Charles Badger Clark, D. D. Biography This biography appears on pages 1101-1104 in "History of Dakota Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm CHARLES BADGER CLARK, D. D. A life devoted to effort for the betterment of mankind, in which his labors have been fraught with results that are far-reaching and beneficial, has made Dr. Charles Badger Clark a widely known and honored resident of South Dakota. He now makes his home in Hot Springs, where his labors have been a most potent element in advancing moral development. He has given more than fifty years of his life to the ministry. His birth occurred at Sanquoit, New York, December 29, 1839, his parents being Henry and Harriet (Badger) Clark. The father was born in Vermont, and they were married in Oneida county, New York, March 22, 1838. In early life the father became a contractor and builder and also operated a sash and blind factory while in the east. About the year 1857 the family removed westward to Iowa, where the father engaged in the same line of business until about the beginning of the Civil war, when he went with his family to Missouri, settling near Jefferson City. After the outbreak of hostilities, however, the family returned to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he continued in business as a contractor and builder, remaining there until 1883. In that year he came to South Dakota, settling on a claim near Plankinton, where he passed away June 2, 1884, being then about sixty-nine years of age, his birth having occurred September 27, 1815. His first wife was born at Middletown, Connecticut, May 5, 1817, and died at Sanquoit, New York, April 28, 1840. For many years Mr. Clark was a most active, earnest and faithful worker in the church, teaching the Bible class in the Sunday school for an extended period. In early life he affiliated with the Presbyterian church but afterward joined the Methodist Episcopal church. His family numbered three children: Charles B. Clark, D. D., of this review; Frank, who died in Los Angeles, California, in 1909; and Hattie, the wife of Orr Willetts, of Sheridan, Wyoming. Dr. Clark, the eldest of the family, attended school at Oriskany Falls, New York, afterward became a pupil in the high school at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and still later attended college there, entering the freshman year in 1861. At the age of sixteen he joined the Methodist Episcopal church at Troy, New York, and from that time forward has been a most devoted adherent of the church. He worked with 0a father through the period of his minority and at the age of twenty-one years was still attending school. With the outbreak of the Civil war he put aside all other interests and considerations and enlisted as a member of Company B, Twenty-fifth Iowa Regiment. He served under Captain Smith, who had been principal of the high school which Dr. Clark attended. He joined the ranks as a private and was at the front for eleven months and ten days. He was injured at the battle of Arkansas Post, on which occasion a shell, passing over his head, cut off a large tree, which fell upon him, crushing him so that he lay unconscious for a number of hours. Finally he regained consciousness, however, and rejoined his regiment, but he has never fully recovered from the injuries he sustained on that occasion. He lost the hearing in his right ear at the battle of Vicksburg because of the concussion of the heavy artillery and by reason of disability he was mustered out at Memphis, Tennessee. He returned home and again entered college at Mount Pleasant, but his health remained in such a condition that he was prevented from graduating. After a year spent in recuperation he entered the ministry as a member of the Iowa conference of the Methodist Episcopal church and for many years engaged in preaching] in that state. In the spring of 1883 he came to South Dakota, settling on a farm near Plankinton, which course he followed at the advice of his physician. He continued upon the farm, living the outdoor life of an agriculturist, for about three years. He then once more entered into active relations with the ministry and was assigned to the church at Mitchell, South Dakota, where he remained for about ten years, serving as pastor for four years and as presiding elder for six years. He next went to Huron, where he continued for five years, after which he occupied the pulpit of the Methodist church at Deadwood for three years. Later he was superintendent of the Black Hills Mission for about six years and was then appointed chaplain at the Battle Mountain Sanitarium, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and is now in the eighth year of his service in that connection. On the occasion of the fiftiety anniversary of his connection with the ministry he indited a little poem which is indicative of his faith as well as of his literary ability and which we print herewith: "Back on the long life-road I climb I know a land with skies more fair And see myself of other time, A boyish circuit-rider there. How near along the backward way, That time appears, And yet the record says today 'Tis fifty years. "I cannot boast my road's long line For when my ways were dim with night A hand unseen was clasped in mine And led me forward to the light. Perplexed but never in dismay, Through hopes and fears, I've felt that handclasp all the way For fifty years. "The shadows lengthen to the east, The latter miles are slowly scored, And ere the long day's work has ceased You ask of profits and reward. 'The gift of God,-not wages owed- Is Heaven that nears, He's paid my wages on the road These fifty years." In speaking of his life work in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of his admission to the ministry he said: "I never doubted the divinity of my call. God called, the door opened and I entered for life. The ministerial life is peculiar to itself. It abounds in struggle and conquest, defeat or victory, in sacred scenes and joyous occasions, all of which I have experienced. During my ministry I have served thirteen pastorates and two districts. As I look back over my appointments at Bellaire, Cincinnati, Unionville, Bellefontaine, Pella, Newton, Oskaloosa, Burlington, Ottumwa and Albia in the Iowa conference; at Mitchell, Mitchell district, Huron, Deadwood and the Black Hills Mission, in the Dakota conference, I am encompassed by a throng of memories. I can see a host of real friends, for whom I am grateful to this day. I rejoice in the achievement of having built four churches. I see again the eager crowds at revival meetings and the long line of more than two thousand people whom it has been my privilege to receive into the church. I remember the sorrowing to whom I tried to bring the light of hope in the dark night of their grief. It was always my pleasure and the pleasure of my family to mingle socially with our church members and the people of the community. I have officially shared in the happiness of scores of christenings and hundreds of weddings, have broken bread at many boards-rich and poor, public and private- but all of them brightened by the same spirit of Christian good-fellowship. The church has honored me far beyond my deserts, twice sending me as a delegate to the general conference and by placing me in other positions of trust In my association with my fellow men, and particularly with my brother ministers of other denominations, I have held the open vision and followed the words of John Wesley: 'If thy heart is as my heart, give me thy hand.' Everywhere the welcoming hand has met mine." Dr. Clark has been married twice. In Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on the 20th of March, 1865, he wedded Mary E. Cleaver, who was born at Beallsville, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1844. They became parents of four children: Henry C., born at Pella, Iowa, September 5, 1868, and now engaged in the insurance business in Rapid City, South Dakota; Hattie, who was born at Pella, Iowa, September 5, 1871; Fred H., who was born at Newton, Iowa, in March, 1873, and died at Mitchell, South Dakota, August 23, 1894; and Charles B., who was born at Albia, Iowa, January 1, 1883. On the 20th of June, 1901, Dr. Clark was again married, his second union being with Miss R. Anna Morris, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a daughter of Zachariah and Mary (Weldon) Morris, the latter a native of Delaware. The father was born in Ohio and died during the early girlhood of Mrs. Clark, while the mother passed away in Hot Springs, South Dakota, in 1911. Mrs. Clark is the second in a family of three children, but her elder brother, John, died at the age of five years. Her sister Clara became the wife of Charles W. Greene, who was United States land commissioner at Rapid City when he died in 1903, his wife surviving until February 1, 1913. The father of these children served in the Civil war. Mrs. Clark was a tiny maiden when she was adopted into the Lacey family of Iowa, becoming the adopted sister of Congressman Lacey of Iowa. When about sixteen years of age she took up the profession of teaching, which she followed for many years. She taught in the schools of Oskaloosa, Iowa, for seven years, in the schools of Des Moines seven years, in Cleveland, Ohio, for seven years and seven years in Deadwood, South Dakota. Much of this time was devoted to instruction along special lines. She is a graduate of the Anderson Normal School of Physical Training at New Haven, Connecticut, and was a student in the Boston and Chicago Conservatories of Elocution. She became a teacher of reading and physical training in the normal department and supervisor of physical training in the primary grades of the Cleveland (Ohio) public schools, and for two years was president of the physical education department of the National Teachers, Association. A volume entitled, "Physical Education," published by the American Book Company, contains the eclectic system by Mrs. Clark and is widely used in schools throughout the country. One well qualified to judge of her work said: "She may truly be called a pioneer in making physical education practical in the public-school system. Under her intelligent supervision in Des Moines, Iowa, this interest developed from experimental work in a single grade to systematic pro" vision for the entire school course. Of her work, at the close of four years, the Annual Report says: 'It promotes the physical well-being of the child, improves his manners, secures better conditions for his other studies and helps to build- him into a more symmetrical life. Under cautious, judicious management, prejudice has given way to a healthy state of thinking on the subject. Among the pupils many forms of nervous diseases have yielded to this training, while round shoulders and sunken chests have been remedied. The work has grown to be a part of the regular school management and has entered into the position, bearing, manners and expressions of the children, who understand its value in fitting them for a more useful life.' " Mrs. Clark also became interested in the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union through the influence of Miss Frances Willard and has ever been ready to lend her aid along that line of effort for the moral betterment of the race. In his political views Dr. Clark has ever been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He early became allied with the Grand Army of the Republic and was made department commander for South Dakota in 1896. He has delivered many addresses on Memorial Day and has often been heard in public gatherings upon other questions of widespread interest and importance. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity but because of impaired hearing does not regularly attend the lodge meetings. He has become the owner of city property in Hot Springs, where he is now an honored and highly esteemed resident. His entire life work has been a potent influence for good, his work being along the lines of uplift and betterment, and many acknowledge the efficacy of his teachings as forces for righteousness in their lives.