Clara C. Clarke was born on December 21, 1879, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. She was the eldest daughter of Charles Clarke and Jane Elizabeth Bradford — a beautiful child with long dark hair and expressive eyes she carried all her life. When Clara’s mother died while Clara was still very young, the family was broken up, and she and her siblings were placed with different relatives while her father worked to support them. At just seventeen, Clara and her little sister Victoria crossed the ocean to Utah to live with their Aunt Emma, leaving behind their father and homeland forever. She never stopped longing for England and her loved ones left behind.

Life in Utah brought new challenges for Clara. Her aunt Emma ran a small store on the corner of 33rd South and State Street, where Clara helped wait on customers while trying to adjust to life in a new country. Though Aunt Emma was strict and demanding, Clara made good friends who helped ease her homesickness. Still, the responsibility of helping in the store and household weighed heavily on her young shoulders.

In June 1898, Clara married James H. Taylor, a hardworking young farmer from Granger. After a short courtship, they started their life together on seven acres of farmland given to them by James’s parents. Leaving the busy neighborhoods and close friends she had known, Clara faced the lonely, rugged life of a farm wife with quiet determination. She and James built a small two-room home, adding more rooms as their family grew — twelve children born in seventeen years.

Farm life in Granger tested Clara’s strength every day. To feed and clothe her children, she sewed dresses and shirts from bolts of gingham and even flour sacks stamped with “Hustler.” She baked loaves of bread in a coal stove, tended to her children, and did all she could to help her husband keep the farm going, even as they scraped by hauling sand to supplement the meager crops. Despite the hardships, Clara poured her love into her home and family, making do with what she had and giving her children all she could.

In 1915, Clara and James moved the family to Naf, Idaho, hoping for a better future on a larger farm. Clara stayed in Salt Lake to give birth to their twelfth child, then traveled with her baby and young son to rejoin her family. But the journey was too much for her weakened body. Just days after reaching Idaho, Clara’s health declined, and she passed away on May 6, 1915, leaving ten motherless children and a husband to carry on without her. She was laid to rest in the Taylorsville Cemetery, far from her beloved England but close to the land she and James had worked so hard to call home.

The Tylor home is at 1100 W 3300 S -7 acres of river bottom land

Lost her mother at a young age and stepped into the role of caretaker for her father and siblings before she was ten.
Endured the heartbreak of a broken home when she and her siblings were separated to live with different relatives.
Left behind her beloved England as a teenager, crossing the ocean to an unfamiliar land and culture, never to see her father again.
Adapted to a strict new household with her Aunt Emma while working in a small corner store at 33rd South and State Street.
Found the courage to build a new life in Utah and married James Taylor, bravely taking on the rugged, lonely life of a farm wife in Granger.
Raised twelve children in seventeen years, sewing clothes, baking bread, and stretching every resource to feed and care for her large family.
Endured the hardships of frontier farm life, from scarce crops to hauling sand just to make ends meet.
Followed her husband’s dream for a better life by moving their family to Idaho — even as her health weakened after her twelfth child was born.
Passed away young, leaving behind a legacy of sacrifice, determination, and unwavering devotion to her family.

Clara Clarke Taylor: An English Rose on Utah Soil