~Page 1299~

William A. Clark

One of the leading citizens of West Union and the representative of an old and influential Fayette county family is William A. Clark, who was born in Eldorado, this county, in 1857, the son of Lookings and Mary (Kinney) Clark, both natives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, William Clark, was also born in Pennsylvania, while his wife hailed from the state of New Jersey. In the early days they all figured prominently in their respective communities.

Lookings Clark grew to maturity in the old Keystone state and received his education in the early-day schools. In 1849 he came to Galena, Illinois, by rail and the remainder of the way to Eldorado on foot. There he helped build the first dam in that place. After a year or two there he returned to Pennsylvania and there married, after which event he came back to Eldorado, Iowa, and bought sixty acres of land near that town. He prospered, being a hard worker and a man who looked carefully to small details, and he eventually became the owner of one hundred and ten acres of good land. He operated the same until a few years before his death, when he sold his farm and moved to West Union, spending his declining years in retirement; however, he purchased eighty acres south of that city, which he looked after. He was a successful farmer, and religiously he was an ardent Wesleyan Methodist. The maternal grandparents of W. A. Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Kinney, were natives of New Jersey.

To Mr. and Mrs. Lookings Clark the following children were born: Orpha J. married I.H. Hazlett; Mrs. James A. Iliff, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work; Adie, deceased; Maggie, deceased; William A., of this review.

William A. Clark was reared on the home farm and for a period of twenty years he conducted very successfully his father's eighty acres, south of West Union. Since that time he has resided in West Union, with the exception of two years spent on a farm near this city. He has various real estate interests in West Union which claim his attention. While on his father's farm he conducted a dairy and a milk route for twelve years and no small part of his nice competency was gained in this way. He finally purchased this farm, but sold it when he moved to town. He was regarded as one of the leading farmers and dairy men in the county; in fact, he has been successful at whatever he has turned his attention.

Mr. Clark was married in 1881 to Carrie Fox, of Elgin, this county, the daughter of a well-known family there. The father of Mrs. William A. Clark was Charles N. Fox, who came to Allamakee county, Iowa, in 1855, then removed to Fayette county in 1858.

This union resulted in the birth of the following children: Blanche, now living in South Dakota; Edna, deceased. The mother of these children was called to her rest in 1884.

In 1886 Mr. Clark married Melissa Wolf, a woman of genial personality, and to this second union the following children have been born: Alfred, Susie, Russell, Lenora, all living at this writing. The maternal grandparents of these children are Henry and Amandy (Pitcher) Wolf, the former born in Columbus, Ohio. In 1866 they came to Fayette county, Iowa, and purchased a saw-mill at Eldorado, which Mr. Wolf operated until 1877, when he moved to Kansas. Later he returned to West Union and now lives here retired, having been very successful in his business career.

Mr. Clark is regarded as one of the upright and scrupulously honest men of this vicinity, always ready to do what he can in promoting the moral, spiritual and civic welfare of the county. He is an active Wesleyan Methodist and a Prohibitionist.

~Typed for the Fayette Co IAGenWeb Project by Mary Thiele Fobian