Frances Adair Clark

Several years ago, among a box of my grandfather's things dating from his early adulthood, I found a wallet containing a passel of photos of a young woman identified as "Frances." The photos include pictures of her and her friends at home, at Princeton, and at an unidentified college. The writing on the back of the photos suggests the young woman and my young grandfather had a fun and congenial acquaintance.

Recently, in a water-logged and crumbling box of my great-grandfather's correspondence that I pulled out from under the eaves of my granddad's garage, I found a Christmas card from Presbyterian missionary friends of my great-grandfather's who were stationed in Korea in the 1930s. The card contains a photo of the couple, Mary and Monroe Clark, seated in their living room and on the wall of the room is a photo of the same young woman who is in the photos in my grandfather's wallet: Frances Adair Clark.

 

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 August 1931:

Rev. and Mrs. William Monroe Clark, returned missionaries from Korea, who arrived in the States several weeks ago, accompanied by Misses Frances and Jane Clark, who are passing the summer with their grandmother, Mrs. Theodore Hamilton, and their aunt, Mrs. Charles Doermann, at their cottage at Virginia Beach, Va., are the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Settle (Carter Clark) for a few weeks before going to Princeton, N.J., where Rev. Clark will take a special course of study at Princeton University and Mrs. Clark will also take special training for the coming year. Miss Frances Clark will enter Converse College at Spartanburg, S.C., to continue her education. As yet it has not been definitely decided where Miss Jane, who is too young to enter college, will pursue her studies.

Times Union Brooklyn, 14 July 1935: Equinn Munkelwitz, of Collins Ave., is spending a week at Virginia Beach, Va., as the guest of Mrs. M.H. Doermann, of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, and Miss Frances A. Clark of Seoul, Korea, Asia.

Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 June 1937: A lovely society function in Covington will be the marriage of Miss Frances Adair Clark, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. W.M. Clark of Korea, and Mr. William Munnell Equinn of New York at 8:30 o’clock Wednesday evening at the home of the bride’s aunt, Mrs. Charles Doermann, Fort Mitchell Heights, Fort Mitchell. Miss Clark, who was graduated last week from Mount Holyoke, is arriving in Fort Mitchell Saturday. Mr. Equinn, who has been attending the Medical School at Cornell University, also will arrive Saturday. They will be the guests of Mrs. Doermann and Miss Clark’s grandmother, Mrs. T. S. Hamilton until after the wedding. Miss Clark will have for her sister, Mrs Robert Settle, formerly Miss Carter Clark, of Hyde Park, Cincinnati, and for her bridesmaid her sister Miss Janie Clark, who has been attending Mount Holyoke this past year.

Cincinnati Enquirer, 01 July 1937: The wedding of Miss Frances Adair Clark and Mr. Equinn William Munnell was beautifully celebrated last night in the home of Mrs. Marguerite Doerrman, Fort Mitchell Heights, Fort Mitchell, aunt of the bride the couple plighted their troth before the alter arranged in front of the large windows in the south end of the living room, formed by a mass of huckleberry branches, smilax and ferns, against which stood tall baskets filled with white gladiolas with soft-glowing tapers at either side, that gave a churchly effect.