Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Let's Talk About Huguette Clark

There has been much brouhaha and ballyhoo in the press in the last couple of days and months regarding a wealthy and reclusive old woman named Huguette Clark whose story is so riveting that Your Mama can't keep away from the rodeo.

Iffin y'all haven't heard about it, get yerself something to eat and drink and settle in for the long haul.

Until recently, most people had never even heard of the mysterious Huguette Clark and even fewer have actually laid eyes on her, at least not for the last 40 or 50 years. Huguette was born in 1906 to great privilege. At the time of her birth her illustrious father William A. Clark was a United States senator from Montana who had made a vast fortune in railroad cars, copper, cattle, timber, banks, and real estate. At one time, the industrious and entrepreneurial Mister Clark owned the land that is now Las Vegas, NV. That puppies, is why Sin City is located in the county of Clark.

In the late 1880s the wildly wealthy William Clark and his wife Kate built a lavish, 34-room brick Victorian in the bustling and prosperous city of Butte, MT, which at that time was one of the copper mining capitals of the country. Today the Clark's imposing pile is operated as a bed and breakfast called The Copper King Mansion.

In 1893, Mister Clark's first wife died leaving him with four grown children. It's not entirely clear what became of all of Mister Clark's kids from his first marriage but at least one of them, William Andrews Clark, Jr., settled in Southern California. In addition to being a significant collector of Oscar Wilde memorabilia he also founded the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1919. The younger Mister William Clark went to meet the great conductor in the sky in 1935 and was entombed at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in a large mausoleum that sort of resembles The Parthenon. Other notable names buried in the legendary cemetery include Cecil B. DeMille, Marion Davies, Douglas Fairbanks, Lana Clarkson, the gal killed by Phil Spector, and Virginia Rappe, the young woman Fatty Arbuckle was accused (and acquitted) of killing in 1921.

But we digress. To the shock and astonishment of his friends, colleagues, and the general public, in 1904 Senator William Clark announced that had remarried in France–in 1901–to Anna La Chapelle, a woman younger than his children from his first marriage. Interestingly, no record of a marriage exists and at the time he publicly proclaimed the marriage he also revealed he and his new wife already had a 2 year old daughter. Most people believe the story of the 1901 marriage was a fabrication to cover having a child out of marriage, a potentially damaging situation for the Senator from Montana. Missus Clark née La Chapelle was originally some sort of teenage ward that Mister Clark took under his wing, supported and educated and then, allegedly, married. At the time Senator Clark claimed they were married, he was a still virile 62 and she a nubile 23. Together they had two daughters, first Andrée, who died at 17 years old, and then Huguette.

After his undistinguished single term as a senator came to a close in 1907, Senator Clark, a man every bit as rich as the Rockefellers, moved his young family to New York City where they occupied a mammoth and ostentatiously ornamented Beauxs Arts style mansion at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 77th Street. The train station-sized residential confection stood at least six floors above street level, had an unusual and elaborate scalloped façade, and more than 120 rooms including extensive staff quarters, Turkish baths, a 36-foot high vaulted rotunda, and four art galleries filled with high dollar European paintings by artists like Degas, Titian, van Dyck, Gainsborough, and Rembrandt.

Although neither the second Missus Clark nor her daughters courted publicity like all these so-called socialites so vulgarly do today–can you say Paris Hilton and Tinsley Mortimer?–the press and the public none the less took great interest in the comings and goings of the fabulously wealthy and pampered Huguette Clark. She reportedly attended Miss Spence's School for Girls (now The Spence School), was educated about politics, and was taught interpretive dance by none other than the creator of modern dance, the dee-voon Isadora Duncan herself.

In March of 1925, when Huguette was just 19 years old, Senator Clark died at the family's Fifth Avenue mansion and, after being laid out for viewings in one of the mansion's art filled galleries, was buried along with his first wife Kate and daughter Andrée at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx where he is surrounded in death as in life by high-toned families such as the Woolworths, Macys, and Pulitzers.

William Clark's Fifth Avenue mansion was sold shortly after his death and the architectural bacchanalia was replaced with the far more sedate and quietly elegant 960 Fifth Avenue building designed by Rosario Candela and the Warren & Wetmore firm. The 22-unit limestone faced building is, without question, one of Manhattan's most exclusive co-operative apartment houses and is filled with filthy rich and quietly high profile residents such as philanthropist Patricia Altschul, Latin American media magnate Gustavo Cisneros and his social wife Patty, Edgar Bronfman Sr., billionaire Sid Bass' first ex-wife Anne Bass, Roy Zuckerberg–former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs who bought his apartment in July of 2006 for $16,900,000 from an heir to the Bic pen fortunevelvet king Loic De Kertanguy and his social wife Rebecca, and Emily Frick–widow of Dr. Henry Clay Frick II who died in 2007 and was a member of the steel fortune Fricks –who scooped up a $3,900,000 place at 960 in the fall of 2006 not long after selling their Alpine, NJ estate for a blood curdling $58,000,000.

The Widow Clark reportedly inherited around $2,500,000 as well as Bellosguardo, an ocean front estate in Santa Barbara, CA that Mister Clark had bought only a couple of years before his death. More on that later. The remainder of the Mister Clark's vast fortune–worth around $3,600,000,000 in today's dollars–was divided among Huguette and her four remaining and much older siblings. The children quickly sold off their father's business concerns.

Mister Clark left little of his astronomical riches to charity and his extensive art collection, which was first offered to the Met in New York City who declined the bequest because they weren't so keen on keeping the collection together in a separate gallery named after Mister Clark, went to The Corcoran in Washington D.C.

In 1928 22-year old Huguette married 23-year old bank clerk William Gower. The unlikely lovebirds were wed at Bellosguardo in Santa Barbara and then moved into the same swank apartment building on New York City's Fifth Avenue as Huguette's widowed mother Anna. After two short years the marriage was over and Huguette, her mother and six servants decamped for Reno, NV where they took over the entire floor of a hotel in order to establish residency for a divorce.

According to Ian Devine–Huguette's great-half-nephew through her father's first marriage–after her mother's death in 1963 Huguette all but retreated from any sort of public life. She maintained a small group of friends, advisers and staff over the years according to Mister Devine but has remained a virtual specter for nearly 50 years with the bulk of her business transactions being taken care of by an army of attorneys. It's not really known exactly where Huguette Clark has been living the last 40 or 50 years, particularly since she does not appear to reside in any of the three lavish properties she is known to own.
It's not clear when, Huguette came to be the owner of several apartments at the 12-story, J.E.R. Carpenter designed apartment building at 907 Fifth Avenue (above). However, it's reported she owns the entire 8th floor and a portion of the 12th floor for a combined 42 rooms and more than 15,000 square feet. It's not known if Huguette officially combined the two original simplex apartments on the 8th floor into one prairie sized sprawl of if they remain separate. It's also not clear why Huguette also owns a portion of the 12th floor but Your Mama read somewhere–we can't remember where now–that she uses the 12th floor apartment to house her beloved and extensive dollhouse collection.

Whatever the configuration situation is with Huguette's apartments at 907 Fifth Avenue and although it's reported that one of her attorneys sends a cleaning crew over to dust and vacuum the gigantic apartments once a week, building residents claim they have only seen the recondite Huguette a handful of times over the last 40 years. Of course that does not mean she was not there only that they didn't see her, which wouldn't be so unusual in New York City where apartment dwellers often see neighbors only infrequently and can typically not even identify their neighbors by sight let alone name them.

building photo: Property Shark

In 1952, during the heat of the Cold War, Huguette purchased a secluded 52-acre estate in New Canaan, CT that she named Le Beau Chateau. According to another great-grand-nephew, this one named André Baeyens, Huguette purchased the property as a sanctuary, a "sort of bomb shelter" in case there was a cataclysmic Cold War event or some other reason to get out of Dodge. Despite adding an entire wing to the house, it's been widely reported that not only did Miz Clark never occupy the French-style manor house it has sat completely empty for nearly 60 years. Since purchasing the dignified estate, Huguette has done little in the way of updating the house–did y'all see the kitchen?–but she has for decades paid to have it maintained and paid the $161,000 per year in taxes.
The 12,766 square foot mansion (above) includes 9 bedrooms, 9 poopers, 11 fireplaces, 13 foot ceilings, a ballroom, wine cellar, trunk room, elevator, and a walk in vault. The extensive grounds include pine forests, open meadows, a stream with waterfall, and two identical brick caretaker guest houses, each with 2 bedrooms. The property was hoisted on to the market by Miz Clark's attorney in 2005 with a price tag of $34,000,000 and is currently listed at a hugely reduced but still skin scorching $24,000,000.

listing photos of Le Beau Chateau: Barbara Cleary's Realty Guild

The jewel in the mysterious Miz Clark's real estate crown is Bellosguardo, her ocean front estate in Santa Barbara, CA. The 23.48 acre spread (above) includes a gated drive that swoops and hairpins up to the motor court in front of the stately and somber 21,666 mansion.

In the early 1900s the prime bluff top property was owned by oil baron William Miller Graham and his wife Eleanor who hired noted Santa Barbara architect Francis Wilson to design his family a lavish mansion. Mister Wilson's other major commissions include the Mission-Revival train station in downtown Santa Barbara and along with George Washington Smith the historic Montecito estate known as Las Tejas.

The Graham family's new mansion, which they dubbed Bellosguardo, was an Italian style villa complete with a 58-foot long entrance hall with a white marble floor and a 26-foot wide veranda with views of the mountains and the ocean. The house was surrounded by formal gardens. As the 20th century ticked on W.M. Graham's marriage faltered and his fortune dwindled to nearly nothing. In 1923 Bellosguardo was sold to William Clark for $300,000. Ten years later, The Widow Clark razed the Graham's mansion to make way for the the existing house, designed by architect Reginald Johnson who also designed the the Biltmore Hotel–now a Four Seasons resort–and main post office in Santa Barbara.

Not much is known about the house itself but the massive, multi-winged 2-story mansion wraps around a central courtyard where there is a reflecting pond and according to the tax man includes 9.5 bathrooms.

Although the property has been maintained by caretakers in Miz Clark's employ, the mansion is not believed to be currently occupied and it's unclear if Miz Clark has even visited the estate since 1963 when she all but abandoned the property in the aftermath of her mother's death.*

It's widely rumored and reported that sometime in 2008 or 2009 Miz Clark, through her attorney, rejected an offer for the property of $100,000,000 by an unnamed suitor. Many have speculated–do you hear that children, speck-u-lated which means don't nobody no shit–that the eye popping offer came from Beanie Baby billionaire turned hotelier Ty Warner who already has a massive ocean front compound down the beach and just on the other side of the Santa Barbara Cemetery from Bellosguardo.

aerial photo: Bing

Although it's a bit of a mystery where the secretive Miz Clark has actually been living the last 40 or so years, the 104 year old Miz Clark was recently tracked down at an unnamed New York City hospital where she is reportedly living in an ordinary room and receiving ordinary care from the staff. She is said to be lucid, but she is also, let's be honest children, no spring chicken. According to one of her relatives she has "retreated from the world" and it appears she only communicates when she chooses and only through an attorney. Even her remaining distant relatives are unable to see or speak to the enigmatic centenarian heiress.

What will happen to Huguette's fortune and her real estate holdings after her death remains to be seen. Given that she has no direct heirs it's likely that the bulk of her estate will either be divided amongst charitable organizations or, as feared by some, might be swallowed up by the attorneys and as not yet named or known executors of her vast estate. Given her eccentricities about maintaining major properties that she does not, reportedly, occupy or use, a third plausible option might be that her estates and apartments will be maintained indefinitely and post-humously with large endowments to cover upkeep costs, taxes, maintenance fees, and staff.

Note: With great respect to Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter Bill Dedman who researched and penned an exhaustivly thorough photographic article for msnbc.com on Huguette Clark which along with a myriad of other interweb sourced articles we sourced liberally for our own repeating of the story.

*Although there have been dozens of staff members working at the estate over the last 50 years, none of whom have ever publicly stated they've met or even seen Miz Clark, there are those that believe that the almost pathologically reclusive heiress has visted Bellosguardo most summers until at least 2006 but that the tight knit people around her maintain her privacy at her request.

51 comments:

Lucy said...

holy crap Mama yous outdid yurself on this one

Anonymous said...

Excellent commentary...wow, that ocean front estate, Bellosguardo, looks like GORGEOUS!!!

Grrrowler said...

Fascinating reading. Oh, to be wealthy enough to be both eccentric and enigmatic at the same time!

Regina Joi said...

I only wish that one day, you are Crowned with the Laurels that should rest upon your brow...this DETECTIVE WORK of the highest caliber and sensitivity to one of the last great unfortunate FORTUNE bearer is superb.

Interior shots of a MINT PERIOD kitchen which is lined with Monel counters is REALESTALKER worthy,not to mention beautiful VINTAGE condition thru out.

I do hope someone will continue the TRADITION of conservation and upkeep of these monumentally divine homes in the woods and on the coast. Even that apartment, the largest in NYC on Fifth...must be superb.

You are right, she most likely trekked between the three, and kept the legend going that all were empty, if but for security reasons, as like Doris Duke, she knew well the depression eras kidnappings , shootings of Robber Barons and the fact that even Mark Twain wrote such horrid comments on her father, who was after all her Father.

StPaulSnowman said...

I think I died and went to heaven. Thanks Mama!

Anonymous said...

"A man every bit as rich as the Rockefellers." Mama, do you have a citation for that? It seems doubtful to me.

You should publish a book before long. I can even suggest a title:
"American Plutos and their Properties."

StPaulSnowman said...

So she is a robust 106 years old?

Anonymous said...

Bellosguardo... Unnamed suitor. Do I hear Beanie Babies???? Why, my goodness I think I do.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was hoping you would do an article on her.
Well done.
I would love to meet and talk with this woman and see her properties.
She seems fascinating.

Anonymous said...

Would love to know what this woman's net worth is...must be hundreds of millions, if not billions, to be able to maintain estates of this caliber for decades, particularly without possibly ever using them (Not to mention those armies of servants and lawyers must cost a pretty penny as well). It's amazing how in this day and age, someone of such incredible wealth can still stay off the radar and out of public attention and scrutiny if they choose to. Absolutely fascinating. Bravo!

Anonymous said...

Ahh, what would a world be like to have a socialite with good intentions, decorum, humility, taste, and without a sex tape, public crotch shots, a Twitter account or drug conviction...

Aunt Gina said...

if this woman's story, so beautifully related here, is not made into a Hollywood movie, then the movers and shakers of LaLaLand are asleep at the wheel...I'm thinking Meryl Streep. Thank you for a most fascinating read; I had to re-read it three times, the second to make sure I didn't miss a single detail, the third time just for pure pleasure.

Anonymous said...

I have driven by the Santa Barbara estate a hundred times and always wondered who owned it. I asked around and no one knew. I love a good haunted feeling real estate mystery.

lil' gay boy said...

Out-fucking-standing.

Mama, what an incredible job ––– I'd heard a passing reference to her years ago, but never made the connection with that monstrosity that stood on Fifth. To me she was an almost apocryphal figure like infamous miser Hetty Green, "The Witch of Wall Street".

The thought of properties like Bellosguardo and Le Beau Chateau standing empty, but ever ready yet locked in time, for decades, just fascinates me. Can you imagine the human drama that has played out over many, many years amongst her staff?

Wow.

I hope she kept a diary; the last of the great heiresses who believed your name should appear in the newspapers only three times in your life: upon your birth, your (one) marriage, and your death.

God, they just don't make 'em like that anymore...

Anonymous said...

Mama,

You rock. This was a fascinating story that combined history and expensive real estate, both of which I love.

I totally agree with lil gay boy about the properties standing empty for decades...that blows my mind.

Nice work. Have a pitcher of G & Ts.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work Mama.

There is nothing better than an absolutely fascinating story beautifully told.

Georgica Pond said...

One of the most fantastic real estate and human dramas of our time, I think, and Mama's reportage is right there along with it. Yes, a movie! We need a good "house" movie.
BYW, is anybody else as amused as I am that one can stay in Huguette's old room for $75 a night?

Anonymous said...

Mama - you have certainly out-did yourself on this one. I'm off to enjoy a bit of sustenance and a nerve pill!

Anonymous said...

I knew you'd eventually write something about her after I saw the MSNBC article and I knew it would be awesome. You didn't disappoint.

? said...

So is she about to die soon? Is that why all the attention has suddenly surmounted?

Rather convenient that she could be an extremely wealthy woman who died in the one year that inheritance taxes don't apply.....

Let's see what the fortune turns out to be. An enormous fortune, carefully invested since the 1920s, should be a GINORMOUS fortune today.

Hmm...I love a good mystery.

Anonymous said...

Mama, it's difficult to improve upon the thanks that others have stated. Although I had scanned/half-read some of the msnbc info earlier this week since having driven by the Santa B house many times wondering whose it was since I know most of the houses, your story was most captivating - let alone with the nice pics. Your time and energy MUCH appreciated! Cheers!

Anonymous said...

I need that Santa Barbra home in my life.
Normally I think California prices are stupid and ridiculous, but I could honestly see myself in a moment of madness dropping $100 million on that property and having no regrets at all.

Unknown said...

Oh THAT Clark County! Your investigative skills leave me trembling with envy/astonishment. My childhood on 5th Ave now has one more piece to its missing puzzle of regression. Gawd Bless!

HOA Mgr Lady said...

Great job Momma let me say first. 2ndly what amazes me other than the Anon comment at 5:10 (which I agree with) is that there is actually that much money and fortune out there that we don't even know or could dream about. How come she doesn't appear on the 10 wealthiest people lists? No PR is a good thing. Wow amazing tale... I was also riveted.Thank you again you've EARNED your Gin and Tonic today and the thanks of your reading (snooping ) and adoring public.
Ruth

Fancy Nancy said...

Mama you have outdone yourself!! These great heiresses are MUCH more interesting than todays "socialite" Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, Lindsay, etc.

Thanks again for your outstanding journalism!

Love you, Mama

Anonymous said...

I have been driving by her place in Santa Barbara for years going to the zoo across the street, always wondering who owned that pad. Thanks for the write-up. Mucho appreciated!!!!

Eric the Aggregator said...

mama, i do declare that you in fact are in the grav-uhst danger of being elevated to "Brand Status"... congrats on a great story!

Ryan said...

Wow, what a fascinating story! I love that a person with so much money managed to go basically unnoticed for all these years.

I'd seen pictures of the Clark's Fifth Avenue mansion before, and I've never understood why that building always seems to be criticized so savagely. To me it was spectacularly French and so over-the-top that I couldn't help but love it. Gaudy? Absolutely. But, really, it was no worse than many of the other gilded age mansions which once lined the avenue, including some the ridiculously oversized & ornate Vanderbilt homes. Yet those other derivitive and ostentatious buildings were (and still are) universally praised while the Clark house is generally seen as a vulgar monstrocity. From an architectural or historical standpoint, I just don't get it. Personally I think it's a crying shame that they unceremoniously razed that grand limestone palace after its having stood there for such a very brief time.

Also, how does one pronounce "Huguette"? You-gwet? Ooo-gwet? Hu-get?

Anonymous said...

The question of her net worth is in doubt. She had 4 older siblings she split the estate with. She also sold off a Renoir in 2003 for $24MM which makes me wonder if she needed cash flow.

Yet I am surprised Forbes magazine never tracked her or her extended family before. Her dad was obviously very wealthy.

I believe she probably became a serious introvert - much older controlling dad, husband who didn't pan out....suitors just wanted her money and then beloved mom died.

I think a book should be written. Daniel Keith Ludwig was also very wealthy man in the 1970s and 1980s and no one knew his wealth and when they found out he never granted but just one interview. Still no books written about him either.

Anonymous said...

Is it interesting to anyone that this story would surface at a moment in time during one of the worst economic periods in American history?

Ernesto said...

Mama...I died and went to heiress heaven. Thanks for a fascinating read!

Jeannified said...

Great story, Mama! I had read some about her and seen these pics before...a couple of months ago, but your story was thorough and riveting!!! Congrats!!!

I agree with 'lil gay boy's assessment, too!

Also, I love all of the houses, but the simple beauty of the Connecticutt home is stunning. Love that kitchen! So sad that these places have stood empty for so long. Am glad that they have been maintained, though! Gorgeous properties, though! What a fascinating story about such a private woman. I loved every minute of reading it. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Agree Little Gay Guy!! What a story....someone needs to write a book on her and her family!!

Anonymous said...

more to the story...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38719231/ns/business-small_business/

Anonymous said...

Dear Huguette,
Your plight has been long and perhaps misunderstood. May the Lord Bless you and keep you always.
Much Love,
Anita Sullivan

maxx1223 said...

Dear Ms. Huguette,
May God Bless You...

Love,
Patti Barrera

stephanie said...

fascinating story. how can one have so much wealth and isolate herself from the world. i think something is sketchy with her lawyer. Huguette i hope u have a change of heart and tell your story.

Anonymous said...

This slideshow that accompanies the msnbc article was fascinating also.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35266269/displaymode/1247?beginSlide=1

Part 1 of the article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38719231/ns/business-small_business

pat 2

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38733524/ns/business-local_business

the video

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38484280#38484280

another article on the history of the house

http://www.independent.com/news/2007/oct/25/question-wasnt-there-another-mansion-where-clark-e/

magnus said...

Just came upon your post on this fascinating story and thought you might enjoy the story of how Huguette came to own so much real estate ay 907 Fifth Avenue.

When 907 Fifth was completed as a rental building in 1915 or thereabouts, the largest apartment, comprising the entire 12th floor, was leased to Herbert Pratt and his family. Pratt was a son of Charles Pratt, an original, and probably the largest partner of John D. Rockefeller and founder of Pratt institute. Pratt leased th apartment for the then stupendous sum of $30,000 per year. It consisted of some 28 rooms, and the enfilade of rooms along 72nd street (library, living room and drawing room, according to the plans) runs some 109 feet, probably the longest in Manhattan. Anyhow, in the mid 1920's, the Pratts moved to a marble fronted townhouse further up on Fifth Avenue (now owned by the Marrymount School), and the Senator's widow and Huguette moved in from their vast pile at 960 Fifth. Huguette married a few years later and moved out. Mama, finding her spread a tad lonesome, gave up her lease and moved to a smaller apartment, occupying only half of the 8th floor in the same building. Alas, marital bliss for Huguette was short lived (a former family retainer maintained that she refused to consumate her marriage which can sort of put a damper on things), and she moved back in with mother. They attempted to re-lease the vast 12th floor spread, but the building's owner, having found it impossible to lease (my guess is we're talking about the early years of the Depression) had already divided it in half, and leased one of the resulting units to a third party. Huguette took the remaining half of the 12th floor, but several years later, the other apartment on the eigth floor became available and Huguette leased that so that she could be closer to her Mama- she was, after all, a full four floors away. Naturally, she also kept her half of the 12th floor. I'm sure that Huguette's purchase of those apartments when the building "went coop" in the 1950's goes down as one of the great business coups of the modern world.

An Aesthete's Lament said...

Huguette's half-uncle Charles W. Clark (eldest son of Huguette's father) was the musician-sportsman husband of Cecilia "Celia" Tobin, whose great mansion, House-on-Hill, in Hillsborough, CA, was designed by David Adler and decorated by Syrie Maugham circa 1930. Celia Tobin Clark's grandson is the André Baeyens mentioned in your post.

C. Williams said...

What a fascinating read! I love the mysterious world of the uber wealthy..especially coming from a place of wealth inheirated from her Father! My one wish is before Huguette leaves this world she would unlock the key to her mysterious world..it would be a shame for her to pass on and not share some of her life history and tales we so much would love to hear and learn from...so sad indeed that she became a prisoner of her own mind and secluded herself..she could have really made a great contribution to this world if not materialistically then perspecitveley from where she sat in society...my blessings extend to you Huguette and pray for you the peace you so earnestly sought after all these yrs...

Anonymous said...

good show Mama,

She deserves an award.

Unknown said...

This was so greaaaat!! I love that house in santa barb and have walked by and wondered! U jst made a fan out here for life! Thank u. The story is way better than i could have evr imagined!

U r amazing!

Anonymous said...

Jeeeez, it makes u wonder how may Prime Properties are just lying around, uninhabited with some eccentric, reclusive, uber rich owner....Thx for the research on this one!!!

Beegee1361 said...

I really enjoyed this. Great! I must say that it just boggles the mind though.

Anonymous said...

Going back a little farther in history you will find that William had a brother who died on the Titanic. I am a great-great-grand-daughter of a third brother who remained in Pennsylvania. We ended up farmers!

Anonymous said...

Today, Hughette would probably be deemed autistic -- or at least afflicted with Asberger's Syndrome.

Anonymous said...

R.I.P Hughette

Anonymous said...

Momma done did outdid herse'f on this one.

hiryer said...

In the late 1880s the wildly wealthy William Clark and his wife Kate built a lavish, 34-room brick Victorian in the bustling and prosperous city of Butte, MT, which at that time was one of the copper mining capitals of the country. Today the clarks uk imposing pile is operated as a bed and breakfast called The Copper King Mansion.

Anonymous said...

Great post Mama. I'm actually a little surprised this didn't catch my attention back when Hugette died considering my daily overdose of general media junk. Then again, maybe that's simply attributed to her amazing ability to avoid publicity.

Anywho, I plan to keep this story on my radar for many years.

Cheers!