Clarence Elmer Evilsizer
and Ora Belle Martin
Born July 7, 1888, Nashville, Illinois
Died January 19, 1965, Solo, Missouri.
VIEW FAMILY SHEET
From "The Evilsizer Heritage" by Ivan P Evilsizer
1978
Clarence went to school for six years and then got his first job
in 1900 when he was twelve years old. His first job was working
on a farm and he made $8.00 per month. When he was about
thirteen years
old he went to work in the coal mines near Nashville, Illinois
where he continued to work until after his marriage in 1908.
Soon after his marriage to Ora Belle Martin they moved to
Pueblo, Colorado where
Clarence worked as a fireman on the Denver and Rio Grande
Western Railroad. After several years and an extended trip into
the Northwest they moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma where Clarence
operated a wholesale grocery supply house. His next move was to
Franklin County, Missouri where he took up farming and this is
where they spent the depression years of the 1930s. In 1937 he
and his family moved to Marble Falls,Texas. During World War II,
Clarence worked as a carpenter, helping to build Army Bases in
several locations in Texas. He and his family then returned to
Missouri for about four years at which time they again returned
to Texas. Clarence and his wife eventually settled in Arlington,
Texas about 1949. Here they spent their remaining years together
in a little white house under a large Texas Pecan tree.
Clarence's wife, Ora, passed away in 1964 and Clarence went to
Florida with his youngest son, Ivan, and spent a month visiting
with Ivan and his wife, Helen, in Jacksonville, Florida. At the
end of this month, he decided to spend a few days with his
second son, Charles, on his farm near Solo, Missouri. After
arriving in Solo, Missouri he passed away within two or three
days, having attained the age of 77 years.
SEES THE DEVIL
It would be a mistake not to include some of the narratives
related by Clarence to his children and grandchildren.
When Clarence was five or six years old, he and another small
boy from a neighboring farm were digging a hole with spoons when
suddenly they both looked at one another, wide eyed and. took
off running for home Clarence told the writer that they had seen
the devil in the bottom of the hole. He had all of the standard
equipment expected of the Devil, a long forked tail, horns and
carried a pitchfork The boy who had been playing with Clarence
was found dead in his bed the next morning with no apparent
reason for his death.
SETS RECORD
During the days that Clarence worked in the coal mines, the coal
was loaded into hopper cars with a large scoop shovel. Clarence
and his brother, John, set a record for the amount of coal
loaded in a
seven hour shift - - forty-one tons.
MEETS JOHN L. LEWIS
John L. Lewis, who later became a powerful political figure as
the president of the United Mine Workers of America was a minor
union official in the early days of the union and was working
out of the St. Louis office. During a visit to the mines where
Clarence and his brothers were working, Mr. Lewis took it upon
himself to criticize some work being performed, at which time.
Clarence’s brother, James Walter picked a shovel and hit him
over the head with it and knocked him out cold,
COVERED WAGON TRIP
Clarence and his wife, Ora, took a train to Twin Falls, Idaho
early in the year of 1914, having been married only a little
over five years. In Idaho they purchased a team of horses and a
covered wagon and began a journey which finally ended in Green
River, Utah three months later. It was during this trip that
Clarence and his wife, Ora, were camped in a canyon by a small
stream in northern Utah. Sometime after midnight. they were
awakened by the sound of several horses and a lot of yelling.
Clarence looked out of the back of the wagon and saw a group of
10 or 12 Indians circling their wagon. The Indians kept yelling
“Come out, you Irishman”. After several minutes of this yelling
and running around, the Indians settled down and came to the
wagon to talk. They laughed considerably at the fright shown by
Clarence and Ora because of their little joke. It seems they had
been into town and gotten some firewater and were on their way
home when they had sighted the Evilsizer wagon.
READ FULL STORY
HOBO
In his younger days, Clarence had to utilize a common means of
transportation in those days known as “riding the rails”. During
one such occasion in Colorado, Clarence was riding on top of a
boxcar situated
only four or five cars back of the engine. Suddenly Clarence
noticed a tunnel directly ahead. There was no time to do
anything except lie flat on top of the boxcar. As the train
passed through the tunnel the hot cinders from the engine came
back on top of Clarence and he bore the scars of the burns all
of his life.