Los Angeles County
Biographies
J.
ROSS CLARK
CLARK, J. ROSS, Banking and Railroading, Los Angeles, California, is a native of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, born April 10, 1850. His father was John Clark and his mother Mary (Andrews) Clark. He married Miriam A. Evans on April 16, 1878, at Butte, Montana. There were two children, Ella H., now Mrs. Henry C. Lee, and Walter M. Clark, who died a hero with the sinking of the Titanic.
He received his early education in the public schools of his native State and concluded his studied with a course in the Academy of Bentonsport, Iowa.
When
Mr. Clark grew up his position, environments and opportunities were far
different than those of the young men of today. Towards the setting sun
stretched that vast country known to Americans as the Great West. It was indeed
to be a Greater West, for it was just entering on that phenomenal period of
growth that has had no equal in the history of the world. It was young, wild
and undeveloped. The Indians had not yet been subdued, the vast mineral
deposits lay untouched, unlimited timber tracts stretched away toward the
mountains and the thousand and one industries that were later to add to the
wealth and power of the country were unknown. Mr. Clark decided to try his
fortunes there and, leaving Iowa in 1871, went directly to Montana, then one of
the most rugged yet wealthy regions of the West. He went into business in the
vicinity of Butte, Montana, with his brother, Senator William A. Clark, who had
preceded him to Montana by several years. It was a hard struggle in those days.
There were no railroads; stages being the only means of transportation known in
those wilds. It took the strongest kind of character, courage and persistency
to face the trials which confronted the pioneer, but
all through the years that followed, Mr. Clark, determinate, remained in that country, and its history is linked largely with his success.
Between the years 1871 and 1893, Mr. Clark was engaged in banking and mining throughout the Montana district, being closely associated with his brother in many of the largest copper mining enterprises of the Northwest. In 1876, the same year in which General Custer fought his battle on the Little Big Horn river, the Clarks established a private bank at Butte, Montana, which financial institution is still in operation.
Mr. Clark became heavily interested in numerous mineral deals, in the building of smelters and in other industries adapted to the Montana country. He was identified with every great move for the development of that State as well as with the neighboring territories; with the founding of cities, construction of railroads, organization of territorial government, and in fact his work is part of the history of Montana.
In 1892 he moved to Los Angeles, where he saw an immense field for operation, and where his family could live amid more beautiful surroundings. Mr. Clark’s record in Southern California has been as brilliant as it was in Montana, and he has shared in the development of Los Angeles to a high degree. In 1896 he built the Los Alamitos sugar factory in Southern California, which he managed for several years. He has since turned this business over to his son, Walter M. Clark, who holds the position of manager.
As vice president of the Salt Lake railroad, of which his brother, the Senator, is the principal genius, Mr. Clark has made a conspicuous success. He is also a liberal philanthropist and aids many worthy institutions. Perhaps his most generous assistance was rendered when the Young Men’s Christian Association of Los Angeles was in severe straits. Ever ready and willing to put his shoulder to the wheel, Mr. Clark took charge of the destinies of the association, and after a long hard campaign for new life, new home and new funds, he put the association in the position it occupies today—a splendid institution, with branches in all parts of the city, engaged in a wonderful work.
He is deeply interested in many Southern California corporations, is Vice President of the Los Alamitos Sugar Company and is a Director and Vice President of the Citizens’ National Bank of Los Angeles. He is identified with many of the larger movements for a Greater Los Angeles and has played the part of a distinguished factor in the growth of the Southwest. He is a member of the California, the Jonathan and Sierra Madre clubs, the Bohemian Club of San Francisco and the Silver Bow Club of Butte, Montana.
Transcribed 3-5-11
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 609, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.
1913.
© 2011 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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