1890s

Christmas-Tide: a Turck family tale

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 4 Comments

A True Story! from an unexpected source

Christmas is coming, and to get in the holiday mood, how about a seasonal Turck family anecdote, “a true story,” as related in the pages of Correct English magazine, written, edited and published by Peter Turck’s granddaughter—and Mary (Turck) Clark’s niece—Josephine Turck Baker, and later collected with other similar tales and published as a book, Correct English in the Home, Chicago, 1909.

In the foreword to her book, the author explains:

When I was a little girl, like most children, I was very fond of listening to stories; but unlike most children, I did not care for fairy tales, my first question invariably being, ” IS IT A TRUE STORY?” I don’t want a “once upon a time” story.

This is a true story. The children, their names, the incidents narrated, are all true. Beatrice, Roschen, and the “Boitie,” are my children […]

For those who like really true stories of really true people with really true names, this little book is written. That it may instruct and entertain all readers, both little and big, young and grown up, is the earnest wish of

Yours for Correct English,
Josephine Turck Baker

Our Protagonists

Josephine Turck Baker, pub. 1907
Beatrice Turck Baker, pub. 1909
Roschen Turck Baker, pub. 1909

Photo credits and dates: see notes below. Click gallery for larger images

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But first, a word from our sponsor…

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins.

Caroline (Clark) Woodward, in our first Clark family endorsement!

Here’s something new for Clark House Historian: a commercial endorsement from one of Jonathan and Mary Clark’s children! In June, 1900, our own Caroline M. (Clark) Woodward recommended travel on the Burlington Route in this newspaper ad…

Woodward, Caroline in railroad advertisement, Red Lodge Picket, Red Lodge, Montana, June 1, 1900, page 3. Click to open larger image in new window.

Mrs. C. M. Woodward, well known in W.C.T.U. circles sends us this cheering communication.

“We are enthusiastic in praise of the Burlington tourist sleepers. Berths furnished with hair mattresses, good pillows, clean linen, nice blankets, same as in Pullman sleeper. The car was kept clean and comfortable the entire trip. Passengers of an excellent class.”

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Caroline M. (Clark) Woodward: a closer look at that 1893 biography

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 8 Comments

Today, as we continue to explore the life of Jonathan M. and Mary (Turck) Clark’s eldest child, Caroline Mary Clark—later usually known as Mrs. C. M. Woodward—we’ll take a fact-by-fact look at the biographical sketch of Caroline that was published in 1893, re-printed unchanged in 1897, then abridged and reprinted in 1912. For a full discussion of these three publications, see last Monday’s Caroline M. (Clark) Woodward: first steps toward a biography.

Willard, Frances E., and Mary A. Livermore. 1893. A woman of the century ; fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life ; ed. by Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, assisted by a corps of able contributors, title page and page 779.

Today’s post will be less of a fully-formed essay, and more of a running analysis, commentary, and proof-reading of this 1893 biographical sketch. We’ll take one portion at at time, starting at the beginning. The source text will be presented as a shaded quotation, followed by my commentary and corrections in simple black text on white background, with highlighted links to additional sources and explanations and, of course, a few footnotes, too. Here we go…

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Caroline M. (Clark) Woodward: first steps toward a biography

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 3 Comments

In our most recent blog post, Another family portrait! Caroline (Clark) Woodward, c. 1890s, we located and discussed the history of a previously unknown photo of Jonathan M. and Mary (Turck) Clark’s eldest child, Caroline Mary Clark, later usually known as Mrs. C. M. Woodward:

Townsend Elite Studio, [Portrait, Caroline M. (Clark) Woodward], inscribed “Mrs. C. M. Woodward, Supt. Work among Railroad Employes, N.W.C.T.U.”, photograph, circa 1889-1900. Photo courtesy Frances Willard House Museum & WCTU Archives, Evanston, Illinois. Click to open larger image in new window.

Caroline’s life was the most public—and perhaps best documented—of all the members of Jonathan M. Clark family, and is overdue for a closer examination. So today we begin a multi-part look at Caroline’s story, starting with three biographical sketches that were published during her lifetime.

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A Dental Divertimento…

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 2 Comments

UPDATED, September 17, 2021, to add a few details about the Morrison children, Jennie’s dental practice in the 1880s and ’90s, and the date of her divorce from second husband A. G. Widger.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I won’t be blogging much this week. (Let’s just say that the cause of my hiatus has inspired today’s post, featuring a brief introduction to the life of the Clarks’ youngest child, Dr. Jennie M. Clark, D.D.S.)

Unknown photographer, [Dentist], daguerreotype with applied color, circa 1855. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment. CC0. si.edu. Click to open larger image in a new window.

Clark House dentists

I’m not sure who Mequon’s first dentist was, or when he set up shop. It’s entirely likely that the Jonathan Clark family did not visit a dentist until they moved to Milwaukee (and they still may not have seen a dentist once there). But Mequon’s Jonathan Clark House plays an important part in the lives of two Mequon/Milwaukee area dentists.

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Tintypes! part 2

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 4 Comments

Dating and interpreting old photographs, part 4 of 4

In our final look at photographs from the family of early Mequon settlers Cyrus and Sarah (Strickland) Clark, we’ll look at two more tintypes, one full-length portrait of Cyrus Clark, and a similar dual portrait of Cyrus and daughter Ida Estella (Clark) Van Slyke. We will examine the clothing, props, backgrounds and other aspects of both photographs, and try and determine when and where the photos were taken.

If you missed our previous explorations in photo analysis and the lives of Cyrus and Sarah Clark, you may—at least—want to check our previous tintype post, Why is Cyrus smiling?, before heading on to these wonderful photos:

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Sarah and Cyrus: A Closer Look

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 6 Comments

Dating and interpreting old photographs, part 1

Our recent look at the lives of Cyrus Clark and Sarah Strickland Clark (here, here, here, and here) would not have happened without the interest of—and information shared by—Clark and Strickland descendants Steven Clark Van Slyke and Lynnette Thompson. I love “filling in the blanks” of local and family history, and discovering more about Cyrus and Sarah has been a very enjoyable challenge.

For me, one of the real pleasures of the project came from the Cyrus and Sarah (Strickland) Clark photos that Steve and Lynette were so kind to share. Both were keen to learn more about the photos, where and when were they taken, how old were the sitters, and so forth. So, in the spirit of adventure, here is our first Clark House Historian attempt at analyzing historic photos1.

We’ll start with the only photograph I have of Sarah Strickland Clark. Here’s the front:

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Monday: Map Day! – Another Clark Family

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins. / 5 Comments

This week we take a break from our usual focus on the extended Jonathan M. and Mary (Turck) Clark family and begin a week of posts about two remarkable, original Mequon settlers and Clark House neighbors: Sarah Allise Strickland (1823-1891) and her husband, Cyrus Clark (1815-1905).

Sarah A. Strickland was born and raised in Nova Scotia, the eldest child of Daniel and Matilda Strickland. Her family was one of the original white settler families in the area; they were enumerated in Milwaukee County on Wisconsin’s first territorial census in 1836.1

Cyrus Clark was born in western Massachusetts and was in Mequon by about 1839. He married Sarah Strickland in Grafton, Washington (later Ozaukee) County, on March 1, 1841. They lived almost forty years in Wisconsin. First in Mequon and Cedarburg, Washington/Ozaukee) County, and then divided their time between their farm in Moscow, Iowa County, and homes of one or more adult children in Oshkosh, Winnebago County. So how—and why—did they end up in South Dakota at the end of their days?

It’s an interesting story, and one that illustrates a characteristic type of pioneer experience: the continued drive to push westward, on to new frontiers and new challenges. It may seem cliché to us, but it was a real, lived experience for many of Cyrus and Sarah’s generation. This week’s posts will look at a number of key moments in their long lives, especially the decades they spent in Wisconsin. And we have some unique and new sources to share, too.

Beginning at the end…

Click to open larger image in new window.

Gravestones of Cyrus Clark and Sarah A. (Strickland) Clark, Graceland Cemetery, Madison, South Dakota.
Photo by Steve Van Slyke, used by permission.

We begin the story of Cyrus and Sarah Clark at the end, in Lake County, South Dakota, their final resting place. And not one, but two maps today, all of which take us far from Mequon and the Jonathan M. Clark house.

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Finding Your Mequon Roots (part 3)

/ Clark House Historian Reed Perkins.

This is Part 3 of our short introduction to Finding Your Mequon Roots. If you haven’t already, I recommend starting with Part 1 and Part 2.

Before we take a break from our Mequon neighbors of the 1900s and return to Jonathan Clark and his family in the mid-1800s, let’s take a look at a few more “macro” and “micro” things one can find by taking a closer look at a U.S. census population schedule. Once again, here’s the Becker family of Mequon, as found on lines 32 to 34 of this 1900 U.S. federal census population schedule: Continue reading →