Support this program with a donation by clicking here.

Transcript

Sam: Good day ladies and gentlemen. I am Samuel P. Clark, and I would like you to meet my dear wife, Ann. For many years we were among the leading citizens of Princeton. I lived my entire life in Bureau County. I was born in Dover Township on April 20, 1837, the son of George and Nancy Clark. I grew up on a farm and was educated in the local schools.

Ann: I was born Ann Lynde Poole in Williamstown, Vermont in 1838. When I was 10 years old, our family moved to Dover, Illinois. My family, the Pooles and Sam’s family, the Clarks, were neighbors. I received a very good education—local elementary school, two years at Mr. James Smithe’s excellent private school in Princeton, and then I completed my education in the Dover Academy, the outstanding institution of learning in this part of
the country.

Sam: I was 16 years old when Abraham Lincoln came to Princeton and spoke at Bryant Woods in 1857. I was part of the huge crowd that heard Mr. Lincoln deliver his speech, and later some friends and I followed the future President to Master’s Studio where he had his picture taken. I thought Mr. Lincoln was a logical and convincing speaker, but very careless in his appearance.

Ann: On New Year’s Day, 1860, Sam and I were married. Our union was blessed in so many ways but we had great sadness too. We had six children, but only one lived to mature adulthood. Three of our children died young. Then our son, Enos, tragically drowned in Bureau Creek shortly after he graduated from high school. Our daughter, Harriet, dies of tuberculosis as a young woman. Only Grace, our eldest, was spared. She and her husband Alfred moved into our home in Princeton and took wonderful care of us in our declining years.

Sam: At the age of 22, I bought a quarter section of land and began farming on my own. It wasn’t long before I realized the advantages of raising livestock and soon became involved in raising, breeding, buying and selling cattle. I later expanded my operations and imported English and Clydesdale draft horses and Galloway cattle. I traveled to Europe many times to personally choose the best animals.

Ann: By the late 1890’s, Sam and I decided it was time to retire and leave the farm. So, in 1899, we began building a magnificent 27 room home on Park Avenue just down the street here in Princeton. We moved in on Marcy 1, 1900. We had just celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Our new home was modern and luxurious. It had five bathrooms at a time when most people were still using outhouses. One feature I was very nervous about was electricity. It was just coming into use when our home was built and it was very expensive—the cost was 20 to 40 cents per kilowatt—today, I understand it is less than 10 cents. I also wasn’t sure if electricity was just a fad, so I insisted that the house have both gas and electricity.

Sam: On the other hand, I was intrigued by electricity. You folks have cars today that are part electricity and part gasoline—I understand you call them hybrid cars. Well over 100 years ago, I had a car that ran entirely on electricity. I loved that car, and I drove it all over town. Occasionally, I would run out of charge and some of the fellows in town would have to push me home. Retirement didn’t really interest me. Although I gave up the daily physical work of farming, I still oversaw all the business operations of my farms. I purchased more and more land. By the turn of the century, I owned 420 acres in Dover Township; three farms totaling 1900 acres in Saskatchewan, Canada; and 2,300 acres in northern Texas. At the age of 83, I was still traveling to Texas to personally supervise the harvesting of grain on my farm. I usually spent a month there while the oats, wheat, and barley were threshed, and cotton was picked. Back home in Princton, I helped organize the Bureau County Independent Telephone Company and served on its board for many years. I also helped establish the Bureau Valley Country Club, now Chapel Hill. In 1916 I became the founder and principal stockholder of the Hotel Clark in downtown Princeton. Today, it is a Senior Citizen’s Building and still bears my name. I had accumulated a great fortune in my lifetime but it was also important to me to share with the community where I lived. In my will, I stipulated that 1600 acres of land I owned in Texas be sold and the proceeds be given to nine churches in Bureau County and Perry Memorial Hospital.

In 1883, my uncle, Nehemiah Matson, had passed away and left $30,000 for the construction of a public library building. Ann and I owned the land where the library was located on Park Avenue. We gave the land to the library board. When the building was completed, I provided free services of a landscape designer and $60.00 towards shrubbery. Four years later, I gave the library board real estate securities so they could purchase the lot next to them. It deeply saddens me that the community no longer appreciates my family’s gifts.

Sam: I was one of the oldest citizens in Bureau County at 94 years old when I passed away in 1932. Ann died almost ten years before me in 1923.

Ann: I understand our eldest child, Grace, gave our home on Park Avenue to the Historical Society and it’s now a museum. I hope you’ll visit it often! We always enjoyed having company.

Both: Thank you and have a good day!