Those Darned Clarks

I've written a little bit about my maternal grandfather, and his father, David Ulysses Clark, but sadly, there is a lot I don't know about that part of my family. Unlike the Callin Family, there isn't a Clark Family History for me to build on - yet.

While visiting in Arizona, I talked to my uncle Russ about his dad and grandfather, and some of the other Clark relatives he knew personally. There are a few distant cousins out there who might be able to help me get past the "brick walls" I'm facing, but between the busy-ness of life and the tasks I need to get done to finish the Callin book, I never seem to get around to pursuing those leads.

But while I'm working on "unrelated" things, Clark folks keep popping up.

On 8 August 1889, a Charles Lincoln Clark married Lydia Minerva Callin. Per the Callin Family History: "Lydia Callin Clark...was the 3rd daughter of William Callin, who was the 2nd son of George Callin, who was the 2nd son of John Callin, who was the 2nd son of James 1st."

Charles was the son of Alexander W. (1827 – 1889) and Almira A. (1837 – 1913) Clark; Alexander was born in Pennsylvania, and married Almira in Richland county, Ohio, before relocating to Huron county.

More recently, on 12 February 1919, Howard George Clark (1888 – 1923) married Madeline L. Callin (1896 – 1942). She was the daughter of Fred A. Callin: "Fred A. Callin, Mansfield, O., 2nd son of Thomas Jefferson, 2nd son of Thomas, eldest son of James 2nd, eldest son of James 1st."

I don't know, yet, who Howard's parents were, but he was a World War I soldier, and his enlistment documents identified his birthplace as Ashland, Boyd county, Kentucky. Howard seems to have moved to Ohio early on, but apparently on his own; he married after serving in the war, and sadly took his own life in 1923.

And, of course, much later, in 1968, my dad (a Callin) married my mom (a Clark), tying the two surnames together yet again. Considering that at best, the Clarks I've listed above are distant cousins, and the Callins are similarly well separated from each other, there isn't any reason to raise the specter of inbreeding - but it is a tantalizing puzzle to figure out.

One of my goals for the revision of the Callin Family History is to include the parents of every spouse; in some cases, that may not be possible, but that means that I might find something more out about Howard that can shed more light on the mystery. But in the meantime, all of these Clark folks will continue to peer at me from behind their metaphorical brick wall, keeping me digging.