Friday's Photo: May Wright and Bella Along With Baby, Palma Jean Clark

This was one of those photos I thought would be easy to research, but not so much. 

The baby is Palma Jean Clark, daughter of Marguerite Cook and her husband, Albert Clark of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Palma was born on 20 March 1936. I first met her [Palma C. Beckett] in 2014 when she graciously allowed me to go through her mother's genealogy files. After learning she had hundreds of old photos, I made the 1,800-mile trip to her home in Texas two more times. 

It appears that Marguerite Cook Clark wrote on the back of the photo. Note that the following is a transcription of a handwritten note from 1936. It includes terminology that was commonly used at the time but is now considered outdated and inappropriate. I’ve preserved the original wording for historical accuracy and context.

Palma Jean Clark
1936-2023

This is 2 mo. The colored friends are working for gramma. You should have seen the pink roses in the background . . . The rest is not legible as parts are torn away. Later, someone wrote the following:

Mae Wright 

Bella 

with Pal 

at 2 months.

 

In 1936, both of Marguerite’s grandmothers were living in Bienville Parish. Her paternal grandmother was Sophronia Pauline Porter Cook, and her maternal grandmother was Laura Frances Bryan Martin. 

Unfortunately, Mae Wright and Bella could not be identified. There were several Wright families in Bienville Parish and the surrounding areas, so I am hoping someone recognizes them as family when I post to the Bienville Parish Facebook groups. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2025

Diana Quinn, #1 Diana's Bryan-Quinn Family, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/45260559?cfpid=6334928766: accessed 6 July 2025).

May Wright and Bella, Along With Baby, Palma Jean Clark, photograph, 1936; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2025. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas, on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Friday's Photo: The Family of Marguerite Cook Clark - Bienville Parish, Louisiana - About 1914

Marguerite Cook is the youngest child pictured with her parents, Dr. Edward Clifton Cook, the son of Napoleon Bonaparte Cook and Pauline Porter Cook, and  Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Martin and Laura Bryan, who are seen in this photo behind Marguerite's parents. Pictured are two of Marguerite's siblings, Paul Cook (born 1907) and Elizabeth Clifford Cook (born 1906). Marguerite was born in 1913, and her youngest sibling, Charles Laurie Cook, was born in 1915. 

Marguerite married Albert Clark in 1935. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2023 

Marguerite Cook Clark - family photos,  photographs, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Friday's Photo: Summer in Bienville Parish

I was in Palma's dining room in Texas when I saw this photo, probably taken in Ringgold of six young girls in the 1950s. I remember asking permission to post it as I thought it was so sweet. Palma was so gracious - she let this stranger (me) who she called a shirt-tail cousin (actually a 3rd cousin once removed) sit in her dining room and scan photos and documents. I traveled 1800+ miles (three times) to see her mother's collection and still don't think I saw everything she had.

This photo, found in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection of family photos, shows six young girls. The girls' first names are at the bottom of the photo.  The first girl's name appears to be Texas, but please correct me if I am wrong. Texas is followed by Peggy, Patsy, Doris Jean, Beverly, and Palma. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Summer - Palma and five other girls, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Friday's Photo: Isaac Clark

Isaac Clark

Al and Marguerite married in 1935. 
Al lived in Ringgold for over 50 years.[5]

Isaac "Ike" Clark, born in Missouri in about 1880, was the father of Albert "Al" Clark, the husband of Marguerite Cook Clark. This is a copy of a tintype found in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection.[1] 

Very little is known about Isaac Clark. He married Mary Helen Mansker in Lincoln County, Oklahoma on 23 August 1902.[2] 

In 1910, Isaac and Mary were renting a home in Sans Bois in Haskell County, Oklahoma where Isaac was the owner of a livery stable. They had three boys, Charley, Tom, and two-year-old Albert.[3] Another son, Bill, was born in 1911. Isaac died when Al was about 7 years old and Mary married David Harris.[4]

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2021 

    1. Isaac Clark photograph, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

    2. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Z5-GL3N : 16 December 2021), Isaac Clark and Mary Helen Mansker, 23 Aug 1902; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.

    3. 1910 U.S. Census, Haskell, Oklahoma, population schedule, San Bois township, ward 4,  enumeration district 94, page 6B, dwelling 116, family  116, Ike Clark household; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/22895076:7884 : accessed 16 December 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 1254.

    4. "Army Training Taught Al Clark the Importance of Carrying Out Orders," article, 1943, The Communicator, unknown publisher, from the privately-held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

    5. Ibid. Also, Marguerite Cook and Al Clark, photograph, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Alice Corinne Stewart Boone

These three photos of Alice Corinne Stewart were found in the files of Marguerite Cook Clark. Marguerite Cook Clark's mother, Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook, labeled these photos. Maggie and Corinne were both born in 1887 and were first cousins. 

Alice Corinne was the daughter of Sarah Catherine Watts and Elastus Stewart. She was a granddaughter of Catharine Amanda Bryan Watts, sister to my great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan and Marguerite Cook Clark's great-grandfather, Joseph Bryan.  Catharine Amanda, Terrell, and Joseph are all children of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan. 

There was little documented information about Alice Corinne in trees at Ancestry and FamilySearch. However, I am persistent and after three nights of searching found a very sad story. 

This photo of Alice Corinne Stewart is very
difficult to see. If you would like to
fix this photo, please contact me and I 
will send you the original scan. 

Alice Corinne was born in September 1887 in Louisiana. She was living in Bienville Parish in 1900 with her parents and siblings. It is said that she married Augustus Chapman Boone on September 22, 1907. This date is not confirmed by documentation. No amount of persistence has helped to locate her and her husband in the 1910 census; however, records do show that the couple was living in Louisiana when their son, Augustus Chapman Boone Jr., was born in 1912.  In 1916, they left Louisiana for Marion County, Texas. By 1920, Alice Corinne, along with her husband and son, were living in Mineola, Wood County, Texas. 

Newspapers.com
The Bienville Democrat
Arcadia, Louisiana 05 May 1921

In May of 1921, Alice Corinne, Augustus, their son, and infant babies (twins) visited Mr. and Mrs. George R. Boone in Bienville Parish. It appears that they may have stayed in Louisiana as on July 18, 1921, Alice Corinne died in a sanitarium in Shreveport after an appendectomy.  It was reported that her twin babies died after nursing as they became infected as well. Her burial place is unknown. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2020












Sources

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census. Year: 1900; Census Place: Police Jury Ward 1, Bienville, Louisiana; Page: 13; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1240558

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census. Year: 1920; Census Place: Mineola, Wood, Texas; Roll: T625_1860; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 147.

Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index for Augustus Boone Jr. Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.

Newspapers.com. Alice Corinne Stewart Boone death on July 18, 1921 - babies died on July 19 and July 20. The Bienville Democrat. Arcadia, Louisiana 21 Jul 1921, Thu  •  Page 5.    https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42434512/alice_corinne_stewart_boone_death_on/

Newspapers.com. Mr. and Mrs. A C Boone and children of Mineola. The Bienville Democrat Arcadia, Louisiana 05 May 1921, Thu  •  Page 4.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42432760/mr_and_mrs_a_c_boone_and_children_of/

The Cook Family of Bienville Parish

Marguerite Cook Clark and her husband, Albert "Al" Clark

For the last three months, I have been posting items related to Cook family members who lived in or had family who lived in Bienville Parish. Most were saved in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection of genealogical materials. She was lucky to have had Bryan and Cook photos and other documents passed down to her from both sides of her family. Some items date as far back as the mid-1800s. I was very lucky to have had access to them. 

Although I have posted most of the Cook items in her collection, there are many more items related to Bryans, Wimberlys, and other Bienville Parish families to be posted. 

Many of these Cooks were in no way connected to me. A few married Bryans who were descendants of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan (my great-great-grandparents) so there may be Cooks out there who match a little of my DNA.

Napoleon Bonaparte Cook, Marguerite Cook Clark's paternal grandfather. 

Joseph B. Bryan, Marguerite Cook
Clark's maternal great-grandfather

Marguerite Cook Clark was both a Bryan and Cook descendant. Napoleon Bonaparte Cook was her grandfather on her father's side. On her mother's side, her great-grandfather was Joseph Bryan, the brother to my great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan. 

Marguerite and I would be third cousins. 

This collection of photos and clippings is a bonus for anyone researching the Cook family. I perused a few library collections, Ancestry.com, historical newspapers, and FamilySearch without finding many photos connected to this Cook family. 

If you are a Cook descendant and have old family photos, share them! Post them on a relevant Facebook page or in an online family tree. Make sure other family members know you have them. If no one wants your old photos and family records, donate them to a library that takes genealogical materials. 

For Cook researchers, there must a lot more to find. There are 168 Cooks found at Find-A-Grave in Bienville Parish cemeteries. Cooks lived in surrounding counties, there were many in Mississippi and probably much to find in South Carolina.

AND, if you didn't see all my posts relating to the Cook family, check-out the links below.

Friday's Photo: Margaret Cook

Friday's Photo: Dr. Edward Clifton Cook's Car and Cyril Lesche's Garage

Friday's Photo: Dr. Edward Clifton Cook and Family Plus One Man and a Dog

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: James Bryan Cook And
Ollie Reed Cook of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Bert and Susie Porter Ellis

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Lloyd Byron Cook 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Mrs. L. B. Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Mrs. L. A. Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Her Father, Dr. Edward Clifton Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Anna Cook Moorehead, Daughter of Marshal Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Could this be Ellen Cook Kelly? 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Lorry Alan Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Uncle Joe (Joseph W. Cook)

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Miss Samantha Cook

Friday's Photo: P. P Cook's School, Iverson LA

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Some Descendants of Millard Fillmore Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Philip Porter and Ella Mae Ratcliff Cook  

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Mary Samantha Cook Clayton

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Frank Kelly

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Huey P. Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: John Jacob "Jake" Cook

Friday's Photo: Ina and Bert Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Sophronia Pauline Porter Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Anne Cook Martin

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: 60th Wedding Anniversary - James 
Bryan Martin and Anne Cook Martin

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Is this Napoleon Bonaparte Cook?

The Family of Napoleon Bonaparte Cook and Sophronia Pauline Porter Cook of Bienville Parish

Friday's Photo: A Bryan - Cook Gathering in Bienville Parish 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Joe and Josie Bryan Cook 

Friday's Photo: An Important Celebration in Bienville Parish

Friday's Photo: Marguerite Cook Clark 

Friday's Photo: Thomas "Tom" Corley and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Cook

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2017

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.

The Cook Household was Happy and Full of Fun!

Clifford Cook

Clifford and Paul Cook
To read more about this photo
click here.

I had already written briefly about Clifford Cook when I posted a photo of her and her brother Paul earlier this year. However, an excerpt from a letter and one more photo of Clifford prompted this post. 

The letter was written by Lillian Hudnall Freeland on October 21, 1985 to the Richard Warner family about her family history. She wrote the following about the Cook family.

You asked if I knew Marguerite Clark and her sister Clifford Shelby. Their maiden name was Cook and they lived next door to Aunt Sallie and Uncle Wesley in Ringgold. It was their mother who was connected to the Bryans. They should be able to help you. I remember them well and I think there were two other children. Marguerite was a bit younger than I and Clifford a bit older. Clifford was a real beauty as a young girl. I haven't seen them since we were all young. I'm not sure how their mother is related to me but I knew it was as some degree of cousin. Marguerite and Clifford's dad was the town dentist in Ringgold at the time I remember them. I was sometimes allowed to spend a night over there and I would sleep with Clifford in her cute attic room. Their house was happy and full of fun. My Aunt Sallie had raised my mama (who was her baby sister). Aunt Sallie always told us that we should love her best because she felt more like a grandma to us then an aunt. She was very jealous when soon after we'd arrive to visit we'd want to go next door to be where it was more lively at the Cooks.

All of those mentioned in this portion of the letter were descendants of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan.

Lillian was the daughter of Jewel Antoinette Bryan and James Hudnall.  Jewel and her sister, Sallie Bryan Hammett, were the daughters of Tilman Bryan and Mildred Manning. Tilman was the son of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan Bryan. 

Charles and Marguerite Cook
Click here to see more.

Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook and Dr. Edward Clifton Cook were the parents of Clifford, Marguerite, Paul, and Charles Cook. Maggie was the daughter of Laura Bryan and Thomas J. Martin. Laura Bryan was the daughter of Joseph Bryan and Sarah Wimberly. Joseph was a son of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan. 


Sallie Bryan, daughter of Tilman Bryan and Mildred Manning, married Wesley Hammett, son of Robert Hammett and Dollie Bryan. Dollie was a daughter of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan.  

Thank you to all of my sources listed below. Without your willingness to share, this memory and others would not be preserved. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2016

Brittain, Julia and McMichael Frances. "Descendants of Reddick Bryan." Houston, Texas.
2 February 1999. 

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014 and September 14, 2014. Used with permission.

Family photographs and documents from the Frye Family collection. Accessed June 6, 2916. Used with permission.

Lillian Hudnall Freeman Letter from the collection of Richard Warner. Accessed September 16, 2014. Used with permission.