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The Willard Weld Clark papers were purchased in January 2000 from Charles Apfelbaum, a rare manuscripts dealer in New Jersey, who had acquired the collection from another dealer. The funds used to purchase this collection came from the B. G. Olesen Endowment.
Collection Processed by: Brandon Morton. Registered Prepared by: Brandon Morton, November 2000.
Willard Weld Clark papers, 1901-1912. (COLL MSS 272). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.
Willard Weld Clark was born on January 17, 1879 in Lockport, New York. After he graduated from Cornell University, Willard went to the Philippines in late January 1903 to work for the U.S. Forest Service. While in the Philippines, Willard Clark also became involved in the local mining industry with some of his friends and family. By November 1905, after spending some time in Washington, D.C., Willard Clark had been sent to Arizona by the U.S. Forest Service. During his time there, Clark helped to establish a Presbyterian church in Roosevelt, Arizona. In March 1906, Willard Weld Clark was promoted from forest assistant to assistant forest inspector. This promotion caused him to move repeatedly, and would lead to his work in Utah. Clark was sent to Utah in late April of 1906. While in Utah he traveled throughout the state inspecting forest reserves and trying to administer them more efficiently. In December of 1906, Willard Weld Clark sold all of his Philippine mining shares, yielding a substantial profit. That same year he returned briefly to Washington D.C., before being assigned in March 1907 to work in the Cache National Forest near Logan, Utah. Willard Clark later would become the second supervisor of the Cache National Forest. On April 22, 1908, Willard Weld Clark married Betsey Bamber. In the winter of 1908-1909 Willard Clark taught a forestry course at the Agricultural College of Utah (now USU). Clark taught the course because he believed that most forest rangers tended to be undereducated. On February 4, 1909 Willard and Betsey's only child, a daughter named Ruth, was born. Willard Weld Clark made a trip up Logan Canyon on Saturday, July 17, 1909. That day Clark was injured as he tried to mount a horse, when the pommel struck him in the abdomen. The injury initially caused only a little pain, but eventually a hemorrhage occurred. When Clark became ill, medical assistance was summoned. The doctor did not think the injury too serious, but it soon developed into a severe case of pneumonia. Willard Clark died on Tuesday, July 20, 1909. His remains were brought back to Logan, and his family and wife, who was in New York visiting relatives, were notified. They instructed that the body should be sent back to New York for burial.
The Willard Weld Clark papers consists of letters written by various members of Clark's family between 1901 and 1909. The majority of the letters were written by Clark to his mother, Emma, in Lockport, New York. Other letters were written/received by his sisters Grace and Lucy; his father Benjamin; his cousin Robert; his fiancee/wife Betsey Bamber; associates in the mining industry; and other members of the U.S. Forest Service. The Clark collection is notable for the wealth of detail it provides about life in rural Utah and Arizona just after the turn of the century. During this time Willard Clark lived all over Utah and northern Arizona, but he stayed the longest in two cities; Roosevelt, Arizona and Logan, Utah. In his letters, Clark talked about what he was doing, as well as his interactions with local people, and gives an insight into social events and get-togethers. The letters are organized chronologically from 1901 to 1909. A few of the letters lacked specific dates, and an estimation was made of the approximate month. These letters are filed at the earliest possible date, and have a range of possible dates listed on them. A folder containing a 1912 letter from another family member to her mother, a folder with two of Willard Clark's business cards in it, and a folder with two letters with undeterminable dates, are located at the end of the collection.
Collection is arranged chronologically.