Other possible relatives
of the Clarks of Centropolis
As to the story that Jacob Clark had a sister
Temperance who married a Maulding, the 1850 Federal Census for Hamilton
County, Illinois, page 391 lists a John Malding, age 39, born in Kentucky,
with a wife, Temperance, age 36, also born in Kentucky. They had five children,
all born in Illinois as follows, Margaret - 15, Lucy - 10, John - 8, Isaac-
5, and James - 2. Aunt Carrie Clark Fisher said she did not recall hearing
of a John Maulding. She did say that Bill Maulding married Jake Hughes'
sister and that "We girls always claimed cousinship." She went
on to say that Mary, Goldie, and Lola Maulding all lived in Centropolis
when she was in her early teens and that the last she heard of the Mauldings,
Goldie was married to Fred Detwiler of near Paola, Kansas.
The 1880 Federal Census for Franklin County, Kansas lists on page 23 a
William Maulding, age 28, born in Illinois, and wife Sarah, age 22, born
in Missouri, with children - Mary - age 2 and Augusta - age 1, both born
in Kansas. Neither this, nor the previous paragraph proves anything. They
are included merely for the beneiit of future researchers.
While we have every confidence in the handed-down story that Jacob Clark
had a brother Reuben, We have been unable to tie any Reuben of record into
our own branch of the Clark Family. Even so, there was a Reuben Clark in
the Black Hawk War who enlisted from Franklin County, Illinois, the same
as our Grandfather Jacob. In fact, they were in the same company. We have
a photocopy of Reuben's letter of December 9, 1850 applying for a bounty
land grant on the basis of War of 1812 and Black Hawk War service. This
letter was written in Lawrence County, Arkansas. We also have a photocopy
of a July 7, 1855 letter written in Butler County, Missouri by the same
Reuben applying for additional bounty land.
The 1850 Federal Census for Lawrence County, Arkansas has the following
listing on page 34 -
NAME AGE PLACE 0F BIRTH
Reuben Clark 55 North Carolina
Elizabeth " 30 Tennessee
Lucinda " 14 Illinois
Lemuel " 7-1/2 Arkansas
Benjamin Wharton 19 Tennessee
Knue " 12 Arkansas
Of course all this proves exactly nothing but the writer seems to have
a vague recollection of some tie-in between a Bill Wharton of Ottawa, Kansas,
and the Centropolis Clark Family. Possibly some younger and more resourceful
researcher can run it down.
As to a Tilford Clark, all we have is the handed-down story that Jacob
Clark had a brother by that name. Jacob's son John did name one of his
sons Tilford but the writer has no information that he was named in honor
of an Uncle Til- ford. Anita Cole located a book, "Early Settlers
of Sangamon County"(Illinois) which contains an interesting possibility.
On page 523 it lists a Docia Miller, "born in Sangamon County, married
Rev. Tilford Clarke, have nine children, and live in Gardner Township,
Sangamon County, Illinois." This, too, is a subject for younger and
more persistent researchers.
Another Clark whose relationship we have been unable to trace was Pleasanton
Clark who Aunt Carrie described as a fine old Baptist Preacher. Aunt Carrie
and her brothers and sisters all called him 'Uncle Plez' but she said she
never did know which part of the Clark tribe he actually belonged to. She
said her father (Grandfather William) really loved 'Uncle Plez' and had
Plez stay in his home when he had a meeting at Centropolis. They let her
go to meeting one night when she was about 10 years old and she got so
overcome with his deep sonorous voice and the honor of his staying in her
home that she cried. Of course crying at a revival meeting is taken as
sure evidence of 'conviction' and in her case it wasn't long before the
good sisters were hovering over her ready to assist in bringing her 'into
the fold'. And the more they 'assisted', the harder she cried. She couldn't
explain why and they couldn't understand why. If she wasn't renouncing
the accumulated wickedness of 10 years spent in and around Centropolis,
perhaps it was her five brothers she was weeping over. We aren't told how
the impasse was resolved that night but we know the details are fresh in
Aunt Carrie's mind 80 years later.
Uncle Plez and Aunt Delia had a daughter Nellie and in later years they
came to visit at the William Clark home. Ruth Clark Jones did not remember
hearing of Pleasanton Clark but tells of her family having pictures of
a 'Lou Clark' and also that a Nellie Clark visited in their home. Ruth
said Nellie married a 'Gorman?' (probably Gormley) who was a band master
in Ottawa, Kansas, and whose band used to per- form in Forest Park- Possibly
they were daughters of Plez.