Title: Darwin Clark Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1828-1924

Creator:

• Clark, Darwin, 1812-1899

Call Number: Mss 19

Quantity: 5.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes and 10 oversize volumes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Mainly business papers, 1837-1897, of Darwin Clark, a Madison, Wisconsin cabinet maker and furniture manufacturer and retailer who was active in local politics, school affairs, and lyceum and other cultural groups. Includes ledgers, inventories, order books, and invoices of his furniture company and real estate transaction records; a few papers pertaining to social life and elections in Madison in the 1830s and 1840s; miscellaneous papers relating to his wife, 1891-1924; and genealogical data on the Clark, Adams, and Newell families.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00019

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Darwin Clark, son of Isaac and Eunice Davis Clark, was born on May 12, 1812, in Otego, New York. He served in Otego as an apprentice in the cabinet making trade from age sixteen to twenty-one. He arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, on the morning of June 10, 1837, to assist in the erection of the new capitol building. In the afternoon of the same day other workmen and settlers arrived. In his first year at Madison, Clark not only helped to build the Capitol but also helped construct a mill, a store building, and the American hotel. He served as clerk in the hotel from 1839 to 1841. In 1842 he went into the milling and contracting business, and during the winter of 1843-1844 he taught school in Madison. In 1845, Darwin Clark started dealing in furniture, and for many years operated both a furniture manufacturing and repair establishment and a furniture retail store.

Clark became active in local politics, school affairs, and cultural groups. In reference to the latter, the Papers contain a very interesting document (Box 1, Folder 4) showing that one month after the arrival of Clark in the Madison “wilderness” he and others were conducting a debating society under the title of “Madison Lycium.” In 1844, he was unsuccessful as a candidate for sheriff, although he had served as deputy county treasurer prior to that. He was twice treasurer of Madison and Blue Mounds precinct and was twice elected treasurer of the city of Madison. He served as an alderman during the years 1858-1861, and was president of the council for one year. Darwin Clark also layed out the Forest Hill Cemetery of Madison.

In 1848, Mr. Clark married Sarah L. Goodnow. She died in 1854, and he was married again, in 1858, to Frances Ann Adams. They had two daughters whose married names were Grace (Mrs. Frederic K.) Conover and Mrs. Frances Wood.

The Darwin Clark Papers include Mr. Clark's personal and financial records, record books of his furniture company and other business ventures, and records of his property and real estate transactions. The correspondence in the Papers is very limited, although letters written in his later years do make references to the early settlement of Madison, and give his impressions of the site when he first arrived. The correspondence includes a letter of praise to the University of Wisconsin, and a letter from Lyman Draper.

The collection also includes a small amount of material on Darwin Clark's religious beliefs, and his political life, the latter relating to early elections in Madison. In addition, there are papers concerning several estates in which he seems to have been connected with, those of John Dunbar, F. F. Shrigley, G. A. Briggs, Elkanah Hewitt, and the William M. McCormick Saloon.

The collection also includes genealogical materials relating to the Adams, Newell, and Clark families.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Myron Stevens, executor of the estate of Mrs. Frederic K. Conover, January, 1963.

Processing Information

Processed by 1967 archives students and Margaret Hafstad, August 9, 1968.

Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1837-1839, 1855-1869, 1889-1897
Box   1 Folder   2	Manuscripts relating to arrival and settlement in Madison, Wis., 1842-1843, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Documents relating to political and school affairs, Madison, Wis., 1839-1874
Box   1 Folder   4	Documents relating to religious and cultural affairs, Madison, Wis., 1837-1840
	Bills and receipts
Box   1 Folder   5	1830's
Box   1 Folder   6	1840's
Box   1 Folder   7	1850's - 1890's, undated
Box   1 Folder   8	Tax receipts, 1840-1867
Box   1 Folder   9	Real estate - mortgages, notes, agreements, 1839-1864, 1880, 1893, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	Invitations, many relating to Madison affairs, 1839-1856, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Darwin Clark Estate
Box   2 Folder   2	Elkanah Hewitt and G. A. Briggs Estate
Box   2 Folder   3	John Dunbar Estate
Box   2 Folder   4	F. F. Shrigley Estate
Box   2 Folder   5	William M. McCormick Saloon
Box   2 Folder   6	Mrs. Darwin Clark - miscellaneous papers, 1891, 1903, 1913-1924
Box   2 Folder   7	Darwin Clark - miscellaneous biographical items: Otego, N. Y., 1828-1832; Madison, Wis., , 1837-1868
	Genealogy
Box   2 Folder   8	Clark Family
Box   2 Folder   8	Adams Family
Box   2 Folder   8	Newell Family
Box   2 Volume   1	Memorandum and account book (personal), circa 1852-1887
Box   2 Volume   2	Clark Family Record (genealogy)
Box   2 Volume   3	Rent Book - accounts receivable, 1879-1898
	Darwin Clark - Furniture Manufacturer and Dealer
Box   3 Volume   4	Inventory, 1868-1873
	Ledgers
Box   3 Volume   5	Accounts payable, 1881-1882
Box   3 Volume   6	Accounts receivable and payable, 1854-1863
Box   3 Volume   7	Accounts receivable and payable, 1864-1879
Volume   8	Accounts receivable, 1844-1851
Volume   9	Accounts receivable, 1851-1860
Volume   10	Accounts receivable, 1867-1874
Volume   11	Accounts receivable, 1874-1881
Volume   12	Accounts receivable, 1881-1897
	Order book
Box   3 Volume   13	1867-1881
Box   3 Volume   14	1881-1888
	Invoices
Volume   15	1866-1874
Volume   16	1874-1880
Volume   17	1874-1880
Volume   18	1885-1891
Volume   19	Accounts (repair business?), 1874-1883