Biographical Sketches & Useful Background Information

The time period covered by the greater volume of the letters encompasses the adult lives of our great great grandparents and the full span of our great grandparents.

Watkins Hirst Collection:

Stephen Decatur and Florinda Hirst Watkins, our father's great grand parents, may be considered pro bands for the Watkins Hirst collection.

Stephen Decatur (called "Dick" as a child) was the only son of the physician John Watkins of Pomfret, Vermont. He was born in Pomfret and still a minor when his father died. While in his late teens his mother and step-father, Mary & Ben Howard, moved the family to Trumbull/Mahoning County, Ohio. It was there that Stephen completed his education, began teaching and met and eventually married Florinda Hirst of Coitsville, Ohio.

In 1845 Stephen Watkins migrated to Wisconsin and began teaching at in the community of Blackjack. He returned to Ohio to marry Florinda Hirst and in 1847, as newlyweds, they migrated to Grant County, Wisconsin. Florinda's brother Rolandus P. Hirst accompanied them. The main portion of the Watkins Hirst letters begin with the correspondence with families remaining in Ohio.

Mary Tarr Honey Eaton Watkins Howard was Stephen's mother. His sister was Diana Elizabeth Watkins Ayres. John Snow Howard and Nathan Orlen Howard were Stephen's half brothers. W. D. Hirst was Florinda's father and there are numerous Hirst siblings, Rolandus, Larodus, Mary Jane, Meladotha, Orphalia, Elsie and Vilantha.

There is also correspondence with Orenus Hart (Uncle Orenus) who was Stephen's guardian in Ohio until majority. We cannot determine any other relationship. The Hart family was prominent from colonial times in Connecticut and then in Ohio (the Western Reserve) and there is a superb genealogy online.

Stephen and Florinda Watkins had the following children, Mary Ginevra, Emma Euginia, Rolandus Aurlean and Dora Imogene.

Rolandus Aurlean Watkins was our great grandfather. He became an attorney and practiced law in Lancaster, Wisconsin. He married Ellen Maria Clark in Lancaster, Wis. Ellen was the niece of John Garvin Clark, his law partner. She had been orphaned by the Civil War and Reconstruction and as an adolescent moved from Texas to Lancaster, Wis. to live the Clark family.

We know that As early as 1896 Rolla Watkins began to search out his and Ellen's ancestry and most 20th century correspondence is his. In 1901 he, Ellen and children moved to Comanche County, Indian Territory to farm a "claim" obtained in the lottery of that year. Their children were; Charles Stephen Watkins, Ralph Bushnell Watkins, Margaret Watkins Sheppard, Ellen (Nell) Watkins Maxwell and John Clark Watkins.

It is to "R. A." that we are particularly grateful not only for preserving the letters which give life to an interesting period of our history but also for also the meticulous genealogical research, documenting and indexing done by him and his sister Dora. In fact we have often turned to Dora's indexing and notes for clarification. Also the older sister Emma in her letters contributes a great deal of factual information as well as warmth and charm.

Clark Proffitt Letters:

This group of letters presents four brothers and their lives in the mid-19th century, which even includes the tragic situation of brother opposing brother as combatants in the Civil War.

William C. Clark was the oldest, born in Augusta, Georgia he became a miner and spent his adult life in the gold fields of California. Charles Ignatius Clark the next oldest was our great great grandfather. The family which came to include 2 more siblings, Thomas Chapman Clark, and John Garvin Clark traveled west, (with slaves in the company). They eventually settled in Macon & Marion, Counties Missouri. It was in Marion college that Charles Clark met Mary Maria Proffitt.

The Proffitt genealogy has been online for a number of years. It is a very interesting family. Our Proffitt line descends through Sylvester, Pleasant and James.

Charles and Mary Maria were married in 1846 and eventually produced 7 children, including Ellen Maria. They migrated to Hill County Texas in 1852 and built a productive ranching business. The Civil War with Charles' death and Mary Maria's demise in 1869 ended prospects for continuing the business. The children dispersed with the 4 younger ones being taken into his home by youngest brother John G. Clark in Lancaster, Wisconsin.

The greatest majority of the Clark letters are written to this John G. Clark

Vital dates are in the Timeline and the data bases Tree and PAF