Laura (Mrs. John) Clarkson was a member of the Newton Public Library board of trustees from 1919 to 1956.[1] Laura Lovilla Killduff was born February 1, 1874, the daughter of Thomas A. and Catherine L. (Weideman) Killduff, near Reasnor, Iowa.[2] The family moved to a farm two miles northeast of Newton, and, in 1895, removed to 416 E. Temperance (later 420 N. 8th Ave. E.) in Newton which was Mrs. Clarkson’s home until the time of her death.[3] Laura Killduff received her education in Jasper County rural schools, Hazel Dell Academy in Newton, and Highland Park College in Des Moines, Iowa.[4] After teaching in Jasper County rural schools, she taught for three years in Monroe High School.[5] In 1906, Miss Killduff was elected as a Democrat county superintendent of schools.[6] At that time there were 187 rural schools in Jasper County and the superintendent was required by law to visit each school during the school year.[7] Frequently she left home in the horse and buggy Monday, spent the week with farm families and returned home Friday evening.[8] She completed two terms as county superintendent[9], then joined the faculty of Newton High School and organized the normal training division for the preparation of rural teachers.[10] From 1918 to 1925 she served as deputy to County Superintendent Lucy E. Hall.[11] Miss Killduff was married to John Porter Clarkson (1876-1938), a Newton tailor, on September 21, 1918.[12] A lifelong member of the First Congregational Church of Newton[13], she was very active in the work of the church. A Sunday School teacher for a number of years, she was also president of the Plymouth Guild and served for several years as a deaconess on the church board.[14] Always active in community affairs, she was named Woman of the Month by The Newton Daily News for May, 1951.[15] In addition to her longtime service on the library board, she served on the hospital board, was a past president of the Newton Woman’s Club, and was a member of the White Shrine, Order of the Eastern Star, P. E. O., Kappa Gamma teachers sorority, Twentieth Century Club, Kensington Club, and Delta Delphians.[16] Mrs. Clarkson died December 8, 1963, at the age of 89.[17] J. W. Ferguson, M. D., her physician from 1961 until the time of her death, certified the cause of death as “Ventricullar Fibrillation” due to “Marked secondary anemia” and “Duodenal ulcer.” He listed “Senility” as another significant condition contributing to Mrs. Clarkson’s death.[18] Burial was in Newton Union Cemetery.[19] “To anything she does, she lends a quality of dignity and harmony,” one associate of Mrs. Clarkson’s observed. “Her capacity for friendship is outstanding,” insisted another acquaintance.[20]
-Larry Ray Hurto
[1] 1896-1957 Library Trustees, Newton Public Library History. https://cdm16179.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16179coll1/search/searchterm/library%20trustees/field/subjec/mode/exact/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc. It was said of Mrs. Clarkson that “all her life her big hobby has been books.” The Newton Daily News, May 26, 1951.
[2] Ibid., December 9, 1963.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid. She was elected assistant principal of Monroe High School in 1895. The Newton Journal, August 14, 1895 and August 21, 1895.
[6] Ibid., November 7, 1906. Interestingly, Miss Killduff’s future husband, J. P. Clarkson, was the Socialist Party candidate for county auditor in this same election. The Newton Herald, October 26, 1906.
[7] The Newton Daily News, May 26, 1951.
[8] Ibid., December 9, 1963.
[9] She was reelected in 1908. The Newton Journal, November 4, 1908.
[10] The Newton Daily News, December 9, 1963. “One of the most inspiring and uplifting things that comes to one in a teacher’s work,” she told a reporter years later, “is not the money she makes, but in later years for some student to return and say to her that she was his inspiration and help.” Ibid., May 26, 1951.
[11] Ibid., December 9, 1963.
[12] Laura N Killduff in the Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1947. This writer cannot account for Mrs. Clarkson’s middle initial appearing as N in official records. It appears that way on the election ballots when she was a candidate for county superintendent of schools. Even her grave marker gives her name as Laura N. Clarkson.
[13] The Newton Daily News, December 9, 1963.
[14] Ibid., May 26, 1951.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid., December 9, 1963. In 1920, at the “first regular business meeting. . . held at Carnegie Library,” Mrs. Clarkson was unanimously elected Leader of the Delta Chapter of Delphians, Newton, Iowa, a study club, in place of Mrs. T. J. Campbell, resigned. She was President of the chapter in 1923-1924. Larry Ray Hurto, ed., A History of Newton, Iowa (Dallas, TX: Curtis Media Corporation, 1992), p. 172.
[17] Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1880-1972 for Laura Lovilla Clarkson.
[18] Ibid.
[19] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45414389/laura-lovilla-clarkson.
[20] The Newton Daily News, May 26, 1951.