This bio is made possible with the assistance from the Mobile Public Library Local History and Genealogy colleagues.
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 3 (1921); the Daily Register, Mobile, September 18, 1898; and Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society 1898-1899 Volume III, Thomas McAdory Owen, ed.
Willis Gaylord Cark was born October 27, 1827 in Western New York to Charity Barnard, of Bolton, Massachusetts and Dr. Willie Fish Clark, a prominent New York physician and native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut. He completed his high school education in New York and then spent three years at the collegiate institute at Quincy, Illinois. He returned to New York and taught first in the public schools and then later was appointed principal of the Dansville Academy, spending his spare time in the study of law. In 1845, he read law in the office of Hon. George Hastings in Mount Morris, New York. After completing his clerkship in 1848, he traveled extensively in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia focusing on places of interest as well as infant industries of the area. At this time he wrote political and industrial articles for the "Chronicle" and "Sentinel" in Augusta, Georgia as well as for the "Daily Advertiser" in Mobile. In 1849 he settled in the community of Beaver Meadow in Mobile County and entered the law office of Campbell and Chandler. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1850 and practiced law in Mobile but only for a short period of time.
He accepted the position of editor of "The Southern Magazine" and in 1852 became the temporary editor of Mobile's newspaper, the "Mobile Daily Advertiser" with the absence of then editor Hon. Charles C. Langdon, a position he secured due to his extensive background in writing for various magazines and newspapers. At this time, the idea of establishing a public school system came up for discussion for which he was a strong advocate. He outlined a plan for the schools which was later adopted as the basis of the school system for Mobile. From October, 1852 when the public schools in Mobile were formally organized, Mr. Clark spent considerable time to the advancement of education in Alabama and was an active member of the county board of school commissioners, and up until his death, the president of the organization. He framed the laws now in force governing that system.
Upon his return, Mr. Langdon sold the "Advertiser" to Mr. Clark who retired from his law practice and the editorship of the "Southern Magazine" and continued to edit the "Advertiser" until the Civil War broke out. At that time the "Advertiser" was consolidated with "The Register" and was continued under the name "Advertiser and Register" with Col. John Forsyth as co-editor. In 1867 due to the high price and scarcity of book and news paper, Mr. Clark organized a company for the manufacture of paper and built a mill near Mobile for that purpose. He then sold his interest in the newspaper in order to engage in manufacturing enterprises. He was president of the Washington Avenue Railroad Company and was actively engaged in the manufacture of shingles, naval stores and lumber.
In 1865 he was elected trustee for the University of Alabama, but in 1868 the office was abrogated. In 1876 he was reappointed when the board of trustees was recreated and by successive reappointments he retained the office thereafter. Mr. Clark was chairman of the building committee at the University of Alabama and was successful in getting adequate appropriations from the legislature for the construction of new buildings. In recognition of his service , the trustees named Clark Hall, which at the time was "the largest and handsomest of the structures, in which the great audience hall and the library are situated" in his honor.
On April 11, 1871, Mr. Clark married Caroline (Lina) Erwin Scott, the daughter of Col. John P. Erwin of Nashville. He had one adopted daughter, Bessie Clark, and a stepson, Ledyard Scott from Lina's previous marriage to John Scott.
In 1884, the United States Congress made a donation to the State of Alabama of 46,080 acres of public land within the State for the use by the University. The grant was accepted by the State and the management of the lands was turned over to the University trustees. A committee was appointed with Mr. Clark as chairman, a position he held until his death.
In 1888 and at the request of the commissioner of education, he prepared the monograph "The History of Education in Alabama" covering a period of nearly 200 years. The monograph was published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1889. His additional writings included chapters on "Progress of Education" and "State Industrial Interests" in the Memorial Record of Alabama (1893) as well as a large number of editorial articles and fugitive papers.
Mr. Clark took an active roll in politics during the Reconstruction period and allied himself with the Democratic party. He was chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Mobile county, chairman of the first district executive committee, and was for several years, a member of the state executive committee. In 1885 he was appointed to Collector of the Port of Mobile by President Cleveland and held this position until his commission expired 1889 which was one year after President Harrison took office.
Willis Gaylord Clark passed away on September 10, 1898 in Roanoke, Virginia while returning home from a visit to New York. He was many things to the Mobile community and the State of Alabama; but foremost he was a polished, refined and a true Southern gentleman.
*********************************************************************
January 25, 1990 the Willis G. Clark House (Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest vicinity) was entered into the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, site #MB7580 - NRIS ID 89002454. The architecturally significant Greek Revival Clark house at Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest, is located in a rural setting with pastureland behind. Periods of Significance: 1850-1874 & 1875-1899
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 11, 1898
WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK
The news came last night of the death at Roanoke, Virginia, of Hon. Willis G. Clark, of this city, the father of our public school, a pillar of the University of Alabama, formerly a leader in public affairs in the city and state, an editor and publisher, historian of education in Alabama, collector of the port, a man of culture and refinement, and of an open and lovable disposition.
Mr. Clark was preceded to the better land two months ago by his dearly beloved wife. He seemed much shaken by that sudden and very sad blow, and did not appear to his friends to be destined long to remain separated from her. Consequently, the news which comes is not wholly unexpected, although no warning of his special illness preceded it.
We have not time at this late hour to enlarge upon his excellent character, but shall take fitting opportunity, so that his example may serve as a lesson to those who are now taking the places which the aged are one by one vacating.
************************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 14, 1898, page 8
FUNERAL OF WILLIS G. CLARK
The funeral of Willis G. Clark took place in the Government Street Presbyterian Church yesterday at 4 o'clock. Rev. J.R. Burgett, D.D., conducting the services. The interment was in Magnolia Cemetery, where a profusion of handsome floral designs were placed upon the grave. The school board attended the funeral in a body.
In his address at the church Dr. Burgett made a thoughtful review of the deceased's labors in behalf of education and good government, and drew from the suddenness of Mr. Clark's death a forcible lesson to the living to remember the brevity of life and the duty of so living as to be numbered with the blessed who die in the Lord.
The pallbearers were:
Honorary-Erwin Craighead, D.P. Bestor, F. Forcheirmer, Henry Lesesne.
Active - H.H. Fitzpatrick, Erwin Ledyard, H. Leinkauf, W. Vigor, Dr. T.H. Frazier, M.F. Tucker, J.D. Yerby, George E. Sage.
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 15, 1898, page 4
It is by strange and appropriate chance that the late Willis Gaylord Clark lies in the cemetery next to his old associate, Charles Carter Langdon. When Mr. Ledyard Scott (step-son) applied for a lot in the cemetery, there were no more lots for sale by the city; so he had to bargain with a private owner. So it happened that the place obtained was adjoining that where stands the monument of the deceased secretary of state. As stated in Tuesday's paper, Mr. Clark took Mr. Langdon's place as editor of the Advertiser in 1852, when the latter was temporarily absent, and was afterwards associated with him until the ownership of the paper passed to Mr. Clark. This was an association of their early life; now the two, who were valiant Whigs in that day, lie side by side to all eternity.
*********************************************************************
Family Connections
*Father: Willis Fish Clark, a native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut was a physician in New York for 12 years, then merchant and lumberman
*Mother: Charity (Barnard) Clark, native of Bolton, Massachusetts
*Grandparents: Oliver and Elizabeth (Fish) Clark, lived in Connecticut and New York. Oliver was a soldier in the Revolution; John and Elizabeth (Fallace) Barnard.
*Great-grandparents: William Fallace, land owner in and around Rome, New York. His home was captured by the British and used for army headquarters in the War of 1812.
The Clark and Barnard families are of English descent. Sir Frances Barnard, colonial governor of New Jersey and later governor general of Massachusetts and New Jersey is an ancestor.
*Brother: Francis Barnard Clark
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 3 (1921); the Daily Register, Mobile, September 18, 1898; and Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society 1898-1899 Volume III, Thomas McAdory Owen, ed.
Willis Gaylord Cark was born October 27, 1827 in Western New York to Charity Barnard, of Bolton, Massachusetts and Dr. Willie Fish Clark, a prominent New York physician and native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut. He completed his high school education in New York and then spent three years at the collegiate institute at Quincy, Illinois. He returned to New York and taught first in the public schools and then later was appointed principal of the Dansville Academy, spending his spare time in the study of law. In 1845, he read law in the office of Hon. George Hastings in Mount Morris, New York. After completing his clerkship in 1848, he traveled extensively in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia focusing on places of interest as well as infant industries of the area. At this time he wrote political and industrial articles for the "Chronicle" and "Sentinel" in Augusta, Georgia as well as for the "Daily Advertiser" in Mobile. In 1849 he settled in the community of Beaver Meadow in Mobile County and entered the law office of Campbell and Chandler. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1850 and practiced law in Mobile but only for a short period of time.
He accepted the position of editor of "The Southern Magazine" and in 1852 became the temporary editor of Mobile's newspaper, the "Mobile Daily Advertiser" with the absence of then editor Hon. Charles C. Langdon, a position he secured due to his extensive background in writing for various magazines and newspapers. At this time, the idea of establishing a public school system came up for discussion for which he was a strong advocate. He outlined a plan for the schools which was later adopted as the basis of the school system for Mobile. From October, 1852 when the public schools in Mobile were formally organized, Mr. Clark spent considerable time to the advancement of education in Alabama and was an active member of the county board of school commissioners, and up until his death, the president of the organization. He framed the laws now in force governing that system.
Upon his return, Mr. Langdon sold the "Advertiser" to Mr. Clark who retired from his law practice and the editorship of the "Southern Magazine" and continued to edit the "Advertiser" until the Civil War broke out. At that time the "Advertiser" was consolidated with "The Register" and was continued under the name "Advertiser and Register" with Col. John Forsyth as co-editor. In 1867 due to the high price and scarcity of book and news paper, Mr. Clark organized a company for the manufacture of paper and built a mill near Mobile for that purpose. He then sold his interest in the newspaper in order to engage in manufacturing enterprises. He was president of the Washington Avenue Railroad Company and was actively engaged in the manufacture of shingles, naval stores and lumber.
In 1865 he was elected trustee for the University of Alabama, but in 1868 the office was abrogated. In 1876 he was reappointed when the board of trustees was recreated and by successive reappointments he retained the office thereafter. Mr. Clark was chairman of the building committee at the University of Alabama and was successful in getting adequate appropriations from the legislature for the construction of new buildings. In recognition of his service , the trustees named Clark Hall, which at the time was "the largest and handsomest of the structures, in which the great audience hall and the library are situated" in his honor.
On April 11, 1871, Mr. Clark married Caroline (Lina) Erwin Scott, the daughter of Col. John P. Erwin of Nashville. He had one adopted daughter, Bessie Clark, and a stepson, Ledyard Scott from Lina's previous marriage to John Scott.
In 1884, the United States Congress made a donation to the State of Alabama of 46,080 acres of public land within the State for the use by the University. The grant was accepted by the State and the management of the lands was turned over to the University trustees. A committee was appointed with Mr. Clark as chairman, a position he held until his death.
In 1888 and at the request of the commissioner of education, he prepared the monograph "The History of Education in Alabama" covering a period of nearly 200 years. The monograph was published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1889. His additional writings included chapters on "Progress of Education" and "State Industrial Interests" in the Memorial Record of Alabama (1893) as well as a large number of editorial articles and fugitive papers.
Mr. Clark took an active roll in politics during the Reconstruction period and allied himself with the Democratic party. He was chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Mobile county, chairman of the first district executive committee, and was for several years, a member of the state executive committee. In 1885 he was appointed to Collector of the Port of Mobile by President Cleveland and held this position until his commission expired 1889 which was one year after President Harrison took office.
Willis Gaylord Clark passed away on September 10, 1898 in Roanoke, Virginia while returning home from a visit to New York. He was many things to the Mobile community and the State of Alabama; but foremost he was a polished, refined and a true Southern gentleman.
*********************************************************************
January 25, 1990 the Willis G. Clark House (Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest vicinity) was entered into the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, site #MB7580 - NRIS ID 89002454. The architecturally significant Greek Revival Clark house at Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest, is located in a rural setting with pastureland behind. Periods of Significance: 1850-1874 & 1875-1899
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 11, 1898
WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK
The news came last night of the death at Roanoke, Virginia, of Hon. Willis G. Clark, of this city, the father of our public school, a pillar of the University of Alabama, formerly a leader in public affairs in the city and state, an editor and publisher, historian of education in Alabama, collector of the port, a man of culture and refinement, and of an open and lovable disposition.
Mr. Clark was preceded to the better land two months ago by his dearly beloved wife. He seemed much shaken by that sudden and very sad blow, and did not appear to his friends to be destined long to remain separated from her. Consequently, the news which comes is not wholly unexpected, although no warning of his special illness preceded it.
We have not time at this late hour to enlarge upon his excellent character, but shall take fitting opportunity, so that his example may serve as a lesson to those who are now taking the places which the aged are one by one vacating.
************************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 14, 1898, page 8
FUNERAL OF WILLIS G. CLARK
The funeral of Willis G. Clark took place in the Government Street Presbyterian Church yesterday at 4 o'clock. Rev. J.R. Burgett, D.D., conducting the services. The interment was in Magnolia Cemetery, where a profusion of handsome floral designs were placed upon the grave. The school board attended the funeral in a body.
In his address at the church Dr. Burgett made a thoughtful review of the deceased's labors in behalf of education and good government, and drew from the suddenness of Mr. Clark's death a forcible lesson to the living to remember the brevity of life and the duty of so living as to be numbered with the blessed who die in the Lord.
The pallbearers were:
Honorary-Erwin Craighead, D.P. Bestor, F. Forcheirmer, Henry Lesesne.
Active - H.H. Fitzpatrick, Erwin Ledyard, H. Leinkauf, W. Vigor, Dr. T.H. Frazier, M.F. Tucker, J.D. Yerby, George E. Sage.
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 15, 1898, page 4
It is by strange and appropriate chance that the late Willis Gaylord Clark lies in the cemetery next to his old associate, Charles Carter Langdon. When Mr. Ledyard Scott (step-son) applied for a lot in the cemetery, there were no more lots for sale by the city; so he had to bargain with a private owner. So it happened that the place obtained was adjoining that where stands the monument of the deceased secretary of state. As stated in Tuesday's paper, Mr. Clark took Mr. Langdon's place as editor of the Advertiser in 1852, when the latter was temporarily absent, and was afterwards associated with him until the ownership of the paper passed to Mr. Clark. This was an association of their early life; now the two, who were valiant Whigs in that day, lie side by side to all eternity.
*********************************************************************
Family Connections
*Father: Willis Fish Clark, a native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut was a physician in New York for 12 years, then merchant and lumberman
*Mother: Charity (Barnard) Clark, native of Bolton, Massachusetts
*Grandparents: Oliver and Elizabeth (Fish) Clark, lived in Connecticut and New York. Oliver was a soldier in the Revolution; John and Elizabeth (Fallace) Barnard.
*Great-grandparents: William Fallace, land owner in and around Rome, New York. His home was captured by the British and used for army headquarters in the War of 1812.
The Clark and Barnard families are of English descent. Sir Frances Barnard, colonial governor of New Jersey and later governor general of Massachusetts and New Jersey is an ancestor.
*Brother: Francis Barnard Clark
This bio is made possible with the assistance from the Mobile Public Library Local History and Genealogy colleagues.
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 3 (1921); the Daily Register, Mobile, September 18, 1898; and Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society 1898-1899 Volume III, Thomas McAdory Owen, ed.
Willis Gaylord Cark was born October 27, 1827 in Western New York to Charity Barnard, of Bolton, Massachusetts and Dr. Willie Fish Clark, a prominent New York physician and native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut. He completed his high school education in New York and then spent three years at the collegiate institute at Quincy, Illinois. He returned to New York and taught first in the public schools and then later was appointed principal of the Dansville Academy, spending his spare time in the study of law. In 1845, he read law in the office of Hon. George Hastings in Mount Morris, New York. After completing his clerkship in 1848, he traveled extensively in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia focusing on places of interest as well as infant industries of the area. At this time he wrote political and industrial articles for the "Chronicle" and "Sentinel" in Augusta, Georgia as well as for the "Daily Advertiser" in Mobile. In 1849 he settled in the community of Beaver Meadow in Mobile County and entered the law office of Campbell and Chandler. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1850 and practiced law in Mobile but only for a short period of time.
He accepted the position of editor of "The Southern Magazine" and in 1852 became the temporary editor of Mobile's newspaper, the "Mobile Daily Advertiser" with the absence of then editor Hon. Charles C. Langdon, a position he secured due to his extensive background in writing for various magazines and newspapers. At this time, the idea of establishing a public school system came up for discussion for which he was a strong advocate. He outlined a plan for the schools which was later adopted as the basis of the school system for Mobile. From October, 1852 when the public schools in Mobile were formally organized, Mr. Clark spent considerable time to the advancement of education in Alabama and was an active member of the county board of school commissioners, and up until his death, the president of the organization. He framed the laws now in force governing that system.
Upon his return, Mr. Langdon sold the "Advertiser" to Mr. Clark who retired from his law practice and the editorship of the "Southern Magazine" and continued to edit the "Advertiser" until the Civil War broke out. At that time the "Advertiser" was consolidated with "The Register" and was continued under the name "Advertiser and Register" with Col. John Forsyth as co-editor. In 1867 due to the high price and scarcity of book and news paper, Mr. Clark organized a company for the manufacture of paper and built a mill near Mobile for that purpose. He then sold his interest in the newspaper in order to engage in manufacturing enterprises. He was president of the Washington Avenue Railroad Company and was actively engaged in the manufacture of shingles, naval stores and lumber.
In 1865 he was elected trustee for the University of Alabama, but in 1868 the office was abrogated. In 1876 he was reappointed when the board of trustees was recreated and by successive reappointments he retained the office thereafter. Mr. Clark was chairman of the building committee at the University of Alabama and was successful in getting adequate appropriations from the legislature for the construction of new buildings. In recognition of his service , the trustees named Clark Hall, which at the time was "the largest and handsomest of the structures, in which the great audience hall and the library are situated" in his honor.
On April 11, 1871, Mr. Clark married Caroline (Lina) Erwin Scott, the daughter of Col. John P. Erwin of Nashville. He had one adopted daughter, Bessie Clark, and a stepson, Ledyard Scott from Lina's previous marriage to John Scott.
In 1884, the United States Congress made a donation to the State of Alabama of 46,080 acres of public land within the State for the use by the University. The grant was accepted by the State and the management of the lands was turned over to the University trustees. A committee was appointed with Mr. Clark as chairman, a position he held until his death.
In 1888 and at the request of the commissioner of education, he prepared the monograph "The History of Education in Alabama" covering a period of nearly 200 years. The monograph was published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1889. His additional writings included chapters on "Progress of Education" and "State Industrial Interests" in the Memorial Record of Alabama (1893) as well as a large number of editorial articles and fugitive papers.
Mr. Clark took an active roll in politics during the Reconstruction period and allied himself with the Democratic party. He was chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Mobile county, chairman of the first district executive committee, and was for several years, a member of the state executive committee. In 1885 he was appointed to Collector of the Port of Mobile by President Cleveland and held this position until his commission expired 1889 which was one year after President Harrison took office.
Willis Gaylord Clark passed away on September 10, 1898 in Roanoke, Virginia while returning home from a visit to New York. He was many things to the Mobile community and the State of Alabama; but foremost he was a polished, refined and a true Southern gentleman.
*********************************************************************
January 25, 1990 the Willis G. Clark House (Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest vicinity) was entered into the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, site #MB7580 - NRIS ID 89002454. The architecturally significant Greek Revival Clark house at Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest, is located in a rural setting with pastureland behind. Periods of Significance: 1850-1874 & 1875-1899
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 11, 1898
WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK
The news came last night of the death at Roanoke, Virginia, of Hon. Willis G. Clark, of this city, the father of our public school, a pillar of the University of Alabama, formerly a leader in public affairs in the city and state, an editor and publisher, historian of education in Alabama, collector of the port, a man of culture and refinement, and of an open and lovable disposition.
Mr. Clark was preceded to the better land two months ago by his dearly beloved wife. He seemed much shaken by that sudden and very sad blow, and did not appear to his friends to be destined long to remain separated from her. Consequently, the news which comes is not wholly unexpected, although no warning of his special illness preceded it.
We have not time at this late hour to enlarge upon his excellent character, but shall take fitting opportunity, so that his example may serve as a lesson to those who are now taking the places which the aged are one by one vacating.
************************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 14, 1898, page 8
FUNERAL OF WILLIS G. CLARK
The funeral of Willis G. Clark took place in the Government Street Presbyterian Church yesterday at 4 o'clock. Rev. J.R. Burgett, D.D., conducting the services. The interment was in Magnolia Cemetery, where a profusion of handsome floral designs were placed upon the grave. The school board attended the funeral in a body.
In his address at the church Dr. Burgett made a thoughtful review of the deceased's labors in behalf of education and good government, and drew from the suddenness of Mr. Clark's death a forcible lesson to the living to remember the brevity of life and the duty of so living as to be numbered with the blessed who die in the Lord.
The pallbearers were:
Honorary-Erwin Craighead, D.P. Bestor, F. Forcheirmer, Henry Lesesne.
Active - H.H. Fitzpatrick, Erwin Ledyard, H. Leinkauf, W. Vigor, Dr. T.H. Frazier, M.F. Tucker, J.D. Yerby, George E. Sage.
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 15, 1898, page 4
It is by strange and appropriate chance that the late Willis Gaylord Clark lies in the cemetery next to his old associate, Charles Carter Langdon. When Mr. Ledyard Scott (step-son) applied for a lot in the cemetery, there were no more lots for sale by the city; so he had to bargain with a private owner. So it happened that the place obtained was adjoining that where stands the monument of the deceased secretary of state. As stated in Tuesday's paper, Mr. Clark took Mr. Langdon's place as editor of the Advertiser in 1852, when the latter was temporarily absent, and was afterwards associated with him until the ownership of the paper passed to Mr. Clark. This was an association of their early life; now the two, who were valiant Whigs in that day, lie side by side to all eternity.
*********************************************************************
Family Connections
*Father: Willis Fish Clark, a native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut was a physician in New York for 12 years, then merchant and lumberman
*Mother: Charity (Barnard) Clark, native of Bolton, Massachusetts
*Grandparents: Oliver and Elizabeth (Fish) Clark, lived in Connecticut and New York. Oliver was a soldier in the Revolution; John and Elizabeth (Fallace) Barnard.
*Great-grandparents: William Fallace, land owner in and around Rome, New York. His home was captured by the British and used for army headquarters in the War of 1812.
The Clark and Barnard families are of English descent. Sir Frances Barnard, colonial governor of New Jersey and later governor general of Massachusetts and New Jersey is an ancestor.
*Brother: Francis Barnard Clark
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 3 (1921); the Daily Register, Mobile, September 18, 1898; and Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society 1898-1899 Volume III, Thomas McAdory Owen, ed.
Willis Gaylord Cark was born October 27, 1827 in Western New York to Charity Barnard, of Bolton, Massachusetts and Dr. Willie Fish Clark, a prominent New York physician and native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut. He completed his high school education in New York and then spent three years at the collegiate institute at Quincy, Illinois. He returned to New York and taught first in the public schools and then later was appointed principal of the Dansville Academy, spending his spare time in the study of law. In 1845, he read law in the office of Hon. George Hastings in Mount Morris, New York. After completing his clerkship in 1848, he traveled extensively in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia focusing on places of interest as well as infant industries of the area. At this time he wrote political and industrial articles for the "Chronicle" and "Sentinel" in Augusta, Georgia as well as for the "Daily Advertiser" in Mobile. In 1849 he settled in the community of Beaver Meadow in Mobile County and entered the law office of Campbell and Chandler. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1850 and practiced law in Mobile but only for a short period of time.
He accepted the position of editor of "The Southern Magazine" and in 1852 became the temporary editor of Mobile's newspaper, the "Mobile Daily Advertiser" with the absence of then editor Hon. Charles C. Langdon, a position he secured due to his extensive background in writing for various magazines and newspapers. At this time, the idea of establishing a public school system came up for discussion for which he was a strong advocate. He outlined a plan for the schools which was later adopted as the basis of the school system for Mobile. From October, 1852 when the public schools in Mobile were formally organized, Mr. Clark spent considerable time to the advancement of education in Alabama and was an active member of the county board of school commissioners, and up until his death, the president of the organization. He framed the laws now in force governing that system.
Upon his return, Mr. Langdon sold the "Advertiser" to Mr. Clark who retired from his law practice and the editorship of the "Southern Magazine" and continued to edit the "Advertiser" until the Civil War broke out. At that time the "Advertiser" was consolidated with "The Register" and was continued under the name "Advertiser and Register" with Col. John Forsyth as co-editor. In 1867 due to the high price and scarcity of book and news paper, Mr. Clark organized a company for the manufacture of paper and built a mill near Mobile for that purpose. He then sold his interest in the newspaper in order to engage in manufacturing enterprises. He was president of the Washington Avenue Railroad Company and was actively engaged in the manufacture of shingles, naval stores and lumber.
In 1865 he was elected trustee for the University of Alabama, but in 1868 the office was abrogated. In 1876 he was reappointed when the board of trustees was recreated and by successive reappointments he retained the office thereafter. Mr. Clark was chairman of the building committee at the University of Alabama and was successful in getting adequate appropriations from the legislature for the construction of new buildings. In recognition of his service , the trustees named Clark Hall, which at the time was "the largest and handsomest of the structures, in which the great audience hall and the library are situated" in his honor.
On April 11, 1871, Mr. Clark married Caroline (Lina) Erwin Scott, the daughter of Col. John P. Erwin of Nashville. He had one adopted daughter, Bessie Clark, and a stepson, Ledyard Scott from Lina's previous marriage to John Scott.
In 1884, the United States Congress made a donation to the State of Alabama of 46,080 acres of public land within the State for the use by the University. The grant was accepted by the State and the management of the lands was turned over to the University trustees. A committee was appointed with Mr. Clark as chairman, a position he held until his death.
In 1888 and at the request of the commissioner of education, he prepared the monograph "The History of Education in Alabama" covering a period of nearly 200 years. The monograph was published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1889. His additional writings included chapters on "Progress of Education" and "State Industrial Interests" in the Memorial Record of Alabama (1893) as well as a large number of editorial articles and fugitive papers.
Mr. Clark took an active roll in politics during the Reconstruction period and allied himself with the Democratic party. He was chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Mobile county, chairman of the first district executive committee, and was for several years, a member of the state executive committee. In 1885 he was appointed to Collector of the Port of Mobile by President Cleveland and held this position until his commission expired 1889 which was one year after President Harrison took office.
Willis Gaylord Clark passed away on September 10, 1898 in Roanoke, Virginia while returning home from a visit to New York. He was many things to the Mobile community and the State of Alabama; but foremost he was a polished, refined and a true Southern gentleman.
*********************************************************************
January 25, 1990 the Willis G. Clark House (Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest vicinity) was entered into the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, site #MB7580 - NRIS ID 89002454. The architecturally significant Greek Revival Clark house at Beaver Meadow, Gulfcrest, is located in a rural setting with pastureland behind. Periods of Significance: 1850-1874 & 1875-1899
*********************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 11, 1898
WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK
The news came last night of the death at Roanoke, Virginia, of Hon. Willis G. Clark, of this city, the father of our public school, a pillar of the University of Alabama, formerly a leader in public affairs in the city and state, an editor and publisher, historian of education in Alabama, collector of the port, a man of culture and refinement, and of an open and lovable disposition.
Mr. Clark was preceded to the better land two months ago by his dearly beloved wife. He seemed much shaken by that sudden and very sad blow, and did not appear to his friends to be destined long to remain separated from her. Consequently, the news which comes is not wholly unexpected, although no warning of his special illness preceded it.
We have not time at this late hour to enlarge upon his excellent character, but shall take fitting opportunity, so that his example may serve as a lesson to those who are now taking the places which the aged are one by one vacating.
************************************************************************
Published in the Mobile Register, September 14, 1898, page 8
FUNERAL OF WILLIS G. CLARK
The funeral of Willis G. Clark took place in the Government Street Presbyterian Church yesterday at 4 o'clock. Rev. J.R. Burgett, D.D., conducting the services. The interment was in Magnolia Cemetery, where a profusion of handsome floral designs were placed upon the grave. The school board attended the funeral in a body.
In his address at the church Dr. Burgett made a thoughtful review of the deceased's labors in behalf of education and good government, and drew from the suddenness of Mr. Clark's death a forcible lesson to the living to remember the brevity of life and the duty of so living as to be numbered with the blessed who die in the Lord.
The pallbearers were:
Honorary-Erwin Craighead, D.P. Bestor, F. Forcheirmer, Henry Lesesne.
Active - H.H. Fitzpatrick, Erwin Ledyard, H. Leinkauf, W. Vigor, Dr. T.H. Frazier, M.F. Tucker, J.D. Yerby, George E. Sage.
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Published in the Mobile Register, September 15, 1898, page 4
It is by strange and appropriate chance that the late Willis Gaylord Clark lies in the cemetery next to his old associate, Charles Carter Langdon. When Mr. Ledyard Scott (step-son) applied for a lot in the cemetery, there were no more lots for sale by the city; so he had to bargain with a private owner. So it happened that the place obtained was adjoining that where stands the monument of the deceased secretary of state. As stated in Tuesday's paper, Mr. Clark took Mr. Langdon's place as editor of the Advertiser in 1852, when the latter was temporarily absent, and was afterwards associated with him until the ownership of the paper passed to Mr. Clark. This was an association of their early life; now the two, who were valiant Whigs in that day, lie side by side to all eternity.
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Family Connections
*Father: Willis Fish Clark, a native of Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut was a physician in New York for 12 years, then merchant and lumberman
*Mother: Charity (Barnard) Clark, native of Bolton, Massachusetts
*Grandparents: Oliver and Elizabeth (Fish) Clark, lived in Connecticut and New York. Oliver was a soldier in the Revolution; John and Elizabeth (Fallace) Barnard.
*Great-grandparents: William Fallace, land owner in and around Rome, New York. His home was captured by the British and used for army headquarters in the War of 1812.
The Clark and Barnard families are of English descent. Sir Frances Barnard, colonial governor of New Jersey and later governor general of Massachusetts and New Jersey is an ancestor.
*Brother: Francis Barnard Clark
Family Members
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