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Mahan Walter Clark and Nellie Marie Gillen ClarkMahan Walter Clark (M.W.) married Nellie Marie Gillen on Christmas Day in 1957 at Croatan Presbyterian Church in New Bern, North Carolina. Click images to enlarge. |
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Mahan Walter Clark and his daughtersMahan Walter Clark and Nellie Marie Gillen Clark had two daughters, Brenda Mae Clark and Carol Marie Clark. M.W. and Marie bought a house in New Bern and still live in their home after fifty years of marriage. For several years of the daughters’ childhoods, they moved around as a family unit as M.W.’s job locations changed but they eventually came back to the house in New Bern. He worked for King-Hunter Construction Company before working for Laughlin-Sutton Construction Company, a company out of Greensboro where he worked his way up to superintendent before retiring in his mid sixties in the late 1990s. Click images to enlarge. |
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Brenda Mae Clark NelsonBrenda Mae Clark Nelson sits beside a Christmas tree. The photograph was taken sometime in the 1980s. Brenda married Barry Wayne Nelson in 1976 and divorced in 1989. They had two children, David Wayne Nelson and Ashley Marie Nelson. Brenda died of cancer January 16, 2000. Click images to enlarge. |
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Carol Marie ClarkIn the mid 1980s, Carol Marie Clark went to Nepal as a volunteer in the Peace Corps where she specialized in fisheries. Carol volunteered her time just after graduating from Wake Forest University in 1984 with a B.A. in biology. She was forced to come home before her contract was complete as a result of sickness brought on from living in a developing country. Click images to enlarge. |
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Mahan Walter Clark and his grandsonMahan Walter Clark's daughter, Brenda Mae Clark Nelson had a son, David Wayne Nelson, seen here being pulled on a makeshift sled by his grandfather. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren call their grandfather, Poppa. Click images to enlarge. |
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Ashley Marie Nelson KnoxAshley Marie Nelson caught a bluefish almost as big as herself in the late 1980s. She grew up near the beaches of North Carolina and frequented them with her family. Ashley’s grandparents continue to surf fish year round and fry fish dinners most Sunday afternoons. Click images to enlarge. |
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Birthday celebration for Zoe NelsonNellie Marie Gillen Clark, Mahan Walter Clark, David Wayne Nelson, and his wife Anna Sparrow Nelson celebrate Zoe Isabella Nelson’s birth at the Nelson home in Wilmington, North Carolina. Click images to enlarge. |
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Ashley and John Knox's Rehearsal DinnerAshley Marie Nelson and John Thomas Knox celebrate at their rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding. The dinner took place at Baker's Square restaurant in New Bern, North Carolina, on October 6, 2006. John and Ashley now reside in South Carolina where they attend the University of South Carolina. Click images to enlarge. |
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Father and SonBarry Wayne Nelson and his son, David Wayne Nelson attended the wedding of John Thomas Knox and Ashley Marie Nelson at Croatan Presbyterian Church in New Bern, North Carolina, on October 7, 2006. Click images to enlarge. |
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The Nelson SistersDavid and Anna Nelson have two children, Zoe Isabella Nelson and Stella Corrine Nelson. The family lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. Zoe was born June 30, 2005 and Stella was born May 1, 2008. Click images to enlarge. |
Knox Family History
Although no one in the family has lived in Lewiston, SC for some time, Lewiston is at the heart of the Knox family. John and Ashley Knox live nearby in Columbia, SC and attend the University of South Carolina. The Knox couple frequent the town of Lewiston for picnics and antique shopping, and especially to take a nostalgic trip to the old stomping grounds of Ashley’s ancestors.
Many years before, the family of her grandfather, Mahan Walter Clark, carried out their daily lives in this quaint little town. Like most families of Lewiston during that time, the Clark family farmed to make their living. Mahan, born September 22, 1938, grew up with seven brothers and sisters. It was common to have a large family; it meant more hands on the farm.
In the 1950s, Mahan, who went by the name M.W., joined the Marines and left Lewiston behind to start a new life. He took the standardized test given to all recruits and was given the choice to go to any base of his choice. He chose Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina, a choice that would affect the rest of his life. It was at Atlantic Beach, twenty miles from the base, where he met his future wife, Nellie Marie Gillen, born December 20, 1939. They married on December 25, 1957. They had two daughters, Brenda Mae Clark and Carol Marie Clark. M.W. and Marie bought a house in New Bern and still live in their home after fifty years of marriage. For several years of the daughters’ childhoods, they moved around as a family unit as M.W.’s job locations changed but they eventually came back to the house in New Bern. He worked for King-Hunter Construction Company before working for Laughlin-Sutton Construction Company, a company out of Greensboro where he worked his way up to superintendent before retiring in his mid sixties in the late 1990s.