Walter Miller and Virginia Clark

[Martin Williams]

rainfall com ... 94842.htm

Here's a photograph of Walter Miller Clark's first cousin (his mother's sister's daughter) who married the Hungarian Count Anton Sigray von Febre in 1910. The wedding was a 'top drawer' affair, attended by Thomas Cardeza and George and Eleanor Widener, besides swarms of other Society luminaries.

Unusually for a debutante, Harriot had been an active supporter of the fashionable Metropolitan Opera. 'The New York Times' of 12 November, 1907, noted that she was the youngest girl that season to have engaged a parterre box in her own name.

 

[Martin Williams]

1st100 com/part1/wclark.html

Brian has already flagged this link on another thread but, for the purpose of general comprehensiveness, it perhaps deserves a place here as well. The Clark family was one of the wealthiest and most influential in the western States around the turn of the century - a position only consolidated by their marital alliance to the Dalys, which Brian detailed in his post above. Included is a photograph of Walter Miller Clark's parents, J. Ross Clark and his wife Miriam, standing on the steps of their private railroad carriage, with Walter and Virginia's son, J. Ross Clark II. Given the very distinctive style of Mrs Clark's gown, I'd set the date of this snapshot to somewhere between 1912 and 1914 - exactly the time that the 'Titanic' was making her fateful voyage. Another link, attached below, supplies some more biographical information about Walter's father, together with a small picture: findagrave com ...

J. Ross Clark's brother (Walter's uncle), Senator William A. Clark, was himself quite a character - and, upon his death at a ripe old age in 1925, was apparently one of the '50 richest Americans ever': wikipedia org ... William_Andrews_Clark

After his move to New York, Senator Clark built himself a house on Fifth Avenue. I think the kindest word that can be used for this particular pile is...ummm...'bold': flicker com ... 427/2519246942/

At least one contemporary source I've come across suggests that Senator and Mrs Clark were at the pier on the evening of 18th April to meet the 'Carpathia' when she docked, carrying their now-widowed niece, Virginia. And it was their son, William A. Clark Jr, who afterwards escorted her via rail from Salt Lake City to her home in Los Angeles.

Like Eleanor Widener, with her library at Harvard, and Julia Cavendish, with her village hall in Suffolk, Walter's mother Miriam later gave some of her seemingly considerable wealth to propagate the memory of her lost loved one in bricks and mortar. In 1937, she donated the land and funds to build the Walter Miller Clark Memorial Community Church in Lakewood, California:

 

[Brian Ahern]

Happy New Year, Martin!

Your posts are motivating me to finally finish writing up the summary of Virginia's life - as told by contemporary news accounts from her days as a Montana belle to her days as a much-married New York-Palm Beach-Pasadena society matron - that I probably started a year ago. Her life might win the prize for the most soap opera-esque of First Class ladies (though, of course, she's got stiff competition).

 

[Martin Williams]

Hi Brian

Naturally, I'll be thrilled to read anything you might care to contribute here about Walter and Virginia Clark. Although I am, by the sounds of it, ten paces behind you with my research, I've been following up a few leads of my own and eagerly anticipate your summary. I'm sure it will be a corker.

Myself, I've been using the holidays to write my own potted biography of James Clinch Smith, which I hope to get on-line in the next month or so.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2009.

Martin

 

[Martin Williams]

findagrave.com/ ...10268&

Can't think how I've never come across this site before. As it includes the only photograph of Walter Miller Clark I've seen so far, it might be of some interest.

 

[Martin Williams]

hungarianhorse com ... hha_news_sep98.html

...and a very interesting article about the daughter of Walter's first cousin, Harriot Daly, and her activities in Hungary and the States during and after World War II.

 

[Naomi Owens]

Just for the sake of completeness and remembrance, the crew member who compelled her to board a lifeboat was assistant purser Frank Prentice

He mentions the exchange in this interview with the BBC - there were two Mrs Clark/Clarkes on board, but the details (such as them having been newlyweds on their honeymoon in France) indicate that this is the woman he refers to

(The interview is short but very moving, I highly recommend it)

 

[Thomas Krom]

He mentions the exchange in this interview with the BBC - there were two Mrs Clark/Clarkes on board, but the details (such as them having been newlyweds on their honeymoon in France) indicate that this is the woman he refers to

It could have only been Virginia Clark considering Prentice was one of the eight plucked from the sea by lifeboat number 4, which first class bedroom steward Andrew Orr Cunningham confirmed as well. It must be noted however that Prentice, while an interesting survivor, sometimes sensationalized his later accounts.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Prentice, while an interesting survivor, sometimes sensationalized his later accounts.

Definitely. I know that he was in his 90s at the time of the TV interview, but I found the story about Prentice being able to "smell" the presence of icebergs and had done so with the one that the Titanic struck amusingly ridiculous.

 

[Thomas Krom]

Definitely. I know that he was in his 90s at the time of the TV interview, but I found the story about Prentice being able to "smell" the presence of icebergs and had done so with the one that the Titanic struck amusingly ridiculous.

While the smelling of the ice could certainly be possible, the dormitory of the storekeepers had a porthole after all, to state it was the iceberg the Titanic hit is just very sensationalistic. I believe that's a good summary of his stories in his later life, some truthfulness sprinkled with sensationalism.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

While the smelling of the ice could certainly be possible, the dormitory of the storekeepers had a porthole after all

Thomas, there is a limitation to the distance to which human olfactory sensation can extend even for the strongest smells. Apart from the fact that the iceberg did not exactly have a strong odour, consider the distance at which it was first sighted. When exactly did Prentice say he smelt the ice? Perhaps when it passed his porthole?

Also, if such a thing was really possible, one would think that experienced deck crew like Murdoch, Fleet etc would be the most likely to sense presence of ice. Even then it would be things like subtle changes in air temperature rather than any smell IMO.