The 1900 Census lists George W. Clark as owning a residence on Willow Street. The registrar search, however, shows that his wife, Jeanine (a.k.a. Jennie), purchased the 1853 Lot 95 in 1898 from Charles E. Tuthill (Liber 1183 Page 295). This one acre lot is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Prospect Ave. and Pine St. (43rd Avenue). The Census must therefore be in error in regard to the location of the residence.
The 1891 map does not show a house on the lot, whereas the 1904 and 1909 maps show a house located in its northeast quadrant. Either Tuthill built the house between 1891 and 1898 or, more likely, the Clarks built the house between 1898 and 1904.
The Clarks sold the house and the north half of the property in 1913 to James L. Mallory (Liber 1868 Page 84). This part of the property is now designated Block 8106 Lot 5. The south half of the property remained vacant and was sold to Ellen G. O’Leary in 1919 (Liber 2194 Page 344). This south half of the property is now designated Block 8106 Lots 1, 78, and 81.
According to the 1900 Census, George Clark was a literate white male born in 1845 in Massachusetts, as were his parents. His occupation is listed as a bank clerk. He married a white woman, Jeanine, in 1880. She was born in 1856 in New York City. Her parents were born in Rhode Island and Connecticut. She was also literate, but did not have an occupation. They had one son, George B., born in 1884 in Massachusetts and in residence. Although 16 at the time of the Census, his occupation is listed as a bank clerk. The Clarks, having sold their house in 1913, are not listed in the 1920 Census.
There is a question about the continuity of their residence in Douglaston between 1898 and 1913. In 1909 the house was rented furnished for the season to Merrill Watson, General Manager of Pittsburgh Steel interests in New York (Reference 1). The following year, the house was rented to Dr. George A. Wyeth, a prominent Manhattan physician (Reference 2).
The Clarks were reportedly active in Zion Church events. Mrs. Clark participated in a female minstrel show in 1904 (Reference 3) and sold refreshments at a fair in 1907 (Reference 4). Mr. Clark participated in a musical variety program in 1909 (Reference 5). Mrs. Clark also won a prize at 1909 end of year fair (Reference 6).
Mrs. Clark was involved in one incident reported in the newspapers (Reference 7). In October, 1906, as Mrs. Clark and Patrolman Charles W. Baker were getting off the 12:42 A.M. train they noticed that two shanties recently moved near the train station by William Gladstone were on fire. They turned in an alarm and the fire was extinguished before significant damage occurred. Evidence of kerosene at the scene led to the suspicion that the fires were deliberately set, because some Douglaston residents were dismayed by the shanties.
References:
- Flushing Daily Times, April 13, 1909
- Flushing Daily Times, April 18, 1910
- Flushing Daily Times, October 1, 1904
- Flushing Daily Times, November 14, 1907
- Flushing Daily Times, February 10, 1909
- Flushing Daily Times, December 12, 1909
- Flushing Daily Times, October 26, 1906
Prepared by Joseph B. Hellmann, April 22, 1999