Bio-Minard, LucyClark

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Louisa Jane "Lucy"
(Minard) Clark
(1862-1916)

Louisa Jane "Lucy" (Minard) Clark was born on July 22, 1862 near Gambier, Knox County, OH, the daughter of Thomas G. and Elizabeth (Glasner) Minard. She was active in Minard family reunions in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and her husband was the founder of a three-generation contracting business.

While we do not yet have any photographs of Lucy, the image seen here shows her husband Samuel with a favorite firearm.

When Lucy was age two, her father went off to serve in the Civil War. Sadly, while he survived the war, he never recovered from its effects, and died in 1868, when Lucy was but a girl of six. Despite the fact that she only had wisps of memories of her father, her love for the Minard family was strong, and she maintained contact with many of her Minard cousins during her lifetime.

On April 15, 1879, Lucy married Samuel Clark (1859-1930). The ceremony was performed by Fleming James, pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit. On the application for the marriage license, her name was spelled "Lou Minor."

The Clarks had five children: Alberta Catherine Atherton, twins Clarence Ray Clark and Herbert A. Clark, Amos Bartholomew "A.B." Clark and Martha Clark. Sadly, daughter Martha apparently died young.

The Clarks resided for a time at Levering, OH, where at least one of their children were born. They later moved to Mt. Vernon.

Samuel was a prominent general contractor in Mt. Vernon for many years. As a young man, he worked for the C.A. & C. Railroad, and later moved to Waterford, OH and began learning the contracting business. He moved again, to Mt. Vernon, in about 1892, with his office located at 907 West Gambier Street. He specialized in house moving, well drilling, machinery movement and erection, and "all kinds" of cement work. Annually, he placed large advertisements in the Mount Vernon City Directory. Copies of the directory today are on file at the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County. The ad seen here is from the directory of 1909-1910.

Said the Mt. Vernon Republican News, Samuel was "active in the affairs of the Moose and Modern Woodmen lodges and was active in community projects."

In 1895, after her mother passed away, Lucy received a bequest from the estate of $25.00.

Lucy was especially close with one of her second cousins, Amos Bartholomew Minard, of near Cadiz, Harrison County -- she thought so much of Amos that named one of her sons after him, and the son later received funds from Amos Minard's estate.

A rare old postcard of Mt. Vernon's South Main Street, 1905

Lucy and Samuel also served as organizers of the annual Minard Reunion in Mt. Vernon in the early 1900s. The event was covered by a local newspaper.

Tragically, in the fall of 1912, the Clarks suffered the death of married son Herbert when he broke his neck in motorcycle accident in Mt. Vernon's public square. A rare old postcard photograph of the square is seen at left.

George was "very well known in Mt. Vernon," reported the Democratic Banner, "and had been for the past several years been connected with his father's business of building, moving and contracting. [He] was known throughout Ohio as an expert erector." Added the Republican News, he "had charge of many of the larger pieces of work contracted for by the senior Mr. Clark, and was gaining a wide reputation for his ability in his profession." He also was a member of the Moose Lodge, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and a charter member of the Hiawatha Lodge, L.O.O.M. The accident occurred when Herbert's motorcycle:

... struck the street car track switch on the west side of the public square... He was guiding his machine between the rails of the car track and attempted to turn out to the side of the track when directly east of the Lawler drug store. His neck was broken when he was hurled to the pavement. He was carried to the grass plot on the square a few feet away and Dr. S.E. Deeley was summoned. Life was extinct when he arrived. The witnesses to the affair said that Clark neither spoke or moved after he was thrown.

At age 54, on Jan. 24, 1916, Lucy passed away at home of uremic poisoning "and other complications," said the Democratic Banner. She was buried in Mound View Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, in either Section D or H.

Samuel later married Clara (?). He suffered from organic heart disease and chronic nephritis. At age 71, on June 1, 1930, he died of their effects at the home of son Clarence. Said the Republican News, Samuel had:

... been in ill health the last several days but was feeling better yesterday. He accompanied his son on a motor trip in the afternoon and returned home at about 7 o'clock. He walked to the bathroom and collapsed.

They are buried at Mound View Cemetery in Mount Vernon.

The Clark graves at Mound View Cemetery

~ Son Clarence Clark ~

Son Clarence Clark (1887-1953) married Mabel M. Cline (1891-1938). They had a son, Samuel Clark, and a stepson, Ned Cochran.

They resided on West Gambier Street in Mt. Vernon. Following in his father's footsteps, Clarence also worked in the general contracting business, with offices at 310 Ridgewood Avenue. In an advertisement that he placed in the 1922-1923 edition of Walsh's Mt. Vernon Directory, Clarence stated that he:

Does all kinds of Construction Work. Moving and Raising Buildings. Putting in Lintels for Store Fronts. Moving and Setting Machinery a Specialty. Bridges of all kinds Built and Erected. Cement Work of all Kinds. Well Drilling and Pile Driving. Shoring Up Brick Buildings. Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Clarence and his son Samuel worked together in the family firm. They were members of the Gay Street Methodist Church, and Clarence served as a trustee of the Monroe Grange.

Sadly, Mabel died an untimely death at age 47, after suffering from cirrhosis of the liver for six months, on Aug. 8, 1938. Clarence outlived her by 15 years.

In June 1953, at the age of 71, Clarence had prostate surgery at Mercy Hospital. He had "apparently been recovering nicely," said the Mt. Vernon News, "and was able to be out of bed yesterday when he died suddenly [on June 19] as a result of a blood clot." Clarence was laid to rest in Mound View.

Grandson Samuel A. Clark (1914-1984) succeeded his father Clarence as owner/operator of Clarence Clark & Sons Housemovers and Riggers, involving three decades of work. He married Ruth Basnett (1914-2001) in 1936. They were members of the Gay Street Methodist Church, and he belonged to the Knox County Historical Society. Ruth belonged to the United Methodist Women and the CCL Mother's Club. They had one son and one daughter.

~ Son Amos Bartholomew "A.B." Clark ~

Son A.B. Clark ( ? -1942) was a bus driver and is mentioned in Frederick N. Lorey's book, History of Knox County, Ohio, 1876-1976. The book states that in 1923, "a bus station was opened on Public Square in the quarters now occupied by the Knox County Auto Club, and at that time the location of the Chamber of Commerce office as well as of the Auto Club... A.B. Clark was for several years the local bus driver and agent."

A.B. also served in World War I and as a corporal in World War II.

Tragically, in November 1942, while stationed at Kelly Field in Texas, he was "fatally injured in a truck-bicycle accident." His remains were brought back to Mt. Vernon for the funeral at the Vine Street Church of Christ.

~ Daughter Clarence (Clark) Atherton ~

Daughter Catherine Clark ( ? -1937) married Lewis E. Atherton (1874-1956). They had five children -- Lucy Emma Cline, Daisy Melick, Catherine Malony, Mabel Atherton and Samuel Lewis Atherton.

Lewis was a longtime serviceman for the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation. They were members of the Vine Street Church of Christ. The Athertons suffered the death of married, 26-year-old daughter Lucy Cline in February 1932, due to tuberculosis, after being treated at the Mt. Vernon Hospital-Sanitarium.

Catherine suffered from kidney failure and died on May 21, 1937 "following a year's illness of heart disease," said the Republican News. Lewis later resided in St. Louisville, OH, and passed away on Feb. 16, 1956 in Newark, OH.

The Athertons are buried together at Mound View Cemetery. They are thought to rest under the Samuel and Lucy Clark monument, as the "ATHERTON" name appears on the back side of the Clarks' dark upright stone. The marker is seen at right, as photographed in January 2006.