TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: John B. Clark

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: John B. Clark (1823-1913)

Scattered across Calhoun County are quiet reminders of the families who helped shape its earliest communities. Cemeteries, railroad markers, and aging records preserve names that might otherwise be forgotten. One of those names is Clark. Though he never sought public fame or held high office, John B. Clark spent more than half a century building a life in the Chocolate community through farming, stock raising, land stewardship, and service to his family. His story is not one of dramatic headlines, but of steady work, sacrifice, and lasting influence.

John B. Clark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on December 15, 1823 to James and Isabella Elizabeth Brown Clark. John was the oldest of their seven children: Daniel born in 1826, Jean born in 1830, Agnes born in 1831, William born in 1834, Thomas born in 1837, and Catherine born in 1842. James died in Edinburgh in 1846 leaving Isabella with seven children to raise on her own. John was listed on a passenger list arriving in New York in 1847. He and his family eventually settled in the Chocolate community of Calhoun County, Texas in 1853.

The first census where John B. Clark appears in Calhoun County is in 1860. He is living with his widowed mother and youngest sister. The census shows him as having $2000 in real estate value and $3000 in personal estate value. In today’s money, that would equal $80,000 and $120,000 respectively. His occupation is listed as stock raiser. 

By the 1870 census, his home still included his mother and sister Catherine, but now also held his sister’s husband Daniel Markloff and James Boyd, his nephew. John was worth $2000 in real estate value and $3430 in personal estate value. His occupation in 1870 was listed as farmer with his nephew James listed as farm laborer. His brother-in-law was listed as a stock raiser.

The Clark household grew by the 1880 census to include Daniel and Catherine’s son William and daughter Agnes. John was again listed as stockman. Much had changed by the 1900 census. His sister Catherine was now widowed and her daughter Agnes was listed as Maggie. In the home were also three boarders with one of those boarders, Jean Clark, likely his niece. The other two boarders were listed as farm laborers. The 1900 census also included that John owned his own home outright and owned a farm. He could read, write and English was his primary language.

The last census that John B. Clark appears in is for 1910. He is listed as a farmer and is 86 years old. His widowed sister Catherine and his widowed niece Agnes are living with him. Since the 1900 census, Agnes had married Amos Hall, but he died of pneumonia on return from their honeymoon in Cuba. A hired farm hand was also listed as living in the household. This census designates John as a veteran of the Civil War as a part of the Confederate Army.

John Clark’s name appears on two Texas Historical Markers in Calhoun County. The first marker is for Clark Cemetery. John donated the land for the burying ground by deed to the county in 1899. The first known burial on the property was that of John’s brother William in 1875. This cemetery stands as one of the only remaining parts of the Chocolate community today. In 2026, a marker for Clark Station was erected. John, his brother Thomas, and neighbor Louis John Foester, partnered to buy and donate land to be used at the railroad stop that forked to either Lavaca or Indianola. This land was used for stock pens and other features that allowed local residents to ship and receive goods via the railroad.  Due to the Civil War, hurricanes and other natural disasters, the lines to Port Lavaca and Indianola didn’t provide continuous services with part of the travel being completed by horse and wagon. The improvements to Clark Station greatly benefitted the residents of Calhoun County and their ability to travel.

In October 1894, Louis John Foester was shot and killed by J.R. Sims over the removal of a fence. Foester wanted to remove a fence, while Sims, who worked on the adjacent property, would not allow it. (see the TT article on Sept. 30, 2025)  John B. Clark was called to testify in the second trial of J.R. Sims held in Victoria in 1899. His testimony stated that he went to the Foester home about a mile from his own home. He saw Foester brought to the house in a wagon and the doctor arriving about the same time. Clark was in the room when Foester told his daughter Josephine that everything would be alright and that Sims did not have to shoot him. On cross examination Clark provided a timeline of the ownership of the land in question, but said he did not know the lines of the properties. On redirect, Clark stated that Foester said he had a gun but had laid it down. Sims eventually served two years in jail for the murder.

John B. Clark never married, but served as the patriarch of the Clark family in Calhoun County. He died on November 1, 1913. He is buried in the cemetery that bears his name along with his mother, siblings, nieces, nephews and other family members.

His life reflects the strength and perseverance of many early Texas settlers whose names rarely appear in history books, yet whose labor built communities that endured long after they were gone. From immigrant beginnings in Scotland to becoming a respected landowner and stockman in Calhoun County, Clark devoted his years to family, agriculture, and the advancement of the region he called home.

Today, his legacy remains visible in Clark Cemetery, Clark Station, and in the generations of relatives laid to rest beside him. Though he left no direct descendants, John B. Clark’s impact was measured not in titles or wealth, but in the land he improved, the family he supported, and the community he helped sustain. More than a century after his death, his name still stands as part of Calhoun County’s story.

Written by Jennifer Shafer Wyatt

The Victoria Advocate 

The Port Lavaca Wave

J.R. Sims Trial transcripts