Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Clark, Thomas 1842 - 
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Author: Portrait & Bio Album, 1890

THOMAS CLARK, a practical and successful breeder of Hereford cattle, is 
located on a fine farm, one mile northeast of Beecher. It comprises one 
hundred and twenty acres on section 9, Washington Township, that were selected 
with a view to their present use, and are adapted by nature and improvement 
for the purpose. The "Evergreen Stock Farm" is known far and near, and well 
repays a visit, the owner being thoroughly posted regarding the stock in which 
he takes such delight. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the improvements 
is the commodious stock-barn, 67x97 feet, with a capacity for one hundred head 
of cattle and a large amount of hay and grain. All the buildings are well-
constructed and sufficiently large for the various purposes for which they 
were designed. The herd at present consists of about sixty head, chief of the 
herd being Peerless Wilton No. 12,774. At the head of the herd are the fine 
bulls, Anxiety Third, No. 4466, and Anxiety Wilton, No. 30,272, all registered 
numbers familiar to stockmen. At the State Fairs held in Peoria, Mr. Clark 
carried off most of the sweepstakes, and at Buffalo, N. Y., he received $750 
in prizes; he justly claims to have carried off more premiums than any other 
breeder of Herefords in the country. Thomas Clark, Sr., the father of our 
subject, was born in Herefordshire, England, and came of pure English blood. 
He grew up in his native shire, and became a breeder of the famous cattle 
which bear the name of the shire. As a farmer and stock-breeder he was 
eminently successful, and followed the business during his life, becoming 
prominent in that line and well known as a good citizen. He passed away in 
1862, at the age of seventy-eight years. He had married a lady of his own 
shire, whose maiden name was Mary A. Fluck. She lived to be more than three-
score and ten years old, dying in 1887, in the shire wherein her whole life 
had been spent. She had borne two sons and four daughters, five of whom lived 
to mature years, and four are yet alive. The three daughters remain in their 
native land, and all are married. The parents were members of the Church of 
England, and the father was Church Warden for many years. The gentleman whose 
name introduces this biographical notice was born near Hereford, England, 
August 28, 1842. He was reared amid the surroundings of farm life, and 
received a common-school education. He was about twenty-one years old when, in 
1866, he set sail for America, the land of promise across the Atlantic. From 
Southampton he crossed to New York, whence he went at once to Cleveland,Ohio. 
There he learned the trade of a butcher, carrying it on in that city until 
1869, and then going to Elyria, Lorain County, where he continued the same 
occupation for a time. He soon, however, embarked in the enterprise toward 
which his taste and early training led him—that of breeding Hereford cattle. 
Having had better advantages than most men who are engaged in the business, to 
learn the characteristics of the breed and the best means of caring for them, 
he began under favorable auspices a work that has been crowned with success. 
In 1877 he purchased and took possession of the now well-known "Evergreen 
Stock Farm," a part of which with the fine residence is represented by a view 
on another page. The many good qualities of Miss Margaret Heal won the earnest 
regard of Mr. Clark, and winning her consent to become his wife, the marriage 
rites were performed in Elyria, Ohio. Mrs. Clark was born in Devonshire, 
England, June 22, 1841, and educated in the land of her birth. She was one of 
ten children born to a Devonshire farmer and his worthy wife, and one of four 
who came to America. She was about twenty years old when they settled in the 
Buckeye State. Her parents remained in the mother country, dying there when 
upwards of four-score years of age. They belonged to the Episcopal Church, in 
the tenets of which they reared their offspring. Mrs. Clark has borne her 
husband three children, and the loss of the only son—John H.—has brought 
sorrow to the parents' heart. The daughters who gladden the home are Anna A. 
and Flora H. The parents give their adherence to the church in the doctrines 
of which their progenitors instructed them in youth. Mr. Clark is an 
independent Republican. Not only for the enterprise he has manifested in his 
worldly affairs, but for his kindly nature and upright character, he is 
respected by those who know him, and his estimable companion also holds a high 
place in the esteem of their associates.

Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page 
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890

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