Joseph Kithcart Clark
USGENWEB Montana Archives,maintained by burns@asu.edu
History of the State of Montana, by Joaquim Miller, 1894 

Hon. Joseph Kithcart Clark, superintendent of the Moulton Mining 
Company, Butte, Montana, was born in 
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Feb. 2, 1842. 

Mr. Clark is a son of John and Mary (Andrews) Clark, both natives 
of Fayette Co. Pa. The father of John 
Clark, whose name was also John, was a native of County Tyrone, 
Ireland, who emigrated to this country and 
settled in Pennsylvania soon after the Revolution. He married a 
Miss Reed, of Chester Co. Pa, whose parents 
were also from the north of Ireland. The maternal grandparents of 
our subject, William and Sarah Andrews, 
likewise came from County Tyrone, Ireland, to western Pennsylvania, 
the time of their arrival in this country
being in the early part of the present century. Sarah Andrews' 
maiden name was Kitchcart. She was a descendant 
of the Cathcart family who were originally Huguenots,and the name 
became changed to Kithcart by an error made by 
a register in the transfer of a tract of land. The Cathcart 
family emigrated from France to Scotland at an early 
period and later moved to the north of Ireland. Subsequently they 
emigrated to the United States and different 
branches of the family settled in New York and Pennsylvania. The 
parents of Mr. Clark were married in Pennsylvania 
and resided there until 1856. That year they removed to Van buren 
County, Iowa, where John Clark died in 1873, 
at the age of 76 years. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian 
and for forty years was an Elder in the church.
 
Mrs. Clark now lives in Los Angeles, California, and is nearly 81 
years of age. They had 11 children, seven of 
whom are now living: William A., Joseph K., Elizabeth Absacal, 
Mary M. Miller, James Ross, Anna B and Ella E. 
The deceased are John Reed, George, Sarah Boner and Margaret. 
The boyhood of Joseph K was passed in a manner common with the 
farmer lads, the public schools affording him means 
of education. He resided on the farm with his parents in Iowa 
until he was twenty. Then in 1862 he started out 
in the world in quest of fortune, first landing in Denver, 
Colorado, near which place he found employment on a 
ranch for one year. Early in 1864 we find him in Santa Fe, New 
Mexico, where for a short time he was employed 
in the United States Quartermaster's Department. From there he 
returned on horseback to Denver and from Denver 
continued his way northward with a mule team to Virginia City, 
Montana, at which place he arrived in November, 
1864. He did not, however, remain here at that time, but spent 
the winter in Utah and in the spring came back. 

After working in the placer mines for a short time at Virginia 
City, he engaged in merchandising at Blackfoot 
City and at Elk Creek until 1866 when he bought an intrest in a 
mine at Bear Gulch. In 1867 he took a contract 
for carrying the United States mial between Missoula and Walla 
Walla, Washington, a distance of 400 miles, and 
was thus employed until 1874. This was a perilous undertaking. In 
winter it required twelve days to make a trip
and not infrequently a portion of the distance had to be made on 
snow shoes. His next venture ws speculating 
in grain in which he was engaged one year. In 1875 he located in 
Butte, since which time he has given his attention
exclusively to mining, having located some of the best paying 
mines in Butte. He is also interested in some 
mines in the Coeur d'Alene country, among which is the celebrated 
Poor Man's mine. 
Mr. Clark is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having reached 
the Knight Templar and Mystic Shrine degrees.
 
He as honored by election to the first Legislature of the State 
of Montana, by a flattering majority, and 
creditably performed the duties expected of him by his large and 
enthusiastic constituency. Personnally, Mr.
Clark is a genial, whole-souled gentlemen and is extremely 
popular with his fellow citizens. He has large 
capaicty for business and for integrity, enterprise and square 
dealing the firm of Clark Brothers has a 
reputation that reaches far beyond the confines of the great 
"Deposit" state. 

Mr. Clark was married in 1879 to Mrs. A.E. Lippincott. 

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