James Henderson Clarida, grandfather of Bill Butler and Mayor Robert Butler, was born March 30, 1876 at Crab Orchard, the son of William J. Clarida and Irena Culbreth. He grew up on a farm and attended school at Pleasant Grove.
In the 1880 census, James H. was 4 years old and sharing space with a sister, Ida J. Clarida, age 6, in the home of his parents on their farm in Crab Orchard Precinct of Williamson County.
On March 23, 1898, Clarida, a 22 year old miner, enlisted in the Army at St. Louis and served in the Spanish-American War attached to the 6th Artillery, Company I. In his enlistment record, he is described physically as 5’ 11 ¾” tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He was discharged as a Corporal on March 4, 1899 at Fort Monroe, Virginia.
Upon return from the Army, in 1900, he was married to Miss Mary Maggie Sanders. They established their home in Marion at 808 West White Street and Mr. Clarida worked in the coal mines for many years after coming to Marion.
By the 1910 census, Henderson was aged 34 and Mary M. was 30. They had two daughters in the home named Beulah Clarida, aged 6 and Eva M. Clarida aged 3. Their home was owned free of mortgage and Clarida was listed as working the coal mines.
Between 1914 and 1918, he served as Marion’s Chief of Police under two mayors, J.H. Burnett and Dr. D.D. Hartwell. Chief Clarida was the person who first spotted smoke coming out of Moore’s Jewelry Store in the northwest section of the square in February of 1916. The fire turned out to be a devastating fire resulting in the loss of several buildings including the loss of the First National Bank. The bank was rebuilt in the same year and the same location, on the corner of the square and N. Market, and still serves as home of the Bank of Marion today.
On September 12, 1918, Clarida visited the WWI selective service office located at 201 ½ Public Square to register. He noted on his records that he was married and living at 808 W. White St. He was a miner working for the Slogo Coal Company in Marion. He was described as tall and medium build with sandy hair and blue eyes, with no impairments.
His first wife, Maggie (Sanders) Clarida, died in 1920. When the federal census was taken on January 3rd of that year, James H. was 43 and Maggie was 39, Beulah was 16 and Eva was 13. Clarida still listed his occupation as coal miner.
In 1923, Clarida was elected Mayor and served for four years up to early 1927 during some of the most turbulent times in Marion’s history. In Clarida’s administration, he would have been dealing with road building, gang warfare, illegal alcohol stills, prostitution, gambling, pro-KKK forces, anti-KKK forces and at times the presence of Illinois militia being housed in the court house to maintain law and order in the county. The latter condition, being often to the disgruntlement of the citizens.
In 1926, he was married to Mrs. Mamie McCormick.
During Clarida’s mayoral term, he went to work for the William H. Lough & Sons Construction Company during the era of extensive concrete highway construction in Southern Illinois and for ten years was a foreman for the company. (The Lough company were the folks who bricked S. Market Street around 1909.)
A 1927 city directory listed Clarida as mayor and also working for Lough & Sons while living on White Street. Following his mayoral term, he and his wife temporarily moved to Percy, Illinois. This is presumed to be because it was closer to the highway work that they were doing at the time.
By the 1930 federal census, James, 54 and Mamie, 45, were back temporarily living in Marion at their W. White Street home. James listed his occupation as hard road construction. He valued his home at $1,100. Also living in the home were two of his step-daughters, Ethel McAlister, 28, Modelle McCormick, 14, and step-son-in-law, Ted McAlister, 28.
From 1932 until 1944, he lived on a farm northeast of Spillertown until he returned to Marion. This was captured in the 1940 federal census which found Clarida 64 and wife Mamie 55 living in Lake Creek Precinct. He then listed his occupation as farmer and valued the home they were living in at $200.
J.H. Clarida, 106 W. Jackson Street, former Marion Mayor and police chief, died at 2:10 p.m. Sunday, Christmas Day, 1950, in the Veteran’s Hospital at the age of 74. Death was due to heart disease.
The former public official had been a patient in the hospital 17 days. He had undergone treatment at the veteran’s institution for several weeks earlier in the fall and was discharged the day before Thanksgiving. A recurrence of the heart ailment with which he had been afflicted for the last two year, however, forced him to return to the hospital.
Surviving his death were his wife and two daughters of the first marriage, Mr. Harry A. Ohms and Mrs. Homer Butler, both of Marion, two step-daughters, Mrs. Ted McAllister, Sharples, W. Va. and Mrs. Charles Boomhower, West Frankfort, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He leaves one sister, Mr. Ida Allen of Marion, two half-brothers, W.E. Clarida, Chicago and Arthur Clarida, Crab Orchard, and one half-sister, Mrs. Ethel Marshall of California.
Funeral services were held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Mitchell Funeral Home by Rev. Thomas E. Morton, pastor of the First Christian Church. The spacious funeral chapel was filled with relatives and friends.
The Mitchell Trio sang “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be” and “Precious Memories.” Mrs. Rosanna Boske played the prelude and postlude. H.L. Peebles of the United Spanish American War Veterans presented to the widow the flag which draped the casket during the service. The many floral pieces were transported from the funeral home by floral cars. Several baskets of flowers sent by friends of the bereaved family were taken to the Veteran’s Hospital.
Pall bearers were Paul Joyner, Howard May, Jim Adkins, Louie and John Clarida, nephews of the deceased and Sheriff Ora A. Kirby, a longtime friend. Honorary pall bearers were Fred O. Lough, Leland F. Lough, Melvin Pulley, Noel Waller, George R. Stone, H.L. Peebles, Fred Hendrickson, Willis Hendrickson, Charlie Cox and Lemuel Atkins.
Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery.
Clarida’s second wife, Mamie Clarida, 78, passed away on January 22, 1963, in West Frankfort at the home of her daughter Mrs. Charles Boomhower where she had lived for two years.
She was survived by two daughters, Mrs. Boomhower and Mrs. Ted McAllister of West Frankfort, two step-daughters, Mrs. Harry Ohms and Mrs. Homer Butler, both of Marion; a brother, Albert Norman of Turlock Calif.; two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Sam’s Notes:
Eva M. (Clarida) Butler was born in Marion October 11, 1906. She was married to Homer Butler (1904-1982) on March 21, 1926 in Murphysboro. They had two sons, Robert L. Butler and William “Bill” Butler.
Eva, age 93, died at 7:24 p.m. July 31, 2000, at Marion Memorial Hospital.
She was a homemaker and very active in activities at her church, First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ in Marion. She was a lifetime member of Marion Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and was active in the Marion Woman’s Club.
Beulah (Clarida) Ohms was born in Marion. She married Harry A. Ohms (1899-1967) June 19, 1926 in Harrisburg. In 1928, while her parents were living in Percy, Illinois, Beulah and Harry lived at 808 W. White. In 1930 they temporarily rented a place in W. Frankfort while he was a Superintendent for C.I.P.S. By 1935 they had purchased their family home at 824 S. Virginia where they continued living and when Harry opened a wholesale food distribution business which he sold in 1963. Harry was killed in a violent automobile collision on Rt. 13 west of Harrisburg, where he worked at the Bowen Center, in 1967 They had two children, Mary Alice Ohms (1926-2002) and Harry “Bud” Ohms Jr. (1929-2012)
Beulah passed away on May 25, 1987. The Ohms family is buried in Rose Hill Section 3.
(Extracted from articles in the Southern Illinoisan and Marion Daily Republican; Federal Census Records; Military Enlistment Records; WWI Draft Records; Marion City Directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 01/02/2014)