Kindex

10

In a letter to his parents when he was thirteen years old and in Georgetown, Wilford said,

"I like this country! … there was Libby Hess. She had her chores each week to do. I helped her milk her cows, and she helped me milk my cows."

-Heber D. Clark, Wilford's nephew, was the son of Hyrum Don Carlos Clark, who was Wilford's older brother, 1964.

Wilford had been named after the Apostle (and later Prophet) who was so close to Grandfather Timothy and Father Ezra during their Nauvoo days. The Ezra T. Clarks had even looked after Apostle Woodruff's wife, Phebe, during his mission to England, for which he was grateful. 

NOTE:  Add or Omit the following story? (less good?)

"The story has been told that once when President Wilford Woodruff was staying in my grandmother's home in Farmington, he observed that she had several sons named after prominent men in the Church. She had a Joseph Smith Clark, a Hyrum Clark, and a Charles Rich Clark. He asked her, 'Sister Clark, why is it you don't have a son named for me?'  She replied, 'President Woodruff, the next son I have will be named for you!' The next son was named Wilford Woodruff Clark -- and he became my father!"

- LeOra Clark (Larsen), 1992.

As with his brothers, Wilford was destined to become one cog in the wheel that kept turning under the direction of Father Ezra to the mutual profit of all his family:

"Edward was foreman for E. T. Clark & Sons, and supervised the putting up of hay at Farmington. Wilford had charge of the Georgetown property.  Later, Edward's son, Walter, went to Georgetown each autumn and brought the cattle back to Farmington. They were returned to Georgetown in the spring."

-Walter Edward Clark, Wilford's nephew, was the son of Edward B. Clark, who was Wilford's older brother, 1961.

Looking back on his travels at age 14, Wilford reported the following:  

"I rode my horse into Corinne (Utah, near the Great Salt Lake) in 1877 while hunting a couple of horses we had lost. I did not expect to find the horses in the city, but I had heard so much about the place from freighters that I was curious to see for myself. So I rode a few extra miles and was fully satisfied, as the large stables, many saloons, and the wild people running about gave me a satisfied feeling that it was a very wicked den, and I was glad to get away...  I had previously ridden on a voyage around Antelope Island on the boat, 'City of Corinne' which was my first and last boat ride on the Salt Lake. It was a wonderful voyage."

- both excerpts from a letter by W. W. Clark to his son W. W. Clark, Jr., 1943

Schooling was contingent upon the pupils' initiative to be taught, parental whims and attitudes toward education, weather and seasonal obligations on the farms, as well as general poverty.  Fortunately, Ezra T. Clark regarded education highly and encouraged all 21 of his children toward scholarship.

"Wilford was always a leading student. He went through entire sessions of school without ever being late; that characteristic followed him through life."

-Amasa L. Clark, younger brother of Wilford W. Clark, 1961.

In his early adulthood,

"Wilford and my brother, Dr. Ezra Rich, attended the Deseret University session of 1882-83 and 'kept batch' and, I suppose, got their supplies from Uncle Ezra in Farmington.  They were both active young men and made good marks in school.  Wilford usually stopped at my mother's home (Mary Ann Phelps Rich) in Paris, Idaho, and we always enjoyed his company."

- Edward I. Rich, M.D., was Wilford's "nephew" and the grandson of Wilford's aunt Laura Clark Phelps, who was Ezra T. Clark's sister, 1960.  (NOTE:  Deseret University became the University of Utah in 1892.)

"Uncle Wilford and my aunt Annie Clark (later Tanner) attended the Brigham Young Academy, living in the house that Grandfather Ezra provided for his children and which was kept by his wife, Aunt Nancy.  Uncle Wilford had a sweetheart at home and did not wish to become too closely associated with the young ladies whom he met at school.  So he asked his half-sister Annie to be his partner at school entertainments. They

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[NOTE:  I am searching for letters or school assignments written by Wilford W. Clark that showcase his excellent penmanship, which would be labeled thus:

Wilford's journal of class notes, meticulously inscribed in beautiful penmanship, remains a prize memento of the education offered in Idaho in the 1880's. 

[OR to find photos showing Annie Clark (Tanner) with others of Susan Leggett's family]