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Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark

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Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark

Birth	:	1 May 1848 Mercer County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death	:	30 Dec 1900 Marshalltown, Marshall County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Fairview Cemetery, Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.8857994, -103.6536026
Description	:	Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash was the first child and only daughter of Henry John Bash & Phebe Rodgers, born near Pine Grove, PA (now called Grove City). In 1855, she migrated in a covered wagon to central Iowa with her parents and two younger brothers, Lebbeus and Sherman. The family settled on the prairie north of the village of Marshalltown in what is now Liscomb Township. Henry Bash's two-story, red brick farmhouse still stands east of what is now state highway #14. In early days, it served as a stagecoach stop. August 2012 UPDATE: Henry's red brick farmhouse has... Read More	Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash was the first child and only daughter of Henry John Bash & Phebe Rodgers, born near Pine Grove, PA (now called Grove City). In 1855, she migrated in a covered wagon to central Iowa with her parents and two younger brothers, Lebbeus and Sherman. The family settled on the prairie north of the village of Marshalltown in what is now Liscomb Township. Henry Bash's two-story, red brick farmhouse still stands east of what is now state highway #14. In early days, it served as a stagecoach stop. August 2012 UPDATE: Henry's red brick farmhouse has been torn down. A local landmark exists no more. At about age 14, Mary fell in love with a neighbor boy, Albert George Clark, eldest son of George Valentine Clark and his wife Catherine; but her parents refused to consent to their marriage. So the teenagers eloped to Missouri and wed in a state where no parental consent was necessary for juveniles to marry. In those days---about 1862---the trip from central Iowa to its southern border would have taken several days by horseback, plus entering a Civil War border state entailed a bit of danger for the plucky young couple. Angered and disappointed that his darling daughter had disobeyed him, Mary's father refused to have anything more to do with her. Then, in timeless tradition, when his grandchildren started arriving, he relented and the family reunited. But unlike the fairy tales, everyone did not live happily ever after. Our lovely heroine was felled by circumstances beyond her control. Her unfaithful husband contracted syphilis, which he unknowingly passed to his wife. The disease attacked her brain, causing severe headaches and aberrant behavior. On the night of November 1, 1869, tragedy struck the Clark farmhouse---a 20-foot-square log structure, with a frame addition on the north end. The next morning, owner/farmer John Gulde arrived to harvest the cornfield. He sent his young daughter Mary Elizabeth to the house to leave his dinner. Going into the house, she discovered the three young children lying dead on the bed, and a "river of blood" running from the bed to the door. The heads of the two boys had been split open with an axe. The baby's head had been smashed to a jelly. The axe that had done the horrible work was standing against the bed, covered with hair and blood. About two rods from the front door, the family dog, a young pup, was found dead, undoubtedly killed with the same weapon. Mary Clark was nowhere to be found. As news of the horror spread, the countryside was up in arms, searching for the missing mother. Some pioneers suspected the native Indians of killing the children and kidnapping the mother. Others suspected an unfriendly neighbor, Jake Blink, of whom Mary was terrified. One neighbor stated that Mrs. Clark "was afraid as death of Jake Blink, and would run from him if she saw him half a mile away." Landowner Blink was determined to regain the Clark farm, which he had lost in a nasty divorce, by any means necessary. Blink had threatened to kill Albert Clark when he had an opportunity. But on the night of November 1st, Albert was away with his threshing crew. He returned home about 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 2, to find his three children slaughtered and his wife gone. He lay groaning "My poor Charlie! My dear Frank! Darling babe! O, where is my poor Mary?" He determined she was wearing a white Garibaldi (blouse) and a blue Merino wool skirt, as he found all her other clothes. Her description was given as about five feet three inches in height, heavy built, complexion swarthy, eyes dark and sparkling, hair dark and very long. The citizens of Eden Township, Marshall County, Iowa, offered a $500 reward. 350 citizens lined up about five rods apart and searched the area. Neighbor Blink opposed their going over his field, saying it would "break down the corn, trample the field and injure it." A newspaper reporter described the crime scene: "The room where the murder was committed is quite plainly furnished. There are chairs, a stove, cupbard, clothes-press, table, three barrels, a bench, one trunk, and a large bed, with the trundle-bed underneath. On the walls hung a looking glass, a book-shelf, a clock, and a picture of the Virgin Mary holding the sacred heart." Four days later, Mary Clark suddenly reappeared, and entered her little home to find her father and father-in-law there. She asked for her babies, who had already been buried side by side, in one short, broad coffin. Some straw was stuck in Mary's hair and clothing, and a search disclosed the place of her concealment, in an old straw stack, not over a hundred yards south of the house. (This catatonic state in which the unmoving victim appears to be dead, led in earlier centuries to people being buried alive by mistake, as in Edgar Allen Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher," as well as his "The Premature Burial.") Her mind wandered. She spoke little, but was heard to say, "Listen! Listen! Do you hear that? Do you hear that dog? He's not barking, he's howling!" Another time, "Hush Charley, don't wake Frankey, that man's coming." And, "I must go and get my baby; I'm afraid that man will get it." And, "Keep still Charley, that man is going to kill the baby." On being questioned, her mind would immediately wander, and nothing satisfactory could be elicited. An inquest judged Mary insane in the matter of the deaths of her children: Charles C. Clark, age 3 years & 9 months; Frank Clark, age 1 year & 11 months; and Ivanora V. Clark, age 3 months. Mary was allowed to return to her husband, and they begot two more children: Sherman Everett Clark (a deaf mute---could neither hear nor speak) and Alden Leroy Clark, who was called Leroy and Roy. The 1870 census lists Mary & Albert farming north of Marshalltown, Iowa, in Liscomb Township, Marshall County---probably on one of her father's many farms. By the 1880 census, they have moved into Marshalltown, and Albert dug wells & cisterns for a living. Mary's mental faculties worsened, and by 1885, she had been confined to the mental ward of the Marshall County farm. She died there at age 52. Her youngest child, Leroy Clark, a veteran of the U.S. Army, died at age 45 at his home in Marshalltown, a victim of the Spanish influenza pandemic that was sweeping the world in 1918. He was buried near his mother. No tombstone marks Leroy's grave, nor his father's. A large pink granite monument at the back of the Clark plot states: CLARK MARY E, WIFE OF A.G. CLARK MAY 1, 1848 -- DEC 30, 1900 AT REST A small matching headstone in front bears just the word MOTHER. Epilogue The inquest judged Mary guilty. But was she? I researched and wrote up the tragic case of cousin Mary A.E. Bash Clark some years ago; but several things have always bothered me about it: 1. If the authorities REALLY believed that Mary murdered her children, wouldn't they have locked her up to protect others in the community? Or even executed her, since Iowa had the death penalty then. 2. If Albert G. Clark REALLY believed that his wife murdered their three small children, why would he continue living with her, and get her with child two more times! 3. Some of the statements made by Mary soon after the tragedy, e.g.: "Hush Charley, don't wake Frankey, that man's coming." And, "I must go and get my baby; I'm afraid that man will get it." And, "Keep still Charley, that man is going to kill the baby." On being questioned, her mind would immediately wander, and nothing satisfactory could be elicited. 4. One neighbor stated that Mrs. Clark "was afraid as death of Jake Blink, and would run from him if she saw him half a mile away. Landowner Blink was determined to regain the Clark farm, which he had lost in a nasty divorce, by any means necessary. Blink had threatened to kill Albert Clark when he had an opportunity. But on the fateful night of November 1st, Albert was away with his threshing crew. Did Blink target Albert's children? And Mary escaped into the night before he could kill her, too? 5. Were the authorities unwilling to charge one of their peers---another wealthy landowner---with the crime? So they used poor Mary---wife of just a renter---as a scapegoat? Her mind was already unhinged, thanks to her philandering husband giving her syphilis; and seeing her boys and baby daughter slaughtered before her eyes would have been an unbearable nightmare. No records about the case exist in the Marshall County courthouse at Marshalltown. Marshall County histories published later contain no mention of the horrendous incident. steven coulter [email protected] P.S. I do not know the name of Mary's maternal grandmother. But naming daughters after their grandmothers was a common practice in the 1800s. The middle initial E in her name may stand for her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth George Bash; and perhaps her maternal grandmother's name was Mary Ann, always a popular name. Or, she may have been named after her father's youngest sister, Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash. P.P.S. Mary's husband Albert George Clark was born in August 1845 in Pennsylvania, and died 8 May 1913, of syphilis in Marshall County, Iowa. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery near his wife, but no headstone marks his grave. Also buried--and also unmarked--in that lot is Albert's 2nd wife, Harriet Ruth (Ferneau) Plum. They married 11 November 1902, both aged 59--according to the marriage record, which has errors!; but Harriet died a year later, on 27 November 1903. She was the daughter of Solomon C. Ferneau & Amanda Melvina Arrington. Her first husband was Aaron L. Plum. They had five children.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark's memorial?
Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark's memorial is located at: Fairview Cemetery, Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff County, USA.
When did Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark death?
Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark death on 30 Dec 1900 in Marshalltown, Marshall County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Mary Ann Elizabeth Bash Clark's memorial?
Latitude: 41.8857994
Longitude: -103.6536026

Family Members:

Parent

Henry John Bash

(1826 - 1900)

Phebe Rodgers Bash

(1827 - 1892)

Spouse

Albert George Clark

(1845 - 1913)

Siblings

Lebbeus Bash

(1849 - 1912)

Sherman Francis Bash

(1853 - 1876)

Children

Alden Leroy “Leroy, Roy” Clark

(1873 - 1918)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Francis Episcopal Church Columbarium
Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8665000, -103.6617500

2. Sunset Memorial Park
Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8997002, -103.7166977

3. West Lawn Cemetery
Gering, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8167000, -103.6849976

4. East Lawn Cemetery
Minatare, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8591995, -103.5177994

5. Mitchell Valley Cemetery
Mitchell, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8877983, -103.8311005

6. Mitchell Cemetery
Mitchell, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9585991, -103.8214035

7. Pierre Didier Papin Gravesite
Gering, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7353783, -103.6983490

8. Pioneer Graves
Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8057785, -103.8303909

9. Creighton Valley Cemetery
Melbeta, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7482300, -103.5580400

10. Caldwell Pioneer Graves
Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8911812, -103.9287087

11. Forest Lawn Cemetery
Morrill, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9919014, -103.9128036

12. High Butte Cemetery
McGrew, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7289009, -103.4353027

13. Caldwell Cemetery
Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8997002, -103.9768982

14. Bayard Cemetery
Bayard, Morrill County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7666910, -103.3236600

15. Chimney Rock Cemetery
Morrill County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6991997, -103.3399963

16. Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Harrisburg, Banner County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6699982, -103.9449997

17. Henry Crypt
Henry, Scotts Bluff County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0001000, -104.0454000

18. Jensen Cemetery
Banner County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5719550, -103.8112790

19. Sheep Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Sioux County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0836290, -104.0283450

20. Harrisburg Cemetery
Banner County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5427010, -103.7158430

21. Snake Creek Cemetery
Box Butte County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0889015, -103.2742004

22. Morrill County Rural Burial Site
Bayard, Morrill County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7312100, -103.2353100

23. Gabe Rock Cemetery
Banner County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5668200, -103.8700200

24. Angora Cemetery
Angora, Morrill County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8577995, -103.1306000