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According to
his obituary, Richard J. Clark, Sr. was born near Hallettsville
in Lavaca County
where he lived most of his life. He was the son of John and Margarette
Clark who came to Lavaca
County by way of Indianola from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1837.
Richard was born Feb. 11, 1845, two miles south of Hallettsville
near the Lavaca River.
As a young man, Clark spent a lot of time herding cattle in the
area around Hallettsville.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined General Lee's forces
and remained with the Confederate army until the end of the conflict.
According to the aged newspaper article, upon his return home from
the war he once again became involved with the cattle business.
Clark went on at least three cattle drives sending herds up the
trail to Abilene, Kansas. He met "Wild Bill" Hickok on one of those
trail drives.
The old publication also included the following: "He became owner
of the famous '44 Ranch' located in the corners of Lavaca,
DeWitt, and Victoria
Counties. He sold the ranch in 1881 and moved to a ranch in Lavaca
County, east of the Navidad River and near the Jackson
County line."
It was reported that Clark was a good friend of the famous rancher
"Shanghai"
Pierce and of the Stafford brothers of Columbus.
All of them were cattlemen who grazed their herds on open range
east of the Colorado River.
From the information gathered in his obituary and the old newspaper
article, it is very evident that Richard J. Clark, Sr. was a dedicated
family man. He divided much of his holdings with his children and
kept just enough land to graze a few hundred cattle for himself.
Clark never forgot his fellow soldiers from the Civil War, and he
attended their reunion which was held in Houston
in 1920. He was a member of the Odd Fellows organization at the
time of his death and had been a member for some 60 years.
The beloved "Uncle Dick" Clark was described as an honorable and
honest citizen. It is said that a few days before his death, he
was still seen riding a horse and spending time working his cattle.
Richard J. Clark, Sr. is buried in the
little cemetery at Speaks,
Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Hallettsville.
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