Wootten family.

Mary Bayard Devereux, daughter of a prominent lawyer and planter from Raleigh, N.C., married the Mexican War hero, William J. Clarke in 1848. Since Mary struggled with consumption, the couple soon moved to San Antonio, Tex., hoping that the climate would improve her health. There she wrote poetry while William practiced law and became president of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad Association. When the railroad went bankrupt several years later, William obtained a commission in the Confederate Army and Mary returned to Raleigh. William served as colonel of the 24th North Carolina Regiment until his capture at Fort Delaware. The Clarkes moved to New Bern in 1868 where Mary served as a private secretary to a North Carolina Supreme Court justice and William practiced law.

The couple had four children. Their oldest son, Francis, became a nationally known educator of the deaf. After teaching at the New York Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and attending Columbia University, Willie E. Clarke, their second son, received his law degree and practiced with his father in New Bern. Their third son, Thomas, became the superintendent of the Washington State School for the Deaf.

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