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Pay as you Go - Texas Governor Series LbNA #50156 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Boots Tex
Plant date:Aug 31, 2009
Location:
City:Marshall
County:Harrison
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: Bloomin' Gramma Jo
Last found:Aug 25, 2015
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFar
Last edited:Aug 31, 2009
Edward Clark was the 8th governor of Texas. Born in New Orleans, Clark moved to Texas in 1842 and set up a law practice. He served in the Texas Annexation Convention and two terms as a state representative in the Texas Legislature before fighting in the Mexican-American War. When the war ended, he served as secretary of state under Governor Elisha M. Pease and as lieutenant governor under Sam Houston. When Houston refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, Clark became governor. He took the required oath and immediately began raising money and troops and generally readying Texas for war. He managed to raise 20,000 troops to contribute to the Confederate army. Money was tight in Texas during that time, with the Indians still a problem and the state could barely support its Ranger corps. He did everything he could to raise money to pay for outfitting troups and providing supplies to the Confederacy. His financial policy was one of “Pay As You Go”. Clark was only governor for a few months, losing the governor's race by 124 votes to Francis Lubbock. Practicing what he preached, he joined the 14th Texas Infantry as a colonel and was later promoted to Brigadier General after being wounded in battle. At the end of the war, he fled briefly to Mexico, but returned home to Marshall, where he died. His grave in Marshall City Cemetery is a disgrace for a governor of Texas. It has been neglected and forgotten. Someone in Marshall should take it on as a project and clean it up. Any willing takers?

Side note: Edward Clark’s uncle, John Clark, was a governor of Georgia. His grandson, Ed Clark, was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to be ambassador to Australia in 1965.

Directions: This letterbox is placed in Marshall Cemetery in Marshall, Texas. This is an old cemetery located in downtown Marshall, on old Highway 80 (W. Grand Ave.) between N. Boliver St. and N. Alamo Ave., on the north side of the street. Drive carefully through the gate (it’s narrow), and go straight ahead. On the left you will see a grave site with a big stone marker for John T. Mills, and just north of it, also on the left, the grave of Governor Clark with a metal historical marker. Stop and read the marker.

To the Box: While facing the marker, look back over your left shoulder and you’ll see a large juniper tree next to an iron fence which marks the grave of Dr. W. H. Dial. The box is wedged into a fork of that tree a couple of feet off the ground. If you stand next to the iron fence and part the evergreen branches, you should see it in the trunk part of the tree. When you have finished stamping, please make sure the box is securely wedged back into the fork.