James Alvin Clark

Surnames: CLARK, DEAN, WILLIAMS, KEENE, PARRISH, EDWARDS, BISHOP, JACKSON, MYERS, MILLER, WINFREY, MOORE, TUMLIN

James Alvin CLARK, b December 7, 1878 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi, d July 21, 1946 - was a child of George Washington and Ellisay (DEAN) CLARK, JR., and was brought by his parents to Texas from Mississippi in 1881. The family lived in a small "shotgun" house until a family dwelling and farm buildings could be built, and James Alvin (called "Jim") attended school and church at Pleasant Grove, Falls County, Texas. Jim loved the outdoors and wide open spaces, and did not care for the life of a student - so he withdrew from Baylor University (where he had been sent to further his education), and returned to Rosebud. He was one of the early rural mail carriers out of Rosebud, and it was on his mail route that he met and married on October 10, 1915, Katherine Ann Dobson WILLIAMS, After their marriage, Jim gave up carrying mail, and became engaged in farming, which he continued the rest of his life. James Alvin and Katherine Ann CLARK were the parents of five children:

Evelyn CLARK, b July 23, 1916 - married Sam James LONGWELL, b June 20, 1914 and had two children.

Helen Dean CLARK, b September 28, 1918, reside in Rosebud, Texas - married first to V.L. KEENE and had a son, James Clark KEENE, b September 10, 1942, who married June (maiden name unknown), b in England, and has no children - they reside at present in Virginia, where he is making his career in the U.S. Navy. Helen married second to Hunter L. PARISH. and had one daughter, Brenda PARISH, who died at two days. Hunter worked for Brown and Root Company in New Orleans, Louisiana, when he retired and the family returned to Rosebud. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Eugene Curtis CLARK, (called "Curtis"), b March 8, 1923 - married Marjorie Lou EDWARDS of McGill, Nevada and they had two daughters; Suzette CLARK and Andria CLARK. Curtis is a supervisor in a Canning Company and reside in El Paso, Texas. He served in the Ground Army Air Corps during World War II.

Gloria Bell CLARK, b October 16, 1925 - married Louis Albert TUMLIN, JR. and had two sons.

Mary Joyce CLARK, b September 26, 1919 - married first to Samuel BISHOP and had three children: Samuel Clark BISHOP, b October 18, 1946 - is married and has two sons, and resides in Fort Worth, Texas; Thomas BISHOP, who is married and had two daughters, and reside in Clint (near El Paso), Texas; and Vickie Lynn BISHOP - who married Rupert JACKSON and has three daughters, and reside in Deming, New Mexico. Mary Joyce married second to Max R. MYERS, who worked for Brown and Root in various foreign locals, and retired from that position. He owned a Plastics Plant, which he has sold, They had three children: Max Clark MEYERS, who is married to Rhonda (Maiden name unknown), and has two sons, Ryan and Brian MYERS. Max Clark MYERS is an electrician, and his family reside in Rosebud. Darwin MYERS - who married Melinda (maiden name unknown), had one daughter, Julie; and married secondly to Robin MILLER and has no issue - he is an electrician and resides in Rosebud. Brenda Jo MYERS - the third child of Mary Joyce and Max R. MEYERS - married Rick WINFREY, expects her first child in 1986, and works for the First Consolidated Bank of Rosebud, while Rick is a representative of a company out of Houston, Texas. Mary Joyce and Max R. MEYERS returned to Rosebud after his retirement, where they continue to reside.

In 1930, Jim CLARK became a partner with his brother, Isaac ("Ike") and they were Willy Knight car agents, with their business located at the corner of Main and Second Streets in Rosebud. Fire destroyed the building and its contents in the Spring of 1933.

In December 1944, Mr. CLARK stepped off a curb in front of the First National Bank on Main Street in Rosebud, Texas - preparing to walk to his car across the street. He was hit by an automobile, resulting in the amputation of his left leg. After this accident, he was bedridden until his death July 21, 1946. In his lifetime of sixty-eight years, James Alvin CLARK saw Rosebud grow from a small group of crude buildings to a flourishing town - a good place to live and rear a family.

Mr. Jim's wife, Katherine Ann Dobson WILLIAMS, was b September 10, 1897 near Granger in Williamson County, Texas - a daughter of John Napoleon Bonaparte and Nancy ("Nannie" MOORE) WILLIAMS who moved their family of fourteen children to a farm about five Mlles east of Rosebud. After the death of James Alvin CLARK in 1946, Katherine Ann (often called "Aunt Kate") continued to reside in Rosebud, where she worked as a Licensed Vocational Nurse for thirty years. She now resides in a Rosebud Nursing Home.

Typed by: Phyllis Seeley

Some biographies from "Families of Falls County", compiled and edited by the Falls County Historical Commission.
Permission granted to Theresa Carhart by the Falls County Historical Commission, for use on this page.