Abstract
The J. Ross Clark Scrapbook dates from approximately 1897 to 1972 and consists of newspaper clippings collected by his wife, Miriam Evans Clark. The clippings relate to professional events in the lives of J. Ross Clark and his brother, Senator William A. Clark. A small number of the clippings refer to births, marriages, and deaths in Miriam Evans and J. Ross Clark's families. Also included are documents written by J. Ross Clark's grand-niece, Dorothy Murdock Dunkley, that offer additional information about the Clark and associated families.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The J. Ross Clark Scrapbook dates from approximately 1897 to 1972 and consists of newspaper clippings collected by his wife, Miriam Evans Clark. The clippings relate to professional events in the lives of J. Ross Clark and his brother, Senator William A. Clark. A small number of the clippings refer to births, marriages, and deaths in Miriam Evans and J. Ross Clark's families. Also included are documents written by J. Ross Clark's grand-niece, Dorothy Murdock Dunkley, that offer additional information about the Clark and associated families.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
James Ross Clark, known as J. Ross, was born in 1850 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He was the sixth child of John and Mary Andrews Clark. After a public education in Pennsylvania and Iowa, Clark moved to Montana in 1871, joining his older brothers Joseph K. and William A. Clark in mining ventures. Clark entered the banking business soon after, and opened a private bank in Butte, Montana in 1876. He married Miriam Augusta Evans in 1878.
In 1892, Clark and his wife moved to Los Angeles, California, and by 1896 J. Ross Clark, with investment from his brother William, organized the first sugar beet factory in southern California. The same year, Clark helped convince the city of Los Angeles to establish a deep-water harbor at San Pedro Bay. The Clark brothers, along with some other business associates, pushed a $70 million bond issue that established a railroad line from San Pedro to Salt Lake City, Utah. After the construction of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad was completed, Clark served as vice-president and chief executive for almost a decade.
Clark remained active in banking and managing numerous business holdings, as well as many charitable activities throughout his life. He and his wife assisted in the upbringing of their grandson, James Ross Clark II, after his father Walter died aboard the HMS Titanic in 1912. J. Ross Clark died in Los Angeles, California in 1927.
Sources:
Strack, Don. "James Ross Clark, 1850-1927." Accessed March 3, 2020. https://utahrails.net/utahrails/j-ross-clark.php
Dunkley, Dorothy Murdock. "J. Ross Clark." J. Ross Clark Scrapbook, approximately 1897-1972. MS-00637 Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada
Preferred Citation
J. Ross Clark Scrapbook, approximately 1897-1972. MS-00637 Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1978 by Dorothy Murdock Dunkley; accession number 1978-254.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech rehoused and arranged the materials, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.