Family/Spouse: Amy Lynn MURPHY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Katelynn Marie GETZ

William married Constance Louise CONLIN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charles married Wanda Evans CLARK on 18 Dec 1945 in Hamilton, Butler, OH, USA. Wanda (daughter of William Edward CLARK and Grace EVANS) was born on 28 Nov 1910 in Rio Grande, Gallia, OH; died on 5 May 1991 in Hamilton, Butler, OH, USA; was buried on 9 May 1991 in St. Stephen's Cemetery, Hamilton, Butler, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wanda was a beloved Aunt. She was an attractive woman, five foot, eight inches in height. She went to Rio Grande College for two years and Ohio State University for two years to get her teaching degree. According to "Gallia County One-Room Schools: The Cradle Years", she taught at Pleasant Valley One Room School in 1931/32 outside Rio Grande, Ohio. According to papers in her son's possession, she was actually a teacher for 2 years there. This was the same one room school where she and her sisters went one year as children, and her mother went as a child. The third year, she was told she had the job to teach there but the board told her father that they wanted a kick-back in funds before they'd give her the position again. He refused as that was an illegal practice and that's when she and Marcena went to Hamilton, Ohio to live to be with there sister, Avenelle, who had just gotten a divorce and had a small child to care for. My mother was a senior in High School at the time and had to switch schools to be able to help her sister. Wanda then became a teacher in Butler County, Ohio for 30 years. She taught fourth, fifth and sixth grades throughout her career. Her husband had been fighting lung cancer for two years before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after her father's death. She raised her children from their preteens upward herself. She was a very loving mother. She said she never felt the need to remarry as Charlie was her life's love.

I remember her as a very thoughtful and thought provoking person. She often went her own direction in beliefs. She believed in angels and reincarnation and was a staunch Catholic, all at the same time. She was able to rid herself of cancer which she contracted at about age 65 by changing her diet and following the advice of the physic, Casey, in his books. It was the second attack of cancer that took her life at age 80. She had a memorable laugh, and was easy to be around. She also loved to travel, and spent much of her retirement in fascinating trips with her best friends. I would like to spend my retirement just as she did. (C-1071)

Charles married Anna Mary HOLBROOK. Anna was born about 1871 in , , OH, USA; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

William was the oldest of seven children and only son born to Andrew and Lola Tobin Clark. He assisted his father in the operation of his store while a youth.

When William Edward Clark was dating his wife Grace Evans Clark, he sent her a postcard from Rio Grande to Vinton, Ohio. It is mentioned because it is still in possession of Linda Coate Dudick in the Clark Document File, and because it was so formal, not written on except for William Edward Clark's initials. His future bride obviously saved it as a special memory.

During their marriage and lifetime together, he operated a small grocery store in Rio Grande and worked as a carpenter-building many complete homes totally by hand in his Rio Grande community. He also did some farming which helped his daughters feel little effect of the Depression. In the 1930 census for Rio Grande, Ohio, he is listed as a mechanic by trade working in a garage. They owned their home which was valued at $1600.00 at the time. They lived next door to Barbara Tobin. He owned one of the first cars in Rio Grande and ran a kind of "Taxi" service. (C-687)

William Clark was a member of the Raccoon Fox Hunters Association. A newspaper clipping in his Memorial book, states that a hunt was dedicated to W.E. Clark, who was one of the "leading fox hunters of Rio Grande." (CL-191a) Another newspaper clipping in Washington's Birthday, 1949 reported that Bill Clark's dog took the lead among 45 hounds and 150 hunters. (CL-DOC) He was also a member of the Simpson Valley Methodist Church in Rio Grande. (CL-DOC) A transcription of a newspaper article in the GALLIPOLIS (O.) DAILY, dated approximately Feb. 19, 1958 follows. The original is in possession of Marcena Clark Coate.

"William Clark of Rio Grande Dies Wednesday William (Will) Edward Clark, 74, a lifelong resident of the Rio Grande community died in Holzer Hospital at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. He had been a patient at the hospital since Sunday. He was born at Rio Grande, the eldest of seven children born to the late Andrew and Lola Tobin Clark, on Dec. 7, 1883. He assisted his father in operation of a store in the old Clark home on the college corner in the village. Later (it became the property of) Rio Grande College and is used for dormitory purposes. In later years he was engaged as a carpenter and built several homes in the community. His marriage to the former Grace Evans took place on April 7, 1909, and three daughters along with the wife survive, Mrs. Charles (Wanda) Getz, Mrs. Paul (Avanell) Sunderhaus and Mrs. Albert (Marcena) Coats, all of Hamilton. A grandson, Robert Hall, was reared in their home. Other survivors are six sisters, Mrs. Edith Henson of Rio Grande, Mrs. Mary Lewis and Mrs. Nellie Cottrell, both of Columbus, Mrs. Sophia Liggett of Detroit, Mich., Mrs. Lola Merriam of Adrian, Mich., and Mrs. Wilbur Alban of near Thurman. Clark was a member of the Simpson Chapel Methodist church at Rio Grande and of the Methodist Men's brotherhood and the Raccoon Fox Hunter club. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Simpson Chapel church. Rev. George Holcombe will officiate and burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery under the direction of the Steve Thomas Funeral home. The body will lie in state at the church for one hour before the service. Friends may call at the funeral home in Thurman after 6 p.m. Thursday and until the funeral hour. The family requests that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Gallia County chapter, American Heart society." (CL-53b)

William married Grace EVANS on 7 Apr 1910 in Gallipolis, Gallia, OH, USA. Grace (daughter of David O. EVANS and Margaret S. MORGAN) was born on 19 Jul 1887 in Raccoon Twp., Gallia, OH, USA; died on 4 Sep 1974 in Hamilton, Butler, OH, USA; was buried on 6 Sep 1974 in Rio Grande, Gallia, OH. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Grace was the youngest child in her family. Between 1897 and 1900 she was attending Pleasant Valley School along with her sister, Ivy Evans. The only picture ever found of her as a child was a class picture taken sometime between these years in Raccoon Twp. She had long dark hair that went down her back in ringlets. As a young women, she was considered the prettiest woman in Rio Grande. Her mother died when she was just 13 and her father died exactly 3 years after his wife when Grace was only 16. Being the youngest in the family, she was the only able bodied person still at home. Her older sister, Barb, lived at home, but had rheumatism. Barb always acted as if she was very fragile, and poor Grace had to take care of her sister and the farm. It was a very difficult time. Grace had wanted to go onto High School, considered "Higher Education" at the time, but was needed at home full time after her mother's death. Grace still wanted her diploma even to the end of her days. Her desire for a good education was probably why all three of her daughters went to college and became teachers. (CL-97)

I remember her as a very sweet grandmother. She was animated in a gentle way. She had a myriad of unusual expressions or so it seemed to her grandchildren. These are a few of them that her grand daughter Grace Ann Getz remembers: "Pert near"=almost, "land sakes" or "land of Goshen" to exclaim surprise, "slop bucket dutch" to describe the mixture of countries her husband's ancestors were from (English, Scotch, etc.), and "cake of gum" for what we'd call a stick of chewing gum. (CL-496) When I told her I was getting married, she answered "Well I'll just have to climb a tree" referring to the passage in the bible where the tax collector climbed the tree to see Jesus. When something was important to the telling of her story, she'd lower her voice almost to a whisper and slap her thigh in a soft manner. When she laughed hard, the sound came out in a series of snorts. She always showed affection with a series of short pats on your back, a tradition that has carried down to me. When she was really surprised, her mouth would form an open O or oval and freeze in place. I hope you can tell that we dearly loved and respected her.

The following story is written by my cousin Grace Ann after a conversation with my mother, Marcena, Grace's daughter. "Grace Evans Clark should be remembered for the great person that she was. She worked hard all of her life for her family. One of Grace's dreams was to have a good education. At the age of thirteen she asked the Allen's, a wealthy family from Rio, if she could be a nanny to their child, and live with them so she could go to high school in Rio Grande. Just as that was about to happen, David Evan's, Grace's father called her back to the farm. He needed help because Susannah Evans, Grace's mother, had passed away.

At the age of sixteen, Grace's father died, leaving her to tend to the duties of the farm. There she lived with her older sister Barb. Barb could not do heavy work because she was had rheumatism. Grace had to feed the chickens and milk the cows among other chores on the farm.

When Grace would go into the little town of Rio Grande to shop for supplies, her chestnut hair and fair skin caught the eye of the store owner's young son, Will Clark. Later they fell in love and had a family. Will and Grace and the three children had a farm on the outside of Rio Grande. Eventually they moved into town and Will, with his great ideas, supported the family. Before he built his own house he rented the Smeltzer house and built a garage to work on cars. To make more money he made and sold his ice cream, and then decided to sell candy.

When Will's father passed on, he bought the goods from his father's store and built his own business. Will was a very hard worker and a man of many talents: A gardener, a store and gas station owner, a hunter, and a carpenter. He worked hard to make money to send his daughters, Wanda, Avenel and Marcena to college. Although Will made a lot of the girl's tuition, we can't forget what Grace did to pay for them to go to school.

Grace had an unfulfilled dream to be educated, so she was determined to work hard to make sure her daughter's were able to go to college. Since Rio Grande was a college town, the need to take in students was at hand. Grace and Will took in several young men and gave them food and a place to stay. Every day Grace would cook meals for these students and wash all of their bedding and towels on a wash board. Beside that she cared for her own children and worked in the store with her husband. When the girls grew older, Will thought it wise to board women instead of male students. Grace was still cooking and washing for everyone and working in the store. Although she never complained, Will noticed that this was a lot of work for his wife. So he built a small kitchen so the women students could cook their own food. This lightened some of the burden for Grace.

During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt created jobs for Americans out of work. One program was called the WPA. The WPA workers came through Rio Grande to put in pipes so that the residents could have plumbing and build indoor bathrooms. Will and Grace had raised a calf for food, but while raising her, the family became very attached. She was like a pet. After she was butchered the family could not bare to eat the beef. Instead of letting the meat go to waste, Will decided to set up tables and chairs in the garage. Grace cooked soup and made sandwiches out of the beef to feed to the very grateful WPA workers.(Just a short note - the people called WPA workers "We Poke Alongs" because the workers were getting paid by the hour, so they, of course, took their good old time.)

So you see, Will and Grace Clark worked very hard to make money for their girls to go to college. Together they succeeded, all three daughters went to college and became teachers. But Grace did the work of two or three women. She cared for her own family, took in boarders, and helped her husband maintain the town grocery. How many women do you know that could work as hard as Grace Clark? As recalled by her youngest daughter, Marcena, 'Even though Mama did all of this work, she was always kind and gentle. She never complained, and was so humble she didn't speak a word of her sacrifice. I never remember her raising her voice once. One of the only things she did for herself, was to nap in the afternoon.' "