BOLIN CLARK Submitted by Patricia Stanley DEC 1998 Excerpts from a story by Bessie Abigt [granddaughter of BOLIN CLARK] Written in 1982, AT AGE 95. [sent to me from Lucille Stark Fowler, Laramie, Wyo. Her aunt was Bessie Abigt. PLMS] "I was born in 1887 at the home of my grandparents, Bolin and Nicey Clark in Caverna, Missouri, McDonald County, in the Jane, Missouri area. They had a nice place. Grandpa Clark had neglected to take care of a legality of some kind in regard as to ownership of the property. I don't know if the deed wasn't recorded or what. Anyway, he has been told that someone could claim his property, and take it away from him. He could not believe anyone could be that mean, but later on, this happen and they lost their home. Around 1897 my father Sam Stark, bought a farm in Benton County, Ark. and grandpa and grandma came to live with us. One night, my mother heard grandpa Clark talking real loud. She coulden't imagine what was wrong, as he was a quiet spoken man, and this was unusual. Grandpa Clark said he told her, he would be dead, and he did not want to be buried in White Rock Cemetery, in Missouri, as it was too far away. He died as he said and was buried on our farm .. in a small cemetery, where our baby Nellie was buried. [Benton County Deeds Book 39,page 572-dated 8 Jan 1894- J.S. Stark S11 T20 R29 30 square foot cemetery on property-called Moore Cemetery. As Bolin Clark's name was not found in the 1900 Census, it is believed that he died sometime between 1894 and 1900, and is buried in Moore's Cemetery.] Bessie [Stark] Abigt father's name was Samuel. He went by the name of Sam not J. He added the J. for business reasons. He was the youngest of 4 children. His sisters were Harriet Stark Howell [she was last heard of in Venita, Okla] and his children were Ed, Kate and Homer Hart. Martha Starkpope had the following children: Willie, Alva, Ora, Fay, Carrie, Colla and Grace. She and Seth later separated. She was last heard of in the Bingham Ill. area. She died near Galveston, Texas. Rumor was that her husband killed her. At the close of the Civil War, my grandmother, Rebecca Stark had lost their holdings in North Carolina, and grandfather had died while serving as a Cobbler for the Confederacy. The negroes had been freed. She decided to take her children and go to her sister, who lived in Illinois. The slaves cried and wanted to go with her. Samuel was then 3 years old. Before my father's marriage to my mother, Susan Clark, he and his mother had a home together either in Arkansas or Southern Missouri, most likely in Missouri, as his sister lived in Southern Missouri for a time. My mother had a sister named Sarah, so we called father's sister Aunt Sally. My father went into partnership with a Carl Hathaway in a small mill operation in Rogers Ark. I started school there, my sisters and brothers born there were Christopher, 1888, Alice 1891, Cora Ethel 1892, Fred 1893, Mattie Mabel 1895, and Charlie 1890. My brother Charlie liked John Burke, a neighbor and sawmill worker so well that he called himself John, and was known as John the rest of his life. He was named after my Mother's brother Charlie. Little Alice was buried here. I remember visiting Aunt Sally and Uncle John Hoeton and family in Missouri. We were impressed by their nice house, furnishings and good meals. Uncle John had Reca horses. They later moved to Texas and Aunt Sally died there. We also liked to visit Aunt Sarah and Uncle John Jackson. They also had a large family: Charlie, Jim, Lizzie, Fred and Myrtle. They were quite musical and all sang together and played the organ. They were a nice family. When my father made enogh money at the sawmill, he bought a farm in Benton County, Ark. 1 1/2 miles from Brightwater, on Sugar Creek. Uncle Charlie Clark moved on the farm with my mother and us children. He put in the crop with our help, as father disposed of the sawmill as yet. My father built a new house there, it was painted white, trimmed in blue. The children born there were: Ollie 1897, Clint 1898, Earl 1899 and Nellie 1901. Grandpa and grandma lived with us. Grandma Stark had moved back to Illinois, so dad decided to sell the farm and move to Ill. also. Grandma Clark remained with some of her family in Missouri. We had 2 wagons and 2 good teams. It took all day to travel through St. Louis. We had 2 dogs. A policeman said the dogs would have to be tied to the wagons, or stay inside. The small dogs was no problem, as he liked to ride, but "ole Watch" had neither been tied or stayed in the wagon. We put a rope around his neck and put him in the wagon. We had to cross 7 street car tracks with street cars coming and going. It was pretty nerve racking for the drivers as well as the whole family. We forgot about watching the dog "ole Watch" jumped out and hung. We couldn't stop and everyone yelling "you're killing your dog". Luckily it was an old rope, and finally broke allowing "ole Watch" to walk under the wagon with a short piece of rope around his neck. No one bothered him. We crossed the Mississippi on the Eads Bridge when we reached East St.Louis, we had a good meal of Bologna sandwiches. We saw hatracks loaded with cabbages and negroes picking pecans. We traveled east and north to Fayette county, around 50 miles, and purchased a farm on the outskirts of Bingham, Ill. Our house was in town, and our farm was in the country." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Census 1860-1880 Family #564. 1860 Benton County Arkansas, Osage Township-page 20 Bolin Clark 41 N.C. Farmer. Elizabth 33 KY Mary 12 TN [this is Bo Clark's first family; it looks as if they Amanda 05 Ark [ lost some children between Mary and Amanda] Franklin 04 Ark. Ambrose 02 Ark. 1870 Benton County Census-Osage Township page 10. Bowlen CLark 51 S.C. Lucy [misread] 33 Tenn. Franklin 13 Ark Ambrose 11 Ark. Robert 09 Ark. Angeline 08 Ark. Sarah 03 Ark. Charles 5/12 Ark. It seems as though "Nicey" was Bolin's 2nd wife and that he married her after the birth of Angeline and before Sarah's birth. The last three children are from the marriage of "Nicey" and Bolin. 1880 Benton County Census-Osage Township p.541. Bolin Clark 60 Ala. Ga. Ga. [birthplace of self father and mother] Nicey 43 Tn Ga Ga, Martha 18 Ark. Al Tn [Angeline in other census] Robert 19 Ark. Al Tn Sarah 13 Ark. Al Tn Susannah 12 Ark. Al Tn Charles 10 Ark. Al Tn Albert 08 Ark. Al. Tn Bolin must have migrated to Arkansas or Missouri before 1855 as Mary, the 1st child was born in Tennessee in 1848 and Amanda was born in Arkansas in 1855. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bolin Clark b. 1819 Pendleton District S.C. [ Married [2nd wife] 1866, Benton County Ark. Died about 1900 Benton County Ark. Event 1: 1860 Benton County Ark Census 1st wife 4 ch. Event 2: 1870 Benton County Ark. 2nd wife 7 ch. Father MICAJAH CLARK JR. Mother JANE Other wives Elizabeth Holcomb Wife. Eunice Matilda [Nicey] Caudill Kibby. B. Dec. 2. 1838 Tennessee. D. Jan 1. 1934. Carroll County Ark. Event 1 1866. Probably a widow had one child Louisa. Bolin's children with second wife: (1) Sarah Elizabeth CLark b. Feb 28 1867 Benton County Ark. d. July 9. 1930 Bentonville Benton Ark. m. 1895 John W.Jackson in Ark. (2) Susannah Clark b. Apr. 12 1868 Jane, McDonald Co., Mo. d. Sep.12, 1940 Green Forest Ark. m. John Samuel Stark. (3) Charles Clark b. Jan 15, 1870 Benton Co. Ark. d. Feb. 12, 1933 at Jane, Mo m. Nancy Isabella Stroud. (4) Albert Clark b. 1871 Benton Co. Ark. d. 1936 Jane, McDonald Co., Mo.