Henrietta Jeffries Clarkson, 1873-1910

Henrietta Jeffries Clarkson was born 6 March 1873 in Washington county Missouri, third daughter of Richard Albert Clarkson and Elizabeth Jane Robinson.  She is my great-grand aunt.  She moved with her parents and three siblings to Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1887, when she was about age fourteen.  Etta Clarkson lived gracefully with “delicate” health, and a spinal disorder which caused minor disfigurement.  She was a cheerful servant to all around her.  Along with her mother, she served several charities and Christian missions.  She was a poetess and gifted china painter.  In 1910, she unexpectedly died during a visit to the families of her sisters and brother in Oklahoma City.  She was thirty-seven years old. 

From the obituary of Henrietta Jeffries Clarkson, published in a Fort Smith Arkansas newspaper,  February 1910:

Words cannot tell the burden of sorrow which rests upon the hearts of her fond parents . . . She was the light of their home.  The only one left to cheer, to comfort and to help.  In her frail body was encased a great soul, a heart full of love and tenderness.  Her life was an unselfish one, beautiful in its simplicity, in its helpfulness, in its usefulness.  Her mind was well stored from wide reading of books and from observation and experience. She was a wise counselor and her opinions and advice always rang true. She was in deed and in truth a genuine Christian; no pretense, no show - pure and humble and true and faithful.  Her friends will miss her.  Her church will miss her.  In her [death] there is a void that can never be filled . . . to those who loved Miss Etta Clarkson there is left the rich consolation of a beautiful life, full of good deeds.  The hope of immortality which throws a beautiful light over the grave and gives abundant assurance of life eternal in the "house not made with hands", Our Father's house.

The deceased was a member of the First Presbyterian church and was very active in advancing the cause of Christianity.  She was a worker in the King's Daughters society.  Always assisting the helpless and supplying the wants of the needy, Miss Clarkson took a deep interest in charities.  She was a member of the orphan's Home board for several years and rendered most efficient services in that institution.  The deceased was greatly interested in the study of literature and was a member of the Wednesday Club since its organization.  She was also an officer in the society.  She was a faithful student and often contributed articles of value to the public press and other publications.

Henrietta Jeffries Clarkson was buried, along with other family members, in Oak Cemetery of Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Her grave marker appears in Find A Grave.  Several of her delightful letters are included in the Clarkson Family Letters at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com.