Bob, I don't know if this is the same Ben Clark or not. I never met the man, and in fact, my mother and I were a little surprised to find that he died so recently (1978). My great-grandmother was alive then and in fairly good health, my grandfather talked with her by phone weekly, and we talked with him at least that often and saw her once or twice a year. But neither my mom nor I remember hearing when her brother died, or that she had one living. She was the youngest of 14 (he was six years older than she), and I guess we assumed she was the last one living. Anyway, the obituary says he was a retired farmer, doesn't mention owning a hotel, but if he did that in the 1920s and 30s, he may have farmed later and whoever wrote the obit didn't know about the hotel. My great-aunt is still living (he would have been her uncle), so I'll ask her. Rob. Rob. Taylor Columbia, MO Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 09:42:29 EST From: ELLIS974@aol.com To: MOHARRIS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [MOHARRIS-L] Benjamin A. Clark Obituary Hi, I am wondering if the Ben Clark in your querie is the Ben Clark that owned property in Melbourne Mo. Harrison /County, during the 1920's and 1930's?? He owned the hotel in Melbourne. I lived in Melbourne during this time and Ben Clark also owned the house we lived in part of this time. Thanks Bob Ellis