Comings and Goings of Adam Clark, 1842-1926 (52 Ancestors #7)

Editor's Note:  this is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

“Uncle Doc” would show up at the ranch, stay for awhile, then leave.  That was the story Uncle B’s mother told him but not much else.  He figured Uncle Doc was related to either Henry or Ida Kendall.

I found this newspaper story that lent support to the comings and goings of this guy.

Covina Argus Newspaper 1910
Newspapers.com

Ah, nicknames.  Not a researcher’s friend.  

What could “Doc” refer to?  A physician or medic?  Maybe the nickname was “Dock” referring to boating, waterway, mariner?  It was futile to put too much effort into guessing.

Miraculously, a newspaper clipping surfaced from a box of memorabilia that solved the mystery of who Uncle Doc was.  

Adam Clark obituary from unknown newspaper.
Click to enlarge.

Uncle Doc was Adam Clark, my great-grandmother Ida May Brown Kendall’s uncle and her mother, Jane Clark Brown’s older brother.  He was born about 1842 in Adams County, Ohio to Daniel Benjamin Clark and Hannah Carrigan Clark.  He served in the Civil War and according to his obituary, he came west in 1868 to work in mining and was a resident of the Soldier’s Home at Sawtelle, California from 1900 until his death in 1926.  In current day calculation using Google maps, the driving distance from Sawtelle to the Kendall ranch is about 37 miles.  Uncle Doc probably came by train. 

This is the extent to which I know Uncle Doc.  It sure would be nice to have more details about his life and how about that town he founded? And I still don't know where the nickname came from.

Sources:

• Uncle B’s recollections and memorabilia collection
• Obituary from unidentified newspaper