Bio-Clark, Blanche-Tarter

J. Blanche (Clark) Tarter
(1880-1978)

Jeanette "Blanche" (Clark) Tarter was born on Oct. 16, 1880 near Laredo, Grundy County, MO, the daughter of George "William" and Helen (White) Clark. Her family history research and writing efforts, done well into her 90s, provide a rare, vivid and irreplaceable view of this pioneer branch of our family, and prove that one person can make a difference.

On Dec. 14, 1904, at the age of 24, Blanche married 26-year-old Laban Moore Tarter (1878-1969) in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, MO. The groom was a college senior at the time.

Laban was born on Sept. 16, 1878 in Farmington, IL, the son of Frederick Moore and Mary Anne (Oliver) Tarter. When death took Laban's mother when he was just one year of age, Laban and his father migrated from Illinois to Missouri. "They lived for a time near Farmersville, and for a time at Chillicothe," said James Everett Ford's 1908 book, History of Grundy County. "[Laban] worked on a farm, and at whatever work he could get, earning his way through school. For four years, he made his home with Dr. R.C. Norton."

Laban was a 1905 graduate of the University of Missouri, having studied agriculture and electrical engineering. he was described by his wife as "a man of honor and integrity, so kind and so generous, devoted to his family, fond of reading and writing poetry."

After marriage, Blanche and Laban resided on her father's farm for three years. They purchased the farm outright in about 1907, and moved to the property, "building a beautiful home," said the 1908 History. They "belong to the Methodist church."

One of Blanche and Laban's two "modern homes," circa 1908, as published in the 1908 History of Grundy County

In fact, Blanche and Laban built two "modern farm homes" near Trenton, Grundy County, before moving in 1916 to Chillicothe, MO. There, Laban was a salesman for the International Correspondence Schools.

They moved further into urban life when relocating to Kansas City in 1923, where they joined the Linwood United Methodist Church. Later, Laban became an insurance broker. Seen here is a rare old photographic postcard of Kansas City's Main Street of the early 1900s.

After her husband's death, Blanche became deeply interested in genealogy. Working from her Raytown home, she collaborated with her cousins Edith M. (Peterie) Hoyt and Verda (White) Richey to co-publish a landmark book in 1971, Ancestral and Chronological History and Lineage of the Family of Luther White and Mahala (Minor) White, Their Forbears and Descendants, 1665-1971. She also published a small booklet, Ancestral and Chronological History and Lineage of George William Clark, with an original copy on file today at the Grundy County Genealogical Society at the Jewett Norris Library.

The book mainly focuses on the history of the Whites, and Blanche desired to know more about her Minor roots. She embarked throughout the 1970s on an intensive letter writing campaign, with her son Paul and cousin Alba (McGirk) Kristensen-Peck, and many others, using correspondence to explore courthouses, historical societies and other sources in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Blanche died on Feb. 8, 1978, at the age of 98, almost certain, but never assured, that her great-grandfather, Daniel Minor Sr., was the son of Western Pennsylvania pioneers Jacob and Maria (Nein) Minerd Sr. While her hunch has proven correct, this fact was not established until 1996, after her son donated some of her papers to the Minerd-Miner-Minor Archives, and the connection was made.

For more information on this branch, please click here to visit Jay H. Garner's website, which is searchable for individual names.