103. Laurie Leona⁴ Linn (James Harr³, Thomas², Andrew¹)⁽¹⁰²⁶⁾ was born in Charlotte, Livingston Co, ILL.⁽¹⁰²⁷⁾ Laurie died March 1, 1951 at 87 years of age. Her body was interred March 1951 in Taylor Co., IA.

She married Dave Clark. (Additional notes for Dave Clark⁽¹⁰²⁸⁾) His body was interred in Breckenridge, MINN.⁽¹⁰²⁹⁾

She was listed as a resident in the census report in Charlotte, Livingston Co, ILL, August 13, 1870.⁽¹⁰³⁰⁾ She was listed as a resident in the census report in Charlotte, Livingston Co, ILL, June 15, 1880.⁽¹⁰³¹⁾ She bought property in Charlotte, Livingston Co., ILL, May 3, 1909.⁽¹⁰³²⁾ She resided in Beaconsfield, Ringold Co., Iowa May 3, 1909.⁽¹⁰³³⁾ ________________________Additional Census Information 1870 census lists her as Laura, age 7, born in Illinois, and as school in year (01426). 1880 census lists her as Laure (not Laurie), daughter, age 17, born in Illinois (01421). Laurie came to stay with Hazel and Letha Linn when their son Eldon was born. Letha remembers that she stayed about 3 or 4 weeks. Apparently, there was a fair amount of contact between the families of Hazel and Laurie; Eldon Linn remembers Laurie being around a lot even though she didn't live nearby. Eldon also remembers Laurie's daughter Angie and her husband quite well. In any case, Letha Linn states that she knew Laurie very well. On the back of an old family photo (#91), there is a note which reads: "To O.P. Linn Zwollie LA from DS & Lora Clark Clearfield IA." It is likely that they lived in Clearfield sometime between 1913 and 1926 based upon the fact that Orin Lived in Louisiana during those years. Mrs. D.S. Clark is listed as residing in Murray, Iowa in January of 1926 (01365). Letha Linn remembers Laurie as a religious woman (01372). ________________________A Letter of Remembrance (00930) _______________________________By: Veldeva Long I remember my grandmother as a strong and very plain woman. She had to be strong to survive during the era in which she lived. She told stories of seeking her fortune by homesteading in Nebraska with two brothers (one of which was Orin) in her early adult life. They staked their claims so each of them could get maximum acreage and make the improvements on each claim, according to government specifications yet all live together and help each other. There was very little timber. So construction materials were primarily sod, bones and stone. The first project was to dig a well. The digging took much longer than they anticipated because they had to dig so deep in the dry sun baked clay. The winters were very severe. The harsh winds blew unmercifully for days. the first winter they had to bring the horses into their living quarters for they had no barn to protect them from cold and wolves. Spring finally came and they discovered numerous buffalo carcasses near their homestead. The buffalo had perished from starvation and wolf attacks. That spring they planted vegetables and wheat, of which neither did well. They added a sod structure directly to the end of the present dwelling for animals and storage. They occasionally saw Indians when they were away from the homestead gathering bones and stone for construction; and buffalo chips for fuel. When it rained their home dripped with mud. Buffalo hides were used to repel muddy water and to keep warm. Insects also made life for man and beast miserable for they lived within the walls of the structure. Food storage was a real challenge. It was next to impossible to store grain or food. At the end of the third summer they still had not reaped a successful harvest in the hot dry wind-blasted prairie. They gave up in despair, their dream of wealth on the government land destroyed, and returned to Illinois. Laurie Linn Clark is buried in the Blue Grove Cemetery (00885:3).

Laurie Leona Linn and Dave Clark had the following children:

+ 312 i. Chester Erwin⁵ Clark was born October 8, 1895.

+ 313 ii. Angie Clark was born July 16, 1899.

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