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Biography/History:
William Clark, son of William and Elizabeth Mary Ann Clark, was born in North Carolina on May 15, 1790. He married Louisa Pierce Lanier, daughter of Robert and Edith Lanier. The family moved to Mississippi prior to 1836. Louisa Clark died in 1841. William Clark married Sarah Sutton of Kentucky on June 24, 1846. Clark owned a plantation located in Hinds and Madison counties, Mississippi. He served as state treasurer from 1843 to 1847 and from 1851 to 1854. Clark was president of the board of inspectors for the state penitentiary in Jackson in 1840, and he was a member of the board of trustees of Jackson College in 1846. William Clark died on August 15, 1860.
William and Louisa Clark had five sons: William, Robert, John, Samuel, and James, and four daughters: Louisa, Jane, Elizabeth (Betsy), and Mary. The primary correspondents in this collection are James Clark, Jane Clark Pickett, Louisa Forbes Henry, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Clark Miller. The recipient of many of the letters was Louisa Clark Forbes Boddie.
James Clark served in Company K, Eighteenth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, during the Civil War. He enlisted on April 27, 1862, and he attained the rank of second lieutenant. Clark was captured on May 3, 1863, near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and he was released from the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 1863. He was captured again at Chester Gap, Virginia, on July 27, 1863, and imprisoned on Johnson’s Island in Ohio. Clark was paroled on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox, Virginia.
Louisa Clark was married to Archibald Forbes, and they had three children: Louisa, who married Dr. Edmond Henry; Mary Jane; and Archibald. Following the death of Archibald Forbes, Louisa Clark Forbes married George Boddie, owner of Ellerslie plantation in Madison County, in 1844. They had eight children, two of whom were Claudia Boddie and George Boddie. Louisa Clark Forbes Boddie died on January 14, 1871.
Jane Clark married Micajah Pickett of Yazoo County, Mississippi, in 1844. The couple had no children, but they raised his nieces, Jessie and Lutie.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Clark was born on February 9, 1819. She was married to U. Miller. She had four daughters, two of whom were Katie Miller and Mrs. Robert Hemphill. Elizabeth Clark Miller died on May 6, 1888.
Scope and Content:
This collection contains correspondence and genealogical materials concerning the Clark and Boddie families of Madison County, Mississippi. The majority of the collection consists of Civil War-era correspondence written by the children and grandchildren of William and Louisa Clark. Typewritten transcriptions of many of the letters are included. The letters from James Clark detail his daily life as a Confederate soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia. The correspondence from Jane Clark Pickett, Louisa Forbes Henry, Kate Miller, and Betsy Clark Miller deals with life on the home front during the Civil War.
The collection also contains one 1847 letter from William Clark, the eldest son of William and Louisa Clark, who served in both the Mexican War and Civil War. The letter, apparently written to his brothers, describes conditions in Mexico during the Mexican War.
The will of John C. Clark, a receipt, and two undated fragments are also included. There is one folder of genealogical material that identifies many of the correspondents.
Series Identification:
Box 1, folders 1-7.
Box 1, folders 8-14.
Box 1, folders 15-19.
Box 1, folders 20-21.
Box 1, folders 22-23.
Box 1, folders 24-31.
Box 2, folder 1.
Box 1, folders 32-35.
Box 1, folder 36.