother without
means
to care for a family of children. Lewis toiled to help support his
mother
and siblings. During his childhood he was only able to attend a total
of
three months at school. In 1850, he married Miss Ann Amelia Ray in the
home
state of New York. They lived happily together in New York state until
she
suddenly passed away in 1853. Lewis and Ann were the parents of two
children, both died when small. In 1855, Lewis left New York state and
moved west to Wisconsin where he settled in Ripon, Fond du Lac county.
It appears he journeyed to Wisconsin about the same time
his sister,
Ellen and her husband, Henry Loveless and their family moved from
Sullivan
county, New York to Wisconsin. Lewis worked as a stone mason in Ripon
and
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Edwin Lewis
Clark
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it is reported that he helped build Ripon College. He worked at this
trade
for twelve years and contracting jobs and hiring hands mostly in the
city
of Ripon.
Lewis B. Clark was joined in marriage to Miss Carrie Sarah
Orr at her
parent’s home in Metomin, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin on January 17,
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Nellie
(Clark), Ernest Ray Carter, and George A. Carter
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1861. They had met in Ripon where Carrie was working as a servant for a
Presbyterian minister and his family.
Carrie was born on January 18, 1839 in Scotland to William
and Mary
Ann (Linn) Orr. Her birth name was Sarah Carrie Orr, but she preferred
to be called Carrie. She was the oldest of seven children of which the
first four were born in Scotland, the next two were born in New York
state
and the last was born in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. Her siblings
were
namely – Thomas (married Martha Wilson), James, Mary (married Elisha
Horel),
Elizabeth (married James Lynn), William and Alice. Carrie immigrated to
America with her parents and siblings on the ship called – Speed. The
family – William Orr, age 34, Mary Orr, age 30, Sarah Orr, age 10,
Thomas
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Daisy Belle
and Alice May Clark
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Orr, age 7, James Orr, 5, and Mary Orr, listed as born at sea departed
Liverpool, England and arrived at New York on July 5, 1848. Family
accounts
claim the Orr family belongs to the family of the Counts of Kenmore
(Kenmuir)
who belong to the Highland Clan Gordon. The 1841 census shows the
family
living in Weaver Street in Newton on Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland (Wm Orr,
25,
Mary Orr, 25, Sarah Orr, 2, Thos Orr, 4 mos).
Her father was listed as a weaver, of which there is
evidence that her
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Daisy Belle
Clark
at Cedar Valley Seminary (1895)
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father’s and mother’s ancestors were weavers also. Her mother’s family
was
one of many families who moved back and forth from Scotland to Ireland.
Carrie settled in New York state with her family where, according to
the
1850 census, lived in China township, Wyoming county, New York.
Sometime
between 1853 and 1855, the family moved to Metomin township, Fond du
Lac
county, Wisconsin since the 1855 census shows Wm Orr living in that
location.
By 1870, Carrie’s parents and siblings had moved to Page county, Iowa.
Carrie’s youngest brother, William Orr, attended State University of
Iowa
in Iowa City and graduated in 1879 with a degree in law. He became a
prominent lawyer in Clarinda, Iowa.
Lewis and Carrie began their married life together in
Ripon, Wisconsin
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Daisy Belle
Clark
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where Lewis continued his stone mason trade as a contractor and
builder.
Their first three children – Edwin Lewis, Nellie, and Alice May were
born
in Ripon. In 1868, Lewis decided to move to Iowa because his health
could
no longer allow him to work as a stone mason. The family settled in
Ulster
township, Floyd county, Iowa. Lewis purchased a 131 acre farm located a
couple of miles north of Rockford. They continued to prosper and had
several more children – George, an unnamed son, Daisy Belle, Charles
Vernoy,
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Ida Bird Clark
at Cedar Valley Seminary
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Ida Bird, and Ernest William. Two of these children - George and a son
whom
was listed in the 1870 census not yet named, died at a very young age.
While living in Ripon, Wisconsin, Lewis and Carrie joined
the Presbyterian
church from which they left and decided to join the Baptist church in
Rockford. Lewis served as deacon and bible school superintendent for
the
church for a number of years.
Carrie passed away on May 1, 1881 at her home near
Rockford from
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Cheryl Carter,
Ida Bird Tibbitts and Diane Carter
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consumption at the age of 42 years. She is buried at the Rockford
cemetery.
This left Lewis with yet another huge loss in his life but he is
remembered
as a man to which great credit is due since he managed to keep his
family of
seven children together. In 1883, Lewis moved his family to Mitchell
county,
Iowa where he purchased a 195 acre farm located 2 � miles west of Osage
on
the west side of the Cedar River, section 28 of Cedar township. Lewis,
with the help of his two eldest daughters, Nellie and Alice May, raised
his
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Cheryl Carter,
Alice May Clark, Dianne Carter
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young children in a warm and loving home, ensuring all were educated in
the
rural schools – several attended the Cedar Valley Seminary in Osage.
Lewis
and his children were devout members of the Osage Baptist church.
In 1895, Lewis traded farms with his daughter, Nellie, and
son-in-law,
George A. Carter. Lewis sold the 80 acre farm which he traded and built
a
house in Osage at 904 Mechanic Street. He lived in this house with his
two
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Nellie (Clark)
and George A. Carter
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daughters, Alice May and Daisy Belle, and at one time helped take care
of
his grandsons, Lester and Merle Clark, after their mother passed away
in
Seattle, Washington.
Lewis passed away on Thanksgiving evening, November 24,
1904 at his
home at 78 years of age.
The Clark children all became successful in their own
right. Edwin
Lewis Clark became a building contractor and real estate agent, living
in
Seattle, Washington; Boise, Idaho; New York city; and in Delaware.
Nellie
married George A. Carter and they were prosperous farmers in Cedar
township. Alice May and Daisy Belle remained single, lived in Chicago
and worked as seamstresses. Ida Bird became a nurse in Chicago and
married
Charles B. Tibbitts. Charles Vernoy and Ernest William became lawyers
and
worked in Chicago.
Additional Photographs
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Alice
May Clark and Ida Bird (Clark) Tibbitts
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George
A. Carter holding Kennard Tibbitts and Ida Bird (Clark) Tibbitts
holding Roy Tibbitts
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Nellie
(Clark) Carter and her daughter, Millie Carter
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Nellie
(Clark) Carter and her son Charles Vernoy Carter
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Charles
Vernoy Clark
at Cedar Valley Seminary
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Charles
B. and Ida Bird (Clark) Tibbitts
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Roy, Ida
Bird, Bertie and Kennard Tibbits
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Betty,
Charles V., and Bea Clark
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