17 April 2020

Patsy Clark 5.3 Brother James' Death 1901

Death of brother James Clark, August 1901



16 April 1901

James Clark is Sick





James Clark 1901 is sick, brother of Patsy Clark
The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review, 1901

He Leaves for the East Today to Consult Dr. Weir Mitchell the Famous Philadelphia Physician -- Mrs. Clark Will Accompany Him on the Trip.
James Clark, millionare mineowner of Spokane, will leave for the east tomorrow in search of health.  He has been suffering from nervous prostration and other complications and his case is serious.  About a month ago Clark came to San Francisco and has been in a private sanitarium ever since.  His health did not improve and he is now going to consult specialists at Philadelphia and Baltimore.
On the trip to Philadelphia Clark will be accompanied by Dr. C.M. Armistead of this city.  On arriving at the Quaker City, Dr. Weir Mitchell will be consulted and then a visit will be paid to Baltimore.  On returning to Philadelphia Clark will remain under care of Dr. Mitchell and then Dr. Armistead will pay a visit to his old home in Lynchburg, Va.  Returning, he will join Clark at Philadelphia and accompany him to his home in Spokane.

 Here we see that James is sick from "nervous prostration" and other complications.  So ... he is a nervous man?  Is he overly stressed?  He tried treatment in a sanitarium in California which didn't work, so now he tries a Pennsylvania specialist.  What is he a specialist in?  This arrangement must have been made by letter or telegraph.  According to Wikipedia, the first coast to coast phone call didn't happen until 1915.  A sanitarium was usually a hospital.

Intellectual Interlude

Nervous Prostration

Also known as neurasthenia, it is a condition described in the late 1800s ... believed to most commonly affect those who performed cerebral work (e.g., physicians, lawyers and inventors), which is now known as stress.  Reported findings included a loss of interest in mental labour and heart disturbances.  Neurasthenia was viewed as ... a product of the progress and refinement of modern civilisation; treatments included cold water cures, diets, exercise, arsenic, and many others (Segen's Medical Dictionary, 2012).
Some treatments included arsenic?  That can cause a ton of problems itself.  A movie immediately comes to mind which I love -- Arsenic and Old Lace.



Dr Weir Mitchell

Silas Weir Mitchell was in the Civil War.  He was also an author of many psychology novels and historical romance.  If you want a list of his books, check out the Encyclopaedia Brittannica here.  I found several of his books on EBay, here.  After the Civil War (1861 to 1864) he became known for his "rest cure" (Tikkanen, 2020).

Mitchell, S. Weir
Encyclopaedia Brittanica

Rest Cure

This cure was one where patients were to take strict rest.  To remove themselves from society, or from their obligations.  He recognized that women who had just given birth may need this, and some of his patients may have had what we now call anxiety or depression.  He developed this cure after the Civil War, in the 1870s.  While the cure was mostly for women, he accepted men as well, individually customizing treatments based on his examination and assessments.  A list and links of some of his books are below.
(Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 2017)




16 April 1901

Left Here in February


James Clark 1901 is sick part 2
The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review, 1901

Left Here in February
Miss Clark, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Clark, said last evening:  "Mr. and Mrs. Clark left Spokane February 10 for southern California, where Mr. Clark is expected to regain his health, which has been poorly for a long time past.  I do no think that his case is serious and hope there is no immediate danger.  They have not been at a private sanitarium, but have private apartments in a hotel.  In my last letter, which I received two days ago, they stated they were going east, but when they will return to Spokane they did not say."
Here, Miss Clark (Charlotte, Catherine, or Agnes) says James was NOT in a sanitarium, but was in a hotel apartments.  She doesn't think things are that serious.  The Clarks will go east from California with no known return date.


30 July 1901

James Clark is quite sick at Sacred Heart Hospital



Spokane Chronicle, 1901

In just three months from starting to travel to Pennsylvania, and however long he stayed there, he is now very sick in Sacred Heart Hospital.  Three years before that, Sacred Heart Hospital had just opened Spokane's first nurses training school, the second in Washington State.

Intellectual Interlude

Sacred Heart Hospital

People came from Idaho, Canada mining areas .... "With gifts from the miners, ... and other generous people, the sisters [nuns] built the first Sacred Heart Hospital on the South bank of the Spokane River between Brown and Bernard."  This is where the Spokane convention center now stands.
A second wing was constructed in 1901, made entirely of wood.  The hospital was moved to 8th Avenue and Browne in 1908 (Discovery School, 2011)

History3
1898
Nurses Training School opens
the first in Spokane and second in the state
(Providence Health and Services, 2020)



8 August 1901

James Clark passed away



Spokane Chronicle, 1901

James Clark Passed Away

Death Claimed the Prominent Mining Man Today
James Clark died this afternoon a little before 3 o'clock at his residence, Spruce and Third, as the result of stomach trouble, whith which he had been suffering for many months.  The arrangements for his funeral have not been made.
Mr. Clark leaves a wife, three children, three brothers and two sisters.  His children are Agnes Clark, Katherine Clark and Patsy Clark.  His brothers are Patrick Clark of this city, Thomas Clark and Dennis Clark of San Jose.  His sisters are Mrs. Mary Harvy of this city and Mrs. Bessie Casey of Franklin, Pa.
Mr. Clark was counted among the wealthiest citizens of Spokane, and was prominent in mining circles.
About a month later, James Clark is gone.  His adopted daughter is Agnes, who is about 23 years old, and his second daughter Katherine, who is about 5 years old.  Charlotte died the year she was born, according to my genealogical research.  So that answers the question, who talked with reporters earlier?  It would have been Agnes.  

Here, we also find that James suffered from stomach problems.  These could be many, including severe ulcer, or cancer.  If he was treated with arsenic (see above, Rest Cure), that alone could cause abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting and diarrhea.

10 August 1901

Funeral of James Clark


James Clark 1901 Funeral
The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review, 1901

Looks like there will be Catholic rites at the church, where the Elks will attend as a body.  One set of pall bearers to take the casket to the funeral wagon.  A graveside service conducted by the Elks' Lodge, with another set of pall bearers.




James Clark 1901 Funeral Rites
Spokane Chronicle, 1901

Another article on the Funeral for James Clark





James_Clark_1901_obituary__An_Old_Time_Butte_and_Anaconda_man
The Anaconda Standard, 1901

Geoffrey Lavell received a dispatch yesterday announcing the death ... of James Clark, formerly of Butte and Anaconda, and brother of Patsy Clark, another well-known mining man.
The article goes on to give history of his life.  He had been sick for some time of cancer of the stomach.  He had consulted with California doctors a year earlier, was told to go East to see Dr. Mitchell, but he was then told to go home immediately so he could die at home.

Elks ordered to attend James Clark's funeral




Elks ordered to attend funeral for James Clark
The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review, 1901





11 August 1901

Missoula obituary



James_Clark_1901_obituary__brother_of_Patsy_Clark
The Missoulian, 1901



21 August 1901

James Clark will, and provisions for his family


Spokane Chronicle 1901



MAKES SOME LARGE GIFTS
Relatives Provided For by James Clark's Will.
IS NOW ON FILE
His Stepdaughter Is Given a Legacy of Ten Thousand Dollars.
The largest legacy left by the will of the late James Clark ... is $10,000 to his stepdaughter, Agnes Clark.  Larger amounts may be left to his son and daughter and Mrs. Clark, but they will come by division of the estate, and figures are not given in the will to show what the amounts will be.
In his will the deceased makes bequests to different parties, some in mining stock, some in cash and more in personal wearing apparel, which he gives as keepsakes.  The will has just been admitted to probate and the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Charlotte Clark, appointed trustee of the estate, according to one of the provisions of the will.
The will was signed by Mr. Clark on the 18th of July, 1901, less than a month before his death.  The witnesses to the will are Voorhees, Essig and Witter, all residents of Spokane.  The document contains seven typewritten pages, aside from the page with the names of the subscribing witnesses.
The deceased first provided by his will that according to section 6196 of Ballinger's code he desired that his estate be settled without the Intervention of the court.  Mr Clark appointed his wife, Charlotte Clark, trustee of the estate, specifying that she be required to give no bonds, and also requesting that she act without compensation other than as is provided for her in the will.
For Mrs. Clark.
Mrs Clark is provided for in the first bequest of the will, which reads:  
"I give, devise and bequeath all the real property situated in the state of Washington of which I may die possessed and all the personal property, chattels, offsets and choses in action, whatsoever the same may be, which I may own at the time of my death to my trustee above mentioned, the said property being my separate property, all community interest therin having been heretofore extinguished by arrangement between my wife, Charlotte Clark, and myself, in trust, nevertheless, to be held by her upon and subject to the trusts and confidence following and hereinafter specified."
The will next provides that the trustee shall pay all just debts at the time of death as soon as possible, and in case there is not sufficient money on hand she is given power to realize on the personal property, with the exception of his United States government bonds, stock in the Traders' National bank and stock in the Spokane Brewing & Malting company, which are provided for later in the will.
Pin for Dr. Essig.
Dr. N. Fred Essig, one of the subscribing witnesses of the will, was next remembered, Mr. Clark bequeathing to the doctor his scarf pin, consisting of an emerald, set with diamonds, and adds:  "Which it is my wish that the said Essig shall accept as a slight testimonial of my high appreciation of his sterling worth as a man and of the great benefit I have derived from many years of association with him, both as my medical adviser and as my friend."
The Jewelry.
By the nest: provision Patrick Parnell Clark, the son of the deceased, is remembered, he being bequeathed all of his father's jewelry, such as watches, rings, studs and pins other than the one left to Dr. Essig.  The jewelry is left in the care of Mrs. Clark till her son has attained such an age as to make it proper for him to wear it.  The paragraph closes with the following complimentary remark:  "It being my desire that my son shall by the wearing of said jewelry be constantly reminded that his father always in his lifetime entertained for him the most thoughtful love and affection."
Mr. Clark left to his two sisters, Mrs. Mary Harvey and Mrs Bessie Casey, each 50,000 shares of the capital stock of the Lone Pine Consolidated Mining company as a testimony of his affectionate regard for them.
By paragraph five the deceased provided that his wife shall take possession of all the furniture, pictures and fixtures at the family residence, together with all the horses, harness and carriages, to be held by her for her sole use, "desiring in this way, having heretofore, on the 2d day of September, 1899, given to my wife as her separate property one half of my estate as it then existed, to still further indicate my great sense of the faithful loyalty and kindly affection always displayed to me by my wife."
Gift to the Church.
The Main Avenue Catholic church is remembered with a gift of $1000, which is to be paid to the Very Rev. E. Kauten, to help in the building of the new church in contemplation, the money to be paid as soon as work is started.  If necessary to make this payment, the trustee is given power to dispose of any government bonds, stock in the Traders' bank, or in the Spokane Brewing & Malting company.
The deceased also provided that immediately after his death his wife should have a family vault erected at Fairmount cemetery, the design to be as desired by Mrs. Clark.  She is given power to raise funds for this by the sale of any property of the estate.
Two Large Gifts.
By the next provision of the will $10,000 in cash is left to Agnes Clark, Mr. Clark's stepdaughter.  He, however, requests that the money be not paid till five years after his death, unless, however, his wife thinks it wise and best that it be paid sooner, in which event it shall be paid at any time after one year from his death.  The $10,000 is to be paid from proceeds of the sale of property other than his stocks in the Traders' bank, the Spokane Brewery & Malting company and United States government bonds.  Up till the time of the payment of the money the will provides that his stepdaughter should receive 6 per cent interest on the money from the estate.
Mr. Clark also leaves %5000 to his niece, Mamie McCoy, with the same provisions as are made with the $10,000 legacy, to be paid in five years, unless his wife thinks best otherwise, and to be derived from the sale of the same kind of property, and to draw 6 per cent interest.

Who is Mamie McCoy?  If you know, contact me using the form on the right, or in the comments below.

His Two Children.
By paragraph ten Mr. Clark provides that the remainder of the estate shall be held by his wife till his daughter, Catherine Margaret Clark, shall be 21 years of age.  The income received is to be the support of the family, and his wife is given power to dispose of any property, with the exception of stock in the Traders' bank, the Spokane Brewing & Malting company and his United States Government bonds.  If the income is too large for their support the deceased desired his wife to invest in government bonds or other good security.
The last provision of the will is for his children, a daughter and son.  It is provided that when the daughter arrives at the age of 21 years the estate shall be divided equally between them, or in case one dies before that time the entire estate shall go to the surviving child on reaching the age of 21, and in the event that both shall die before that time the entire estate is left to Mrs. Clark


3 September 1901

James Clark's Estate



James Clark's Estate
Spokane Chronicle, 1901

Left a Fortune and No Debts
The Estate of James Clark Was Left in Fine Condition
Mrs. James Clark appeared in court this morning before Judge Prather with a petition for an order to settle the estate out of court.  In the proceedings she testified that her husband's estate was valued at $135,000, with no liabilities, the only debts to be paid being what were incurred for the last sickness and funeral expenses.
Judge Prather signed the order declaring the estate solvent and ordering that it be settled out of court.

Okay.  So Mrs Clark says there are no other outstanding debts except medical and funeral.  That's pretty darn good management!  The estate value would be worth over $4 million dollars today.  With no outstanding debts!  So, of course the judge would allow this settled out of court.

25 September 1901

James Clark to be interred in family vault



James_Clark_1901_Vault_for_family_in_Fairmount_Cemetery
Spokane Chronicle, 1901

This article describes in detail the plans for the vault.  It will be highly polished granit on the outside, with marble inside.  The vault will be started in the spring, and the granit cut to dimensions over the winter.

26 September 1901

Large Mausoleum Will Be Erected



James Clark 1901 Mausoleum at Fairmount Cemetery
The Semi-Weekly Spokasman-Review, 1901

Again, another article describing the James Clark vault.

25 October 1901 

James Clark gambling debts



James Clark 1901 widow refuses
to pay gambling debt
Spokane Chronicle, 1901

Lost All At Cards

Gave His Checks for Money and Chips

Failed to Win

And Now His Family Refuses to Honor the Checks

Mrs. James Clark resists the payment of the two checks held by Archie S. Ash against the estate of her deceased husband on the grounds that the two checks were given in payment of gambling debts and are not legal.  The only consideration her husband received for the $1500 Mrs. Clark states was in money and gambling chips, which he lost in Harry Green's clubrooms.  Answer to the complaint, in which this fact was set forth, was filed in the superior court today by Attorneys Sullivan, Nuzum & Nuzum, representing Mrs. Clark.
The suit is entitled Archie S. Ash against Charlotte Clark, trustee of the estate of James Clark.  The plaintiff simply states that on the 10th of October, 1900, James Clark, deceased, gave two checks to Harry Green, one for $100 and the other for $500, which two checks were dated October 12, two days agead of time.  By regular course of business Ash says the checks came into his hands and they have been presented to the bank, but are unpaid.

Lost It All at Cards

In the answer Mrs. Clark states that on the 10th of October, 1900, James Clark was gambling with cards for money in Harry Green's clubrooms, and it was then Mrs. Clark claims her husband executed the $1000 and the $500 checks payable to Harry Green, and to him alone.  The only consideration received for these two checks, sets forthe the defendant, was money and gambling chips given to James Clark by Harry Green for the purpose of playing and gambling at cards, and Mrs. Clark alleges that her husband did continue to gamble and lost at the game all the money he had received from the checks.
Further, she states that Ash had full knowledge of these facts and that the checks were given to Harry Green for gambling chips and that Ash was not and is not a holder in good faith without notice of the illegality of the consideration, but on the contrary had full knowledge when he purchased the checks, if he did purchase them at all, sets for the defense.
For these reasons Mrs. Clark asks that the suit be dismissed and that he have judgment against Ash for costs and disbursements of the suit.

It appears that James Clark lost a couple of checks worth $1500 a year ago.  This would be worth $45,000 today.  But for a couple of reasons, Charlotte Clark refuses to pay this amount.  First, the checks were written for illegal gambling debts.  Second, the checks were made to Harry Green.  Third, those checks were then sold or given to Ash for Ash's own gambling debts.

Kind of complicated, and I haven't found how this pans out, but my bet is on the Clark family.  I believe Nuzum is a law firm which one of the Clark brothers worked for.


1 December 1901

In Memory of Dead



James Clark 1901 memorialized in Elks' Lodge of Sorrow
The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review, 1901


James Clark 1901 memorialized in Elks' Lodge of Sorrow.  "The members of the order wore beuttonniers [sic] of immortelles and purple."

 I tried searching for an image of this and only had these one thing:
From The Soldiers Legacy on Google Books page 19
I also searched on the Elks BPOE website to no avail.  I really was curious to see what they looked like.

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Resources


Discovery School. (2011, July 32). Sacred Heart Hospital - 1886. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from Discovery Robots -- Spokane History Timeline: http://discoveryrobots.org/spokanehistory/sacredheart.html

 Providence Health and Services. (2020). History. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from Providence Health and Services: https://washington.providence.org/locations-directory/s/sacred-heart-medical-center/about/history

 Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. (2017). The Neurasthenia Rest Cure and Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell. (Historical Collections at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia) Retrieved January 2020, from Neurasthenia & the Culture of Nervous Exhaustion: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/nerves/rest/

 Segen's Medical Dictionary. (2012). nervous prostration aka neurasthenia. (Fairlex, Inc.) Retrieved January 28, 2020, from The Free Dictionary, Medical Dictionary: https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/nervous+prostration

 Spokane Chronicle. (1901, September 25). James Clark 1901 Vault for family in Fairmount Cemetery. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com


 Spokane Chronicle. (1898, 12 December 13). Patsy Clark 1898 Building Home, Brother James Building Mansion on Third. Spokane, Washington, USA. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from newspapers.com


 Spokane Chronicle. (1901, September 3). James Clark 1901 estate. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com


 Spokane Chronicle. (1901, August 10). James Clark 1901 Funeral Rites. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

 Spokane Chronicle. (1901, July 30). James Clark 1901 is quite sick at Sacred Heart Hospital. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

Spokane Chronicle. (1901, October 25). James Clark 1901 widow refuses to pay gambling debt. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

Spokane Chronicle. (1901, August 8). James_Clark_1901_passed_away. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

Spokane Chronicle. (1901, August 21). James_Clark_1901_will_and_provisions_for_his_family. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

Spokane Chronicle. (1901, October 2). Patrick_Clark_1901_on_stand__against_Sweeny__James_Clark. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Anaconda Standard. (1901, August 10). James_Clark_1901_obituary__An_Old_Time_Butte_and_Anaconda_man. Anaconda, Montana. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Missoulian. (1901, August 11). James_Clark_1901_obituary__brother_of_Patsy_Clark. Missoula, Montana. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (1899, 08 August 27). Patsy Clark's Brother James Rich in Three Years. Seattle, Washington, USA. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokasman-Review. (1901, September 26). James_Clark_1901_Mausoleum_at_Fairmount_Cemetery. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1897, March 1). Patsy Clark 1897 with brother James Clark. Spokane, Washington, USA. Retrieved December 18, 2019, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, August 10). James Clark 1901 Elks ordered to attend funeral. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, August 10). James Clark 1901 Funeral. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, December 2). James Clark 1901 memorialized in Elks' Lodge of Sorrow. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, August 14). James Clark 1901, brother John try out new guns. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from Newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, April 16). James_Clark_1901_is_sick__brother_of_Patsy_Clar_. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. (1901, November 11). Patrick Clark 1901 donations to new Catholic Church, James Clark. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 2020, from newspapers.com

 Tikkanen, A. (2020, January 1). S. Weir Mitchell. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from Encyclopaedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/S-Weir-Mitchell

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