Clara (Holbrock) Smith (1848 - 1894)

Born 21 May 1848 in Randolph, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 21 Dec 1894 at age 46 in Illinois, United States

Biography

Clara M. Holbrock was born 21 May 1848 in Randolph, Illinois, the daughter of James Clark Holbrock and Eliza Isabella McDill. She married Henry C. Smith on 30 August 1870 in Randolph county, Illinois. Clara died in Illinois on 21 December 1894. ^{[1] [2]}

Clara’s father, Maj. James C. Holbrook was born in Sherborn, Massachusetts on 27 May 1817, the son of Clark Holbrook and Betsey Bullen. James’ father raised sheep and was also a merchant. Clara was one of seven children borne to James and Eliza Isabella McDill. Clara (Mrs. Henry Smith), noted lecturer on science and health, lectured for a week in Washington, D.C. in the Fall of 1893. She organized the Chester, Illinois chapter of the Chautauqua Assembly. Clara, a widow, lived with her children on her ranch in California in 1894.^[3]

In 1850, the Holbrook family lived in Sparta, Randolph, Illinois. The household included J. C. Holbrook, 33, born in Massachusetts, a lawyer, with $300 in real estate; his wife, Eliza, 27, b. Ohio; their two children, both born in Illinois: David C., 4; and Clara, 2. Also living with them were two women each with a young child; and H. N. Holbrook, 28, b. MA. Living nearby was John McDill, 36, a carpenter, b. South Carolina [possible relative of Eliza (McDill) Holbrook].^[4]

In 1860, the Holbrook family lived in Chester, Randolph, Illinois. The household included James C. Holbrook, 43, born in Massachusetts, an attorney at law, with $8000 in real estate, and $500 in personal estate; his wife Eliza, 37, born in Ohio; their five children, all born in Illinois: David C., 14; Clara, 12; Edward E., 10; Lizzie, 4; and Lydia, 1. ^[5]

Clara’ s essay, “Home Side or Progress”, which may have been a lecture at the Congress of Women at the Columbiana Exposition, was published in 1894. Clara’s mailing address then was Lordsburg, California. ^[6]

Lordsburg, California later became LaVerne, which is near Claremont, California in Los Angeles county. The town was named for its founder, Isaac Wilson Lord, a Los Angeles businessman, who in 1887 persuaded the Santa Fe Railroad to expand its line to where Lord owned a much property. The railroad agreed, and when it was completed, Lord sent brass bands up and down the streets of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, advertising free rides to “Lordsville.” He had many takers, and lots were sold, amounting to over $200,000. Lord and his investors, immediately put in infrastructure, including a water system, and built a hotel within four months. Soon the little town of Lordsburg was thriving, having been made out of nothing. After Lord’s death, the townspeople voted to change the town’s name to La Verne.^[7]

NOTE: every document and record that I have found for this family shows their last name as HOLBROOK. I wonder if the original source for this wikitree profile, McDills in America: a history of the Descendants of John McDill, contained the error, or if the error was made while creating the wikitree profiles? If you can confirm the actual spelling of this surname, please do so. Many thanks! [Metcalf-1784], editing 11 March 2019.

Clara ". . . was active in the W.C.T.U. in Illinois and the Jenness Miller reform." (Women's Christian Temperance Union, and Jenness Miller reform refers to a promotion of less restrictive clothing, i.e. no corsets, for women.) ^[8]

Clara died, aged 46, a widow, on 21 December 1894. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Randolph, Illinois. ^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ ancestry.com Pedigree Resource File (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:365J-XKH)
2. ↑ Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF2K-5WB)
3. ↑ The Portrait and Biological Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry, and Monroe Counties, Illinois, pub. 1894; text on mygenealogy.com (http://www.mygenealogyhound.com/illinois-biographies/il-randolph-county-biographies/james-c-holbrook-genealogy-randolph-county-illinois-chester-il.html)
4. ↑ 1850 US Census, Sparta, Randolph, Ohio (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8P1-F2P)
5. ↑ 1860 US Census, Chester, Randolph, Illinois (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXH6-9FY)
6. ↑ digital.library.upenn.edu, A Celebration of Women Writers, “Home Side of Progress” by Mrs. Clara Holbrook Smith, Pub: Eagle, Mary Kavanaugh Oldham, Editor, The Congress of Women: Held in the Woman’s Building, World’s Columbiana Exposition, .Chicago, USA, 1893; Chicago, Illinois, Monarch Book Co., 1894 (https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/eagle/congress/smithch.html)
7. ↑ City of Land Verne- History of La Verne (http://www.ci.la-verne.ca.us/index.php/about-la-verne/history-of-la-verne)
8. ↑ McDills in America : a history of the descendants of John McDill ... Woods, Robert McDill, 1903.
9. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #156699386