Clark Family Cemetery
Rio Frio, Real County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Newlyweds Joseph Hutchinson Clark (1857-1901) and Annie Susie Wilson (1869-1953) bought this land from Annie's father on April 2, 1887. On Christmas Eve, 1901, Joseph was killed in a wagon accident on a curve between here and Reagan Wells. According to family oral history, he had recently told his daugher of his wish to be buried at this site. In 1905, Annie married Joseph's brother, David Gaston Clark (1864-1943). He was killed in an accident on the same curve where his brother died nearly five decades earlier. Annie was laid to rest between her two husbands. They share this burial ground with other members of the Clark family. Historic Texas Cemetery-2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1887 newlyweds Joseph and Annie Clark bought this Hill Country land from Annie's father, beginning a family story marked by a haunting coincidence. Joseph died in a 1901 wagon accident on a nearby curve; Annie later married his brother David, who was killed on the very same curve decades later. Annie was buried between her two husbands in the family plot that still holds their kin.
Why it matters
This modest burial ground preserves the intimate, sometimes tragic texture of frontier family life in late nineteenth-century Texas ranch country.
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Related people
- · Joseph Hutchinson Clark
- · Annie Susie Wilson
- · David Gaston Clark
Themes & tags
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