"Ancestrees"

Andrew James CLARK ^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

  General Notes:

Biographical Data for Andrew James Clark & Family

Andrew James Clark and Lola Tobin lived in Columbus for a while, then moved to Thurman (Centerville) where he had a little store. A barber shop was connected to it where his son William Edward Clark was a barber. Then, A.J., as he was called, set up a general store in Rio Grande. It was connected to a very large house: Three floors, fireplace in every bedroom, the dining room table could hold 30 people, chimes were rung to let everyone know dinner was served. A.J. first bought merchandise for the store at a cost of $900.00. He made about $1000.00 a year in profit from this shop. He and Talmadge Cottrell, his son-in-law, finally bought and owned the house and adjacent store after several years business. (CL-103) When I saw it on a 1979 visit to Rio Grande, it was being used as a dormitory for Rio Grande College and was a ghost of the grandness that it used to be. As of 1985, it is no longer standing.

According to tax receipts for Andrew J. Clark's property (now in the possession of Linda Coate Dudick), he owned multiple pieces of property. Around 1900 he owned 50 acres in section 34 and section 26 in Raccoon Township, Gallia Co., Ohio Fifty acres adjoining his property in section 34 belonged to his wife Lola C. Clark in a 1900 map. (CL-12) In Dec. of 1936: Lot 22, 23, 27, and 28 in Rio Grande and Lot 41. (CL-DOC)

Andrew James Clark had a very good mind and was mathematically inclined. His newspaper obituary states that he was a "well known and leading citizen ... the head of an excellent family." (CL-DOC) He was a member of the Methodist Church in Rio Grande. He died of a heart attack while playing checkers, a game he loved. He and his neighbors played checkers around the pot bellied stove in his grocery store and talked about politics and religion. He didn't like the children sitting on the store's counter top. He told them they would have to pay him if they did. He spit out his tobacco while driving his car and the whole family would duck to keep away from the flying tobacco. He lost his glasses often, and usually they could be found on top of his head!

Most of these recollections were provided by my mother, Marcena Irene Clark Coate, a granddaughter of Andrew James Clark. Her strongest memory of her grandmother, Lola Tobin Clark, happened when Marcena wore her first pair of slacks to her grandmother's house. Lola firmly reprimanded her saying, "Girls don't wear pants. Go home and take them off. Don't ever wear them again." Marcena didn't wear them for years afterwards, either. (CL-53, 103)

  Noted events in his life were:

• Probate, 11/25/1938, , Gallia, OH, USA. ¹⁰

• Probate, 7/13/1940, , Gallia, OH, USA. ¹¹

Andrew married Lola Cora TOBIN, daughter of Wesley TOBIN and Mary Ann DANNER, on 1/7/1883 in Rio Grande, Gallia, OH, USA.¹ (Lola Cora TOBIN was born on 2/5/1862 in , Gallia, OH, USA,¹ died on 6/8/1940 in Rio Grande, Gallia, OH ^{1 12} and was buried about 6/11/1940 in , Gallia, OH, USA.)