Mr. Clarence H. Carson

Clarence H. Carson was appointed to Marengo Public Library’s Board in June 0f 1903 by Mayor Vette, and he served as the board’s first secretary.[1] Prior to his appointment to the board, Carson had already been serving as an educator and superintendent of the Marengo schools.  He served the school district for 32 years, earning great respect from members of the community.[2] During his time as an educator, he served as the chairman of the book committee, which ensured libraries in all the grades, including the high school, were financed.[3] He tried to resign as superintendent in 1923, but the school board refused to accept his resignation and instead named him the new assistant Superintendent and Normal Training critic in the high school.[4]

Clarence H. Carson was born in 1860 in Woodburn, Illinois to William T. and Abigail Carson.[5]  He married his wife Carie, Carrie, or Caroline[6], of Anita, Iowa, in 1890 and they had a son, Clarence M. Carson in 1891.[7] Clarence served as an educator in Anita, Iowa for several years during the 1880s before moving with his family to Marengo, Iowa in 1891.[8] Clarence died on December 26, 1923 of multiple heart failures and is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Marengo, Iowa.[9]

-Megan Dial-Lapcewich

[1] Pauline Lillie, Marengo the County Seat Marengo the Town: A History (Iowa), (Marceline: Walsworth Publishing, 1984), p. 64.

[2] Ibid., p. 71.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Anita Record, Anita, IA, April 26, 1923.

[5] Pauline Lillie, Marengo the County Seat Marengo the Town: A History (Iowa), (Marceline: Walsworth Publishing, 1984), p. 64.

[6] Ancestry.com, Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1940 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

[7] Mrs. Carson’s first name is spelled differently in three locations on Ancestry.com: Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1940 (Carrie); Iowa, State Census Collection, 1910 (Carie), and U.S., Find A Grave Index (Caroline).

[8] Ancestry.com, Iowa, State Census Collection, 1910 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

[9] Pauline Lillie, Marengo the County Seat Marengo the Town: A History (Iowa), (Marceline: Walsworth Publishing, 1984), p. 64.

[10] Ancestry.com, Iowa, Death Records, 1920-1940 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.