Michael Clark
Michael Clark has been a resident of Allamakee county since
1853 and is numbered among the oldest men in this part of Iowa,
being among the very earliest settlers. He has witnessed
practically the entire growth of the county, for few settlements
had been made within its borders at the time of his arrival, and
all the evidences of frontier life were to be seen, while the
hardships and trials incident to pioneer existence were to be
met. Mr. Clark was born September 22, 1819, and has therefore
almost reached the ninety-fourth milestone on life’s
journey. His career has been characterized by unfaltering
determination and well directed labor, and his fine farm of one
hundred and sixty acres is the visible evidence of his lifelong
industry and thrift.
Michael Clark is a native of County Monahon, Ireland and was born
in the same year which witnessed the birth of queen Victoria and
in 1844 he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling first in
Canada, where he remained for four years. At the end of that time
he removed to Livingston county, New York, and from there to
Allamakee county, Iowa, in 1853. For several years he engaged in
getting out wood to supply to steamers on the Mississippi river,
and he lived during that time at Johnsonport. Soon after his
arrival here he bought one hundred and sixty acres of wild land
on section 29, Taylor township, and several years later located
on the property, where he has since continued to reside, bearing
an active and honorable part in the work of upbuilding which has
transformed this part of the state from a frontier wilderness
into a prosperous and growing county. With characteristic energy
he began developing his farm, clearing the timber and erecting
upon it substantial buildings. He has today a well improved
property, which is under the management of his son, and which in
its neat and attractive appearance indicates the many years of
careful supervision which the owner has bestowed upon it.
Mr. Clark has been twice married. In Canada he married Miss Mary
Brady and by her had two children, one of whom, Mrs. Mary Murril,
resided in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Mr. Clark’s second
wife was in her maidenhood Miss Bridget Marn, and she passed away
February 15, 1902, leaving four children: Eva, the wife of John
Hart, of Waterville, Iowa; John, who operated his father’s
farm; Anna, who lives at home; and Nell, the wife of Amos Damon,
of Harper’s Ferry, Iowa.
Mr. Clark is a member of the Roman Catholic church and guides his
honorable and upright life by the principles in which he
believes. He has been at all times interested in the welfare of
the county and has given active cooperation to many movements for
the public good. Living in Allamakee county for fifty years, he
is one of the best known citizens of his locality, being widely
recognized as a man of tried integrity and worth, of business
enterprise and unfaltering diligence.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
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