Willie Clark

Willie Clark, where did you live?

Carlton's grandfather's name was Willie Clark.  And, thankfully, Andy's cousin, Deanna, who will be joining us on this Natchitoches adventure, video recorded an oral history with Carlton, gathering some critical information in our search for more information about Willie.

Willie Clark's WWI Draft Card c.1917

Between Deanna's excellent interview questions, Carlton's detailed memories and storytelling skills, and a new subscription to ancestry.com, we've learned the following:

• Carlton lived on the farm with his two brothers, Paul (Deanna's father) and Andrew, their grandfather, Willie, and Willie's third wife, Sarah, from about 1943-1951.  While there, Carlton reports that he attended the New Town School and "Central High School".  Neither school stands today and there is no reference to the New Town School (a 2-room school house per Carlton's memory) that I can find online.

• Willie Clark was born on May 16 of 1882 or 1883.

• I found Willie Clark in the 1940 census.  According to that document, Willie Clark, was listed as a "Negro" and as a "Farmer".

Willie Clark on the 1940 US Census

• The 1940 Census does not include a street address, but it does include an enumeration district.  The enumeration district (35-5) helps quite a bit with the general location, but it's pretty hard to narrow down to a specific street number or even intersection. In fact, this is about as helpful as the geographic description gets: 
  
  

Description of the 1940 census enumeration district

• It was ancestry.com where I found Willie Clark's 1917-1918 WW I draft registration card (above), which shows his occupation as a farmer and working for S. Nelken. His 1942 WWII draft registration card shows him as a farmer, self-employed, and living on "Robeline Road".
  

Willie Clark's WWII draft registration card

The more we learn about Willie, and Natchitoches, the more we want to know.  Who was S. Nelken? Did Willie own his land or was he a sharecropper?  When did Willie pass away? Where is he buried? Who were Willie's parents?  Why did Willie speak Spanish (as Carlton remembers)? Where was Willie born?  Were Willie's parents slaves? What happened to the farm? Is it still a farm? Are there current residents of Natchitoches that went to grade school with Carlton?

We are leaving for Natchitoches with two very important questions unanswered.  Where was the farm, exactly?  And, where is Willie buried?

Three organizations have been enormously helpful in our search for landmarks and meaningful information and answers to all of these questions.  I would be remiss not to mention the good people at: 

• Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Watson Library,Northwestern State University of Lousiana
• The Natchitoches Genealogical and Historical Association (NGHA)
• Creole Heritage Center, Northwestern State University 

The individuals we've called, emailed and written to over the past few months at these organizations have been remarkably generous with their time, thorough in their efforts, and genuine in their interest in our search for Willie's farm and for more information about the Clark family history in Natchitoches.  Hopefully, there will be time to connect with some of the individuals that have helped us along the way during our trip to Natchitoches. 

Off we go!