Clara Elizabeth Cook Chadwick was born in Tooele, Utah on May 8, 1875. She is the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Kimber Cook and George Adelbert Cook. She lived in Grouse Creek, Utah with her parents until December 15, 1898 when she was married to Charles Chadwick of Park Valley, Utah.

Charles had become a very successful rancher in the community. However, he suffered a major setback losing nearly all his herds to freezing during an exceptionally cold northern Utah winter near Grouse Creek.

Clara, George, LeRoi and Charles Chadwick

They moved to Oakley, Idaho so Charles could continue to support his family. He took the job of town marshal and at the same time he also worked for the State of Idaho as a deputy sheriff. While successfully performing his law enforcement duties he was knifed and shot many times. We know this because his young grandson Royce noted decades later the scarring from the wounds on Charles’ body when they took turns bathing in the galvanized iron wash tub in their two-room cabin. The tub was used in the winter when it was too cold to wash up down in the creek. The water was heated on the side of the wood burning stove in the kitchen. Clara always got first water and privacy.

After Oakley, Charles moved the family to the cattle ranching town of Wolf Creek, Montana, where he became the town blacksmith, and a placer miner.

When their daughter Erma passed away a day after giving birth to her first child, Charles and Clara took baby Royce in and raised him as their own. Years later, when Royce was 60 miles away in high school Grandma fell from the garden stairs and slowly passed away from complications of the fall’s injuries.

Clara died on June 8, 1957 in Helena, Montana and is buried beside her husband in Forestvale Cemetery in Helena.

They were the parents of seven children. One son died as a baby, and they raised one grandson.