Clover Family Research Compendium

Created, Edited, and Maintained By June Clover Byrne

Arkansas Biographical Records

Arkansas Historical Commission Card Index

FHL microfilm 1926894, Arkansas Biographical Card Index 1819 to 1950.  This is a microfilm of original index cards which are at the Arkansas Historical Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas. The cards are alphabetical on a series of 53 rolls of microfilm.  This is all the Clovers that I found. The information was copied onto cards and the spelling is questionable in some cases. Much of this information refers to Clark County marriages of which a more complete list can be found under the heading Marriages. I have not repeated the marriages here because there was no additional information. 

 Andrew Clover, Cleveland County, Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas, (Chicago: Goodspeed, 1890), 625. [I wondered if this could be the Andrew Clover who was descended from John Clover of Connecticut.  He disappeared out of Michigan just before this.  I have been unable to track down any information past his name appearing in the book. It states that “Emeline [Reed] was the wife of Andrew Clover, a farmer of Cleveland County.” I had a lookup done in this county attempting to find a marriage for an Andrew Clover.  The lookup person informed me that there was no such record.  She also said that the volume of marriage records covering 1884 to 1888 was missing. This is the most likely time period.]

Louisa Clover (age 18 next October or November) married Charles Dikes (Age 27 of Colbath Township) married last Sabbath of January 1843, Clark County marriage book B: 82.

William Clover, 1829 Arkansas Census, Caddo Township, Clark County, page 2.

From the same microfilm index. Bailey Library in Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas is the repository for these newspapers.  They were kind enough to send scans.  Unfortunately, the articles clearly have Clower as a surname, not Clover.  

Gatha Anne Clover, Obituary, 20 December 1884, Arkansas Methodist, page 5 column 1

Miscellaneous Biographical Records

Lewis E. Roberts, The By Name Index to the Centennial History of Arkansas, (Mongraphs, 1991). This has three sections for the three volumes. 

James Logan Morgan, Genealogical Records of Arkansas, 1804 to 1830, (Newport: Arkansas Records Association, 1978). No Clovers found. This is marked as volume 1 so there may be more to the series that I have not seen.

Lucy Marion Reeves, Arkansas Families: Glimpses of Yesterday’s Columns from the Arkansas Gazette, (Conway, Arkansas: Arkansas Research, 1995). No Clovers found.

          Clark County, Arkansas: Past and Present

Wendy Richter, editor, Clark County, Arkansas: Past and Present, (Arkadelphia, Arkansas: Clark County Historical Association, 1992), 416 and 417. These two pages have long articles on the Clark County, Arkansas Clovers. This information was submitted by Susie Wagner. Copies were sent to me by Ray Thompson. Please note that this is Susie Wagner’s research and her conclusions are her own and I do not agree with all of them. Please remember that I am reporting the article not suggesting that what she says is correct.   I printed the following article in the Clover Family Chronicles in Spring 2002, Volume 1, Issue 1, pages 8 and 9. My comments are italicized and enclosed in brackets.

William Clover 
        William Clover is believed to have been the son of John and Tabitha Harness Clover. [This is an error. John was not married to a Harness and there is no proof that William was the son of John.] William was born ca. 1800 in the Illinois Territory; he died 20 July 1850 in Clark County, Arkansas.  William married 13 October 1825, in Clark County [Arkansas], Nancy Freeman. Family tradition says that the Clovers came from England, via Virginia, to Illinois Territory, where Jacob and John Clover bought land from the government.
         The 1850 U.S. census of Clark County, Arkansas, listed William Clover, aged fifty, with no wife, and William, Jr, Eli, twins, Lewis and Amanda; Frances Ann, Elizabeth C., Amaranda (Emauradia) and Josiah.  No other information is available about Francis Ann, Lewis and Josiah Clover.
        Known information about the children of William Clover: (1) William Clover, Jr, born ca. 1826, Clark County, Arkansas, married in 1849, Mary Ann Pebsworth; (2) Eli Clover [See article]; (3) Amanda Clover born ca. 1837, married 5 February 1860, Albert T. Arnold, who was killed in the Civil War 20 October 1862; (4) Lewis Clover; (5) Frances Ann Clover; (6) Elizabeth C. Clover born ca. 1834, Clark County, Arkansas, married 17 March 1851, Joseph Pebsworth; (7) Amaranda Clover, (Emarandia), born ca. 1838, married 5 October 1864, William J. Higdon, in Clark County, (8) Josiah Clover. 

Eli Clover
            Eli Clover, a son of William and Nancy Freeman Clover, was born ca. 1870 [should read 1830], Clark County, Arkansas, died before July 1870, married 29 October 1851, Matilda Pebsworth, born ca. 1830 in Indian Territory, Alabama, daughter of Henry and Patsy McCann Pebsworth. Matilda died 3 April 1904, Coalgate, Oklahoma, and was buried in the Glove [sic: This should read Globe] Cemetery near Centrahoma. Her mother was a member of the Choctows.  Their children were: (1) Melissa J. Clover, born 1852, Clark County, Arkansas; (2) Robert Lucious Clover, born 1853, married 4 October 1878, Mary Frances Ricketts, born ca. 1858, and died 4 November 1930. (3) Mary Clover born ca. 1855, died August, 1870; (4) Tabatha Clover, born ca. 1858, died August 1870; (5) Josiah Manley Clover born, February 1859 in Curtis, Clark County, Arkansas, died 1  February 1915.  He married 13 February 1890, Demecia Louiza Karr, born ca. 1874, at Curtis, died ca. 1893 at Curtis. 

[Material in brackets added by editor.]
John Clover           John Clover, born in [ca. 1824/5, AR, died ca. 1869, Hamilton County, Texas.] is thought to have been an older son of William and Nancy Clover [See comments below] who went to Angelina County, Texas before 18 June 1845, when he married Susan Massingill, born ca. 1824, Angelina County, Texas, died ca. 1919, [Died 24 February 1918]. Children born to John and Susan Clover were Mary Matilda, born 5 April 1846, married a Manning;  (2) Sarah Ann, born 20 January 1848, (3) Lucinda Catherine, born 20 August 1850, married Robert Baker (4) Susan Frances, born 24 February 1853; {5) Nathanial Clover, born 22 January 1855; (6) Ruth Elizabeth Clover, born 2 July 1857; (7) Mary Jane Pernina Clover, born 4 September 1858, died 26 June 1929, resided Limestone County, Texas; (8) Nancie Ann Clover, born 2 August 1859; (9) Julia Ann Clover, born  18 November 1862; married 9 January 1878, Hamilton County, Texas, Albert Johnson;  (10) John George Collins Clover, born 12 August 1864, married 3 November 1887, Lottie B. Baker.

           [While I believe it is very possible that this John was the son of a Clark County, Arkansas Clover, he does not quite fit as a son of William H. and Nancy Clover. William was married 13 October 1825, and this John was born in 1824 or 1825 in Arkansas according to the 1850 and 1860 censuses. He married Susan Massingill, 18 June 1845.  I think it unlikely that he could have been born after William Clover, who was born in 1826. There hardly seems time for a child to have been born before William, Jr. There was a marriage for a John Clover to  Catherine Lowell in Clark County, Arkansas, 10 April 1822. According to Ray Thompson, the reconstructed census of 1820 for Arkansas, shows a John Clover, a William Clover and an Adam Clover. There were several other Clover marriages in Clark County, Arkansas between 1820 and 1830, but the other marriages were after the probable date of John’s birth in 1824/5.  Various descendants have told me that John Clover of Texas was the son of various people, all without any proof.  At the present time, I do not believe that there is any actual proof of his parentage. I would be happy to hear about any proof. Meanwhile, I am keeping an open mind. I also have never concentrated my research in Texas and do not feel totally qualified to make pronoucements. I think there is a lot of research left to do. The best hope is DNA research.  If you are interested in this, let me know. ] 

Thanks to Rhonda Clover for acquiring good copies of the following articles for me. 
Clark County, Arkansas Past and Present, page 416-417
Josiah Manley Clover
Submitted by Susie Clover Wagner
        Josiah Manley Clover, born February 1859, Curtis, Clark County, Arkansas, died February 1, 1915, Hollywood, buried at Halfway Cemetery, son of Eli and Matilda Peberworth Clover, married 13 February 1890 to Demecia Louiza “Mercia” Karr, born ca. 1874, Cutis, died ca. 1893, probably buried in Shady Grove Cemetery. Josiah Manley Clover was a grandson of Patsy McCann Peberworth who was a Mississippi Choctaw, and family tradition holds that Demecia was of Cherokee lineage.
        Children born to Josiah Manley and Demecia Karr Clover were: (1) Nellie Lee Clover, born 16 October 1891, died 14 August 1981, married 1 January 1906, Clark County, Robert Custer Coleman, died 30 November 1951; (2) Robert Arthur Clover, born 2 June 1893, Curtis, died 29 June 1949, married 24 January 1916, Mary Ethel Spradlin, born 14 February 1898 in Terre Noire Township, died 5 August 1929.
        Josiah Manley Clover married second, Agnes Walton. Their children were (1) Leander Leis Clover, born 4 April 1909, Curtis, died 3 May 1975, married 31 December 1922, Alpha Mae Brooks, and (2) John Cole Clover, born 29, July 1904, near Coalgate, Indian Territory, OK.
        Leander Lewis Clover, after pasturing five churches in Arkansas, was pastor of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden, LA, 1948 to 1964. He founded the Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary in Minden. He also established the Baptist Bookstore and the Missionary Baptist News, as well as publishing four books.

Robert Arthur Clover
        Robert Arthur Clover was born 2 June 1893, Curtis, son of Josiah Manley and Democia Louisa Karr, died 29 June 1949, Savoy, Fannin County, Texas, married 24 January 1916, Clark County, Arkansas, Mary Ethel “Dutch” Spradlin, born 14 February 1898, Terre Noirs Township, daughter of Jordan Benugard and Susan Chase Spradlin, died 5 August 1929 in the Richwoods Community, buried at Hollywood.
Clark County Records show that on 20 May 1917, Robert Arthur Clover registered a brand, a three-leaf clover, and an under-slope in each ear, for cattle.
Children of Robert Arthur and Mary Ethel Clover were: (1) Joe Lynn, born 26 November 1916, Terre Noire Township, married 7 June 1949, Gerldine [sic] Bradshaw, who died 18 August 1976; Susie LaVerne, born 16 February 1918, Terre Noir Township, married San Antonio, Texas, 27 June 1953, John Hermann, Wagner, born 12 December 1912 , Flatwoods, Missouri, son of John Raymond and Gertrude Stotlar Wagner died 14 June 1990, Los Angeles, California; (3) Robert Arthur, Jr., born 16 August 1923, Dallas, Texas, married 2 September 1948, Stuttgart, Germany, Gertrude Matilda Ehling, born 8 March 1927, daughter of Ferdinand Oberascher and Sophia Ehling, and had Bobby Lynn, born 22 August 1949, Bonham, Texas; Larry Wayne, born 10 August 1950, Sherman, Texas, and David Michael, born 15 October 1953, Fort Worth, Texas; (4) Mary Ethel Clover, born 27 February 1926, Okolona, Arkansas, married 4 June 1949, Charlotte North Carolina, Beverly Chavers Young, born 26 February 1926, Charlotte NC, son of Bennie Brevard and Pearl May Turner Young, and had one son, Stanley Robert Young, born 11 August 1952, San Antonio, Texas.
        Robert Arthur Clover, Sr., married second, Laura Ellen Caskey Damron. They had a son, Jimmy Lee, born 11 June 1939, Sherman, Texas, who married Betty Sue Smith born 9 November 1941, daughter of Albert L. Smith. Jimmy Lee and Betty Sue Clover have two children: Susan Michelle Clover, born 6 October 1969, and Jimmy Michael Clover, born 24 January 1975.

GEMS OF PIKE COUNTY, ARKANSAS
VOL. IX NO. 1 WINTER 1998

Thanks to Rhonda Clover for sending this and to Pat Vaseska for typing it up for me.

William McDonald
    William McDonald of South Carolina and Polly McDonald, his wife, settled on the banks of the Fourche Caddo, in Caddo Township, Clark County, Arkansas in 1817 from Johnson County, Illinois.  Their previous residence was Columbia County, Georgia.  William McDonald had a large family and when he died in 1829, ten children survived him.

1.  Micajah McDonald died in Clark County, Arkansas in 1830.  He was married at least two times; first to a wife whose identity is unknown and second to Sarah Mobley on August 14, 1823 in Clark County, Arkansas.  His descendants are found to have the McDonald and McDaniel surname.  Eight children resulted from his two marriages.  The five children by his first wife were Peter McDonald or McDaniel, David McDonald, William McDonald, Betsy McDonald, the wife of Francis Gibbons, and Lucretia McDonald the wife of David Hopkins.  The three children by his second wife were Levisa McDonald, John McDonald, and Zachariah McDonald.

2.  Stephen McDonald settled on the Fourche Caddo in Clark County, Arkansas adjoining his father.

3.   Polly McDonald married William Lamar.

4.   Catherine McDonald married at least two times, first to John Clover on April 10, 1822 in Clark County, Arkansas and second to Francis Neel about 1835 in Clark County, Arkansas.

 5.   Lucretia McDonald married David Trammell.  They moved to Hot Spring County, Arkansas in 1831 and later to Dallas County, Arkansas.

 6.   Zachariah McDonald married at least two times; first to a wife not identified and second to Louise Eliza (Barker) Banta widow of Isaac Banta.  He settled on the banks of the Fourche Caddo in Clark County, Arkansas and later moved to Hot Spring County, Arkansas in 1830.  From there he moved to Union County, Arkansas and thereafter to Bradley County, Arkansas.  He moved to Hays County, Texas prior to 1850.  In 1853, he moved to Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas.

7.    Levisa McDonald married James Bankston.  They lived in Clark County, Arkansas and later moved to Hot Spring County, Arkansas.  The eventually settled in Red River County, Texas near Clarksville.

8.    Augustus Baldwin McDonald was married four times; first to Polly Clover on May 3, 1827 in Clark County, Arkansas; second to Mary Coleman in 1834 in Clark County, Arkansas; third to Sarah Stokes, a widow, on October 10, 1841 in Hot Spring County, Arkansas; fourth to Martha A. (maiden name not known).  He left Arkansas and settled in Lavaca County, Texas. [It has been suggested that this Polly was the daughter of William Clover of Monroe County, Illinois, who mentioned a daughter Polly in his will. It would have been possible, but she was supposed to have been living with William Null who moved to Jefferson County, Missouri. I mention this only as a possibility. I don't personally have an opinion on this.  There are certainly other possibilities.]

9.    Laomi McDonald married Thomas Neel.  She is living with her daughter, Martha and son-in-law, John Colbath in Gillespie County, Texas at Fredericksburg, in 1880, according to the census.

10.    Elizabeth (Betsy) McDonald married Shepherd Joseph Colbath on October 9, 1828 in Clark County, Arkansas.  They moved to Union County, Arkansas and to Caldwell County, Texas prior to 1850.

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Copyright 2006 June Clover Byrne

Contact me at junebyr@yahoo.com

Last Updated 23 June 2010