Walter Miller Clark (1884 - 1912)

Born 13 May 1884 in Jefferson, Montana, United States

Ancestors

Died 15 Apr 1912 at age 27 in At sea

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Biography

Family and Early Life

Mr Walter Miller Clark was born in Jefferson, Montana on 13 May 1884.

He was the son of James Ross Clark (1850-1927) and Augusta Miriam Evans (1858-1951).

Census

"United States Census, 1900,"^[1]

James R Clark Head Male 48 Montana

Mary Clark Wife Female 45 Ohio

Ella Clark Daughter Female 19 Kentucky

Walter Clark Son Male 16 Montana

Jennie Lafferty Servant Female 33 Ireland

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV2Y-1P3 : accessed 16 October 2019), Walter M Clark in household of James Ross Clark, Los Angeles Assembly District 71, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 202, sheet 5A, family 91, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 82; FHL microfilm 1,374,095.

James Ross Clark Head Male 60 Pennsylvania

Miriam A Clark Wife Female 57 Ohio

Henry Carlton Lee Son-in-law Male 34 Ohio

Ella H Lee Daughter Female 31 Montana

Walter M Clark Son Male 25 Montana

Virginia E Clark Daughter-in-law Female 24 Montana

Josephine Peterson Servant Female 39 Sweden

Hannah Ekstrom Servant Female 33 Sweden

Jennie L Huigen Servant Female 30 Iowa

Yokichi Kamikawa Servant Male 23 Japan

The Clark's only child, son James Ross Clark, was born on 24 April 1910.

Titanic

Walter and Virginia took a belated honeymoon to Europe in early 1912 but cut their trip short to return home and celebrate their son's birthday; they boarded Titanic at Cherbourg as first class passengers on 10 April 1912 (ticket number 13508 which cost £136, 15s, 7d) and occupied cabin C89. Mrs Clark was alone in her cabin when the collision occurred; although noting that the impact was slight she admitted that she felt something was very wrong and immediately dressed and ascended to the promenade deck; she found her husband in the smoking room playing cards with acquaintances. The two made enquiries with officers and other crewmen as to the situation but were told that the ship had struck some ice and that there was no danger. Upon their return to their cabin the Clarks saw a man pass by carrying a lifejacket and soon learned that all passengers were to proceed to the boat deck.

Walter and Virginia dressed warmly and they headed topside where they stopped to watch the proceedings, reportedly meeting with the Astors and Strausses with whom they conversed. Mr Clark reportedly felt no apprehension about the situation and fully expected to see his wife later; the last she saw of him was him hanging over the railing and waving to her.

Robert Williams Daniel also claimed to have seen Walter and Colonel Astor both leaning against the railing and conversing late in the proceedings; but considering that Daniel left the ship in one of the first lifeboats this is highly questionable. Walter Miller Clark died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

After the Disaster

His estate was estimated at $78,310 with his two-year-old son to inherit $40,000 of that. Further to this, his widow had a hasty and surprise remarriage in September 1912 leading to a custody battle between her and Walter's parents. The result was joint guardianship was awarded to both parties whereby they had custody six months each year in turn.

His widow Virginia was remarried twice and remained living in California where she died in 1958. His son James Ross Clark died on 24 February 1962 in Riverside, California.

A church in Long Beach, California and now named Lakewood Village Community Church was built in 1937 and was named The Walter Miller Clark Memorial Community Church. Clark's mother, Miriam, donated the land and the funds for its construction.

At the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038, a tribute plaque to Walter Miller Clark is located inside the Mausoleum for Walter's father, James Ross Clark (April 10, 1850 - September 18, 1927). The plaque lists Walter Clark, Lost at Sea, SS Titanic.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9PJ-9LY : accessed 13 September 2019), Walter Clark in household of James R Clark, Precinct 37 Los Angeles city Ward 5, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 45, sheet 8B, family 167, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,089.

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