2 - John Robert Clark (1880-1942)
John Robert was born on 27 Feb 1880 in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. On 25 Nov 1908 in Delia, Kansas, he married Mabel Rose Brown. Mabel was born on 18 Feb 1888 in Jackson County, Kansas, and died on 11 Mar 1958. Together they had four children. Following is an obituary printed in the Onaga Newspaper: "John R. Clark, second eldest
son of William and Jane Neely Clark, was born February 27, 1880, on the Clark
homestead in the Arispie community southwest
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of Onaga, and passed away at the Genn hospital July 6, 1942, at age 62, after suffering for the past several months from heart disease. With the exception of a few years employed in Kansas City at the commission yards his entire life was spent in various communities of Pottawatomie County.November 25, 1908 , he was united in marriage to Mabel Brown of Delia, KS. To this union four children were born, Mrs. Hazel Flinn of Laclede, Jean, Marvin, and Phyllis of the home. Besides his wife and children he is survived by three grandchildren, Myron Lee, Donald and Barbara Rae Flinn; four brothers, William and Dave of Wheaton, Aaron of Dodge City, and Cecil of Manhattan; Jim preceded him in death a few months ago; five sisters, Mrs. Mary Cornelius and Mrs. Mabel Cornelius of Westmoreland, Mrs. Agnes Canfield of Topeka, Mrs. Bessie Mack of Havensville, and Mrs. Pearl Guy of Manhattan, a step-mother, Mrs. Mary Jackman of Onaga, and a large number of nieces and nephews. Until the past few years he was actively engaged as a stockman, and through this interest made many friends who greatly admired and respected him. Funeral services were held Thursday morning at the Stewart funeral home and were in charge of the Rev. T. W. Twining. Burial was in the Fox Cemetery south of Wheaton."
2.1 - Hazel Irene ClarkHazel was born on 29 Sep 1909 in Wheaton, Kansas. She married Alvah Flinn on 25 Nov 1933 in Manhattan, Kansas. Together they had three children:
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2.2 - Jean Evelyn ClarkJean was born on 21 Sep 1918 in Pottawatomie County, KS. On 7 Sep 1944, she married William Howard Parker in Bennetsville, SC. Together they had three children:
2.3 - Marvin Brown ClarkMarvin was born on 21 Dec 1921 in Pottawatomie County, KS. On 14 Jan 1945 he married Blanche Mae Larsen in Beltrami, MN. In the 1980's, Marvin lived on a farm and worked for Farm Management and Abstract Company. He was also one of a five-man panel of economic specialists who wrote agricultural articles for the Kansas Farmer, a semi-monthly magazine. Together they had two children:
2.4 - Phyllis Maxine ClarkPhyllis was born on 1 Oct 1923 in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. On 16 Feb 1945, she married Earl Wesley Hobbs in Navy Pier Chica, IL. Together they had one child:
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Recalling her grandfather - John Robert Clark - Katherine Hobbs writes, "I do not know much about my Grandfather John Robert. I do know that he played baseball for the Wamego, Kansas League which probably prompted my Grandmother Mabel to love baseball. Told to me from my Great Aunt Charlotte Orsborn nee Brown, sister to Mabel, John Robert treated Mabel like a Queen. For a while John Robert was a Cattle Broker in Kansas City, MO, in the mid 1900's before going back to raising cattle in Kansas. He was considered a wealthy man, and had a maid servant for Mabel. But when the stock market crashed in 1929, he lost a lot of money and he couldn't get anyone to loan him money. In order to run their business, Cattlemen received loans in the spring to purchase cattle and then paid them back in the fall after their sale. With the inability to purchase cattle, John Robert reverted to farming. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at it.
His daughter, my mother, Phyllis Maxine (1923-1971), was a sociopath, and accused one of the hired hands on the farm of raping her. Mabel was positive Phyllis was lying but they couldn't keep the farmhand. John Robert got on the phone and found the accused another job. He even helped pay his salary and took him by carriage to the farmhand's new boss.
John Robert liked cars and never kept them for more than 2 years. He felt that the repairs would cost more than a new car. Grandmother Mabel missed him when he passed away, and she never did utter a bad word about him. While he disliked his stepmother, Mary (Neely-Clark), he did help to raise her children. They were always at his house. He turned white-haired early and my mom, Phyllis, hated to sit on his lap because he had a pot belly. My mom used his wedding suit for her graduation dress."