Biographical Sketch of W. S. Clark, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** W. S. Clark, president of the Warrensburg Wholesale Grocery Company and vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Warrensburg, was born March 15, 1865 in Warrensburg. He is the son of H. F. and Rosetta (Goff) Clark, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. H. F. Clark is an ex- mayor of Warrensburg and an esteemed pioneer of Johnson county. He was born in 1836 in Virginia and in 1861 was united in marriage with Rosetta Goff in Muskingum county, Ohio, and to them were born the following children: John, who was a pharmacist in Warrensburg, and is now deceased; Rose, the wife of Ed Bradshaw, a broker of New York City; Mary, who died in girlhood; Stanton, who was a pharmacist at Norman, Oklahoma and died at the age of 23 years; two chldren died in infancy; H. C., who is engaged in the mercantile business in Warrensburg; W. S., the subject of this review; and Mrs. Charles Houx, wife of a well known and leading stockman of Johnson County. Mrs. Clark's death occurred in 1907 and she was laid to rest in the cemetery at Warrensburg. H. F. Clark now makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Charles H. Houx. W. S. Clark attended the public schools of Warrensburg and the Warrens- burg State Normal School. After leaving school Mr. Clark engaged in the shoe business in partnership with his brother, on Holden street in Warrensburg. For a few years, he was employed as traveling salesman for the Standard Shoe Company of St. Louis, Mo. W. S. and H. C. Clark were in business together for 25 years, when W. S. Clark accepted his present position with the Warrensburg Wholesale Grocery Company six years ago. For the past 15 years he has been a director of the Commer- cial Bank of Warrensburg and vice-president of that institution for the past two years. November 27, 1890, W. S. Clark was united in marriage with Hattie Holliday, the daughter of Thomas G. and Auline (Phillips) Holliday, of Paris, Mo. Auline (Phillips) Holliday is a sister of Colonel John F. Phillips, ex-United States District Judge of Kansas City, Missouri and a half sister of Clay C. Arnold, now deceased, for- merly a Kansas City, Missouri druggist, who was president of the elec- tion board of Kansas City under the administration of Governor Stevens, a member of the district board and a director of the National Bank of Commerce of Kansas City. Both parents of Mrs. Clark are now deceased. To W. S. and Hattie (Holliday) Clark has been born one child, a daugh- ter, Marian, who is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School and a graduate from the State University of Missouri at Columbia, where she is specializing in History and Languages. The Warrensburg Whole- sale Grocery Company was organized in 1901 and incorporated November 9, 1904 by J. J. Lobban and the store was first located on North Holden street in Warrensburg. This mammoth institution, with more than 3000 feet of floor space, is a business concern in which the people of Warrensburg feel a special pride. The organizer, James L. Lobban, was one of the hustling young men, who was reared in Warrensburg and with a vision which would have placed him in the front ranks in Kansas City or St. Louis, began the wholesale business in a country town, having but one railroad as an outlet, and in a remarkably short time saw his mer- cantile venture grow by leaps and bounds. His untimely death in February, 1905, at the age of 42 years, was the source of deepest regret to the people of this community, who admired and respected him greatly for his aggressive, undaunted spirit, intense enthusiasm, marked capabilities, and manly character. The present officers of the company are keeping the pace set by J. J. Lobban and under the manage- ment of W. S. Clark the business has made steady and healthy growth. He gives it the closest and most careful attention at all times. The Officers at the time of incorporation were: H. T. Clark, president; Mrs. Lulu Lobban, vice-president and W. S. Clark, secretary, treasurer and manager. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: <> Penny Harrell ====================================================================