Chauncey D. Clarke correspondence

A Guide

Biographical Note

Chauncey Dwight Clarke was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1858, to Charles S. and Melissa M. Clarke. His father Charles established Clarke Distilleries, and Chauncey and his brothers continued the family business as Clarke Bros. Whiskey Manufacturing Company. The signature brand for the company was Clarke’s Pure Rye. The company was part of the Whiskey Trust, but by 1893 they parted ways. The family business folded during Prohibition, and the distilling facility was sold to U.S. Industrial Alcohol Company, which marketed Clarke’s Pure Rye until the 1940s.

Chauncey moved to Arizona in the 1890s for health reasons, and married Marie Rankin there in 1894. The Clarkes lived in Arizona, Altadena, and Los Angeles before building an estate in Santa Fe Springs, California. Chauncey Clarke purchased a ranch in Coachella Valley, California where he grew dates and raised Arabian horses. He died in California in 1926 and his ashes were scattered in the Arizona mountains near his gold mine.

Sources:

“The Clarkes.” Santa Fe Springs, California: http://www.santafesprings.org/about/history/clarke_estate/the_clarkes.asp. Accessed October 23, 2012.

Sullivan, Jack. “Charles Clarke and “secrets” of the Whiskey Trust.” The Potomac Pontil, 2008, http://potomacbottlecollectors.org/news/Pontil2008-05.pdf (2 November 2012).

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. “National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Clarke Estate.” http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/89002267.pdf. Accessed October 23, 2012.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection consists mostly of letters both to and from Chauncey D. Clarke, whose business interests included the family-owned Clarke Bros. Whiskey Manufacturing Company, mining, and ranching in Arizona. Chauncey managed Charles Bros. Whiskey Manufacturing, with some help from his brothers, Sumner and Charles. Chauncey also managed the Santa Maria Gold Company in Arizona, and was involved in other mining and business ventures, including Clarke, Greenhut and Co.

The majority of these letters relate to Chauncey D. Clarke’s business ventures. Subjects include property, investments, livestock, insurance, mortgages and loans, legal matters, and mining machinery. Other correspondence relates to purchases and services. Interesting billheads from department stores, publishers, clothing manufacturers, investment companies, insurance companies, architects, plumbers, and hardware companies are included.

Most of the Clarke family lived in Illinois, near the family’s whiskey business. It appears that Chauncey was the only family member living in Arizona, where he ran the Santa Maria Gold Company. Personal letters in series three reveal that Chauncey had two brothers, Sumner R. Clarke and Charles C. Clarke. Mary Clarke and Lucy Clarke Speed may have been Chauncey’s sisters. Lucy Clarke Speed was married to John K. Speed. Sumner R. Clarke is married to May and Charles C. Clarke is married to Alice. Also included in series three is Robert D. Clarke (possibly the son of either Charles or Sumner) and Cora, who may be a daughter.

Restrictions

Access to Collection:

Collection is open for research use.

Publication Rights:

Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the DeGolyer Library.

Copyright Statement:

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Chauncey D. Clarke correspondence, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 1996.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by library staff in 1997.

Finding aid written by

Cynthia Franco, 2012.

Finding aid encoded by

Cynthia Franco, 2012.

Detailed Description of the Collection