Dr. John R. Clark, born April 11, 1811 in South Carolina, was the son of William Clark (1782-1859) and Judith Craddock Clark (1787-1856). John's parents settled in Chambers County, Alabama in 1843, and remained there until their deaths. In 1833, John Clark married Martha Edmunds in Newton County, Georgia. Dr. Clark became a physician and settled at Double Cabins, Henry County, Georgia, where he lived for many years. He later moved to north Louisiana, settling first in Claiborne Parish, but then to Shiloh in Union Parish. Here he was also engaged in farming and the mercantile business. By the end of the War Between the States, he was practically wiped out financially and had lost both his sons. He died December 2, 1870, and in five short years had accumulated an estate of over $100,000. Dr. Clark is buried at Shiloh Cemetery.

His wife Martha Edmunds Clark, was the daughter of William Edmunds and was born in Georgia ca. 1815. While on a visit to her daughter Charlotte E. Shaw in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama, she died on November 4, 1890. She was buried somewhere in Opelika but her grave has never been located.