The Grandchildren of Willie and George Clark

The following is the story of Willie Little and George Samuel Clark.

George Samuel Clark, born April 8, 1868, in Americus, Georgia, was the son of Circuit Court Judge James McIntosh Clark and his wife, Mary Williams Clark. George Samuel Clark received a bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1892. For a short time, he was a professor of mathematics at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He later became president of the Highland Home Academy/College in Highland Home, Alabama. Subsequently, he served as superintendent of education for Marengo County, Alabama, as well as principal of several schools in the state of Alabama. He later took a position as a civil engineer for the Alabama State Highway Department, where he served until his death in 1947.

Willie Gertrude Little Clark, daughter of Maria Charlotte Felton Little and Charles E. Little, the mayor of Auburn, Alabama was born on August 16, 1873. She graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute, with a bachelor of science degree in 1894. She was one of the first three female graduates of Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Dormitories on the campus of Auburn University were built and dedicated to each of these three female graduates and have recently been remodeled. The marriage between Willie Little Clark and George Samuel Clark is thought to be the first marriage between graduates of Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Willie Little Clark died on May 14, 1949.

This couple had five children – one daughter and four sons, all of the latter graduating from college and two of whom graduated from Auburn. The children of this couple were outstanding in the fields of education, law and business. The grandchildren, who have established this scholarship, have done so because of their belief that their grandparents, both devout Christians, also strongly believed in education. Higher education from their children, in a time of great financial uncertainty, was accomplished by significant sacrifice.