The busy busy wives of WJ Clark
Maggie in 1967 was just a little older than my grandparents; my grandfather Pres would have been 71 then. He was a grandchild of William J. Clark, CSA. So I went off on a wild goose chase looking for a grandchild named Margaret or Maggie, someone who would be first cousin to Pres (Pop), Gladys (Happy-tail), and Helen (Boobie's wife). WJ had 11 children, so looking was a quite a headache, especially since the Rembert book seemed to give out of steam listing all those progeny. Only after spinning wheels for a while, studying Maggie's handwritten geneology and scratching my head, I realized Maggie was the daughter of the old CSAer himself.
William James Clark was born in 1835. In 1854, at the age of 19, he married Margaret Ann Stukes, who was only 16. Their first child, William J., was born in 1855. Their second, Martha, in 1857, and their third in 1859. When Margaret Stukes turned 21 she was minding three babies under the age of 3. She had a fourth, Samuel, in 1864, when she was 24. Then the war came, WJ joined the cause, and Margaret caught a break, maybe. Who was around to help her with the little ones? We don't know.
WJ managed to survive the war, otherwise I wouldn't be here to write this. Great-grandmother Leila Inez Clark, the wife of one Preston Thames, the mother of another, and the grandmother of yet another, was born in 1867. Henry came along in 1869, and Margaret Stukes had no more pregnancies for 14 years. We can guess little Inez and Henry got much more attention than their older siblings had had. It ain't over till it's over, though, and in 1881 WJ and Margaret had their last baby , a boy they named Plummer. Two years later, at 45, Margaret died.
WJ married the next year, to 31-year-old Mary Capers McKagen. She became stepmother to seven children between the ages of 2 and 29, but probably other than baby Plummer only the post-war kids, Inez and Henry, 17 and 15, were still at home.
Why was Mary unmarried at 31? Had she been a spinster school teacher? Taking care of a widowed father? Had she been married before, as her double last name suggests? Whatever her circumstances, she was soon pregnant, and gave birth to Margaret in 1885. I like to think she was a sweet generous woman to name her first daughter after her husband's first wife. Sarah followed in 1887, then Walter in 1888.
Then in February of 1890, at the age of 55, WJ died. From the Manning Times: "After the grave was filled there was a sad and beautiful sight as two little girls named Margaret, one his daughter, the other his granddaughter, came forward and laid the kind and lovely floral offerings on the tomb."
One of the little girls would have been Maggie, who was 5 when her father died. Two of WJ's first batch of children had given the name Margaret to their daughters. I can't find birth dates for them, but I believe it was likely the granddaughter Margaret was close in age to her 5-year-old Aunt Maggie.
September after burying her husband Mary gave birth to a fourth child, Elvira.
How did Mary manage, a widow with four tiny children and 9-year-old Plummer? Did she move in with a stepchild--the oldest should have been well settled then at 35. Did WJ leave her enough property to provide for herself and the children? We don't know how Mary managed. We do know she outlived Elvira, who lived only to the age of 12.We do know that Mary managed well enough to live to the age of 87. And she seemed to have had a loving relationship with WJ and to have endeavored to bring him to life in the eyes of their children. In her letter to Gladys, Maggie wrote this about "Papa":
"I always knew he was of French Huguenot ancestry on his mother’s side. Mama said when she praised his beautiful skin, he would laugh and say, 'that’s my French blood, Mary'."
William James Clark was born in 1835. In 1854, at the age of 19, he married Margaret Ann Stukes, who was only 16. Their first child, William J., was born in 1855. Their second, Martha, in 1857, and their third in 1859. When Margaret Stukes turned 21 she was minding three babies under the age of 3. She had a fourth, Samuel, in 1864, when she was 24. Then the war came, WJ joined the cause, and Margaret caught a break, maybe. Who was around to help her with the little ones? We don't know.
WJ managed to survive the war, otherwise I wouldn't be here to write this. Great-grandmother Leila Inez Clark, the wife of one Preston Thames, the mother of another, and the grandmother of yet another, was born in 1867. Henry came along in 1869, and Margaret Stukes had no more pregnancies for 14 years. We can guess little Inez and Henry got much more attention than their older siblings had had. It ain't over till it's over, though, and in 1881 WJ and Margaret had their last baby , a boy they named Plummer. Two years later, at 45, Margaret died.
WJ married the next year, to 31-year-old Mary Capers McKagen. She became stepmother to seven children between the ages of 2 and 29, but probably other than baby Plummer only the post-war kids, Inez and Henry, 17 and 15, were still at home.
Why was Mary unmarried at 31? Had she been a spinster school teacher? Taking care of a widowed father? Had she been married before, as her double last name suggests? Whatever her circumstances, she was soon pregnant, and gave birth to Margaret in 1885. I like to think she was a sweet generous woman to name her first daughter after her husband's first wife. Sarah followed in 1887, then Walter in 1888.
Then in February of 1890, at the age of 55, WJ died. From the Manning Times: "After the grave was filled there was a sad and beautiful sight as two little girls named Margaret, one his daughter, the other his granddaughter, came forward and laid the kind and lovely floral offerings on the tomb."
One of the little girls would have been Maggie, who was 5 when her father died. Two of WJ's first batch of children had given the name Margaret to their daughters. I can't find birth dates for them, but I believe it was likely the granddaughter Margaret was close in age to her 5-year-old Aunt Maggie.
September after burying her husband Mary gave birth to a fourth child, Elvira.
How did Mary manage, a widow with four tiny children and 9-year-old Plummer? Did she move in with a stepchild--the oldest should have been well settled then at 35. Did WJ leave her enough property to provide for herself and the children? We don't know how Mary managed. We do know she outlived Elvira, who lived only to the age of 12.We do know that Mary managed well enough to live to the age of 87. And she seemed to have had a loving relationship with WJ and to have endeavored to bring him to life in the eyes of their children. In her letter to Gladys, Maggie wrote this about "Papa":
"I always knew he was of French Huguenot ancestry on his mother’s side. Mama said when she praised his beautiful skin, he would laugh and say, 'that’s my French blood, Mary'."
posted by Miss Grimke at
8:23 AM
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