A memorial visit

In a couple of weeks my brother will be seeking and hopefully visiting the grave of one William C. Clark.

Born in 1818 in Richmond County, Georgia; as an adult he took up mining in Wisconsin. In 1853 he followed the call of gold and crossed the plains to California.

Soon after his arrival he suffered permanently crippling injuries from a cave in. It is certain he never found a mother lode but he was successful enough to support a prospector's life style into old age.

The eldest of the sons of Isabella Clark and Thomas Pye-Clark he carried out voluminous correspondence with his brothers. One of whom was my great great grandfather. The love and connection never diminished.

Late in life he was persuaded to return to Wisconsin to the home of his brother John. But the stay was brief, for reasons that can be imagined. He returned to lodging at the Shasta County Hospital attended to by professionals and lodge brothers. The compassion of the community expressed in its institutions is described in an earlier entry.

Now almost 120 years after his death there is family who will make the first visit to his grave; the stuff of pilgrimage, and the stuff of the cross generational passage of commitment.