Stories and biography
About Herbert
Mentioned in other stories
These stories are about someone or something else, and name Herbert Kelso Clarkson.
1916–1977 · Male · died at 60
Sex is as recorded in the family tree. Age at death is worked out from the dates shown and may be a range or an approximation. It is left out when a date is missing or is only a “before”, “after” or “between” date, when the research has found a date Unconfirmed, when the two dates conflict, or when they would mean an age over 110.
World War II · Army, Navy · 1941 Confirmed
Entered the Army in February 1941; later a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. No transfer date found.
In the story: The twentieth century · Veterans of the family
These stories are about someone or something else, and name Herbert Kelso Clarkson.
Herbert Kelso Clarkson studied at the University of Texas, served in the military and later practised law in Rosenberg, Texas.
Herbert was born in Texas on August 16, 1916. A passenger list records his arrival in New York from Naples on August 26, 1937. At the University of Texas, he was Commander of his Sigma Nu chapter and one of the 1939 yearbook's “Good Fellows.” Natalee “Cissie” Ligon, whom he later married, appeared on the same honors page (birth index; 1940 census).
The vital, passenger, census, yearbook and military entries support these details.
The 1940 census placed him in Chicago and recorded Austin as his 1935 residence. He enlisted in the Army at Fort Sam Houston on February 6, 1941. His 1943 wedding notices identified him as a Naval Reserve officer; a later register gives his rank as lieutenant commander from June 1, 1946, and retirement effective in February 1954 (enlistment record; marriage index; Tulsa World; Austin American-Statesman).
The records cited do not explain the 1937 trip or connect the Army enlistment to the Naval Reserve commission.
At 27, Herbert married Cissie on October 9, 1943, at the Little Church Around the Corner in New York. The Rev. Charles A. Weatherby officiated. Cissie's sister, Mrs. Roy F. Berry Jr., attended her, and her brother-in-law gave her in marriage (Tulsa World; Austin American-Statesman).
The wedding announcements give the ceremony details.
By 1950, Herbert and Cissie lived in San Antonio with their daughter, recorded as Margery. Directories continued to list the couple there in 1951 and 1952–1953. A 1955 directory placed Herbert and Cissie in Greater Houston.
The 1955 entry's identification remains Likely, and no exact move date is established.
Herbert's 1977 obituary described him as a lawyer with Pollan and Nicholson in Rosenberg and a member of the Fort Bend County Bar Association. It named his wife as Florence V. Clarkson and included a daughter, Mrs. Margery C. Miller of Houston, among the survivors. He died in Fort Bend County on January 14, 1977; a memorial places his grave in Houston (death index; Find A Grave index).
The obituary provides the legal career and later household. It does not explain when or how his marriage to Cissie ended. Mrs. Margery C. Miller is a Likely identification of Margery Clarkson MacKinnon, consistent with her first married surname. Burial rests on the memorial entry.
| When | What the record shows | How sure |
|---|---|---|
| 16 August 1916 | Born in Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997: Herbert Kelso Clarkson | Confirmed |
| 26 August 1937 | Arrives in New York from Naples, Italy. New York, U.S., Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909-1957: arrival 26 August 1937 | Confirmed |
| 6 February 1941 | Enlists in the Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 | Confirmed |
| 9 October 1943 | Marries Natalee Cissie Ligon in New York City. U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current: Clarkson / Ligon, 9 October 1943 | Confirmed |
| 14 January 1977 | Dies in Fort Bend County, Texas. Texas Death Index, 1903-2000: Herbert Kelso Clarkson | Confirmed |
Why: Herbert Kelso Clarkson's 1916 birth certificate names his father as H. S. Clarkson ('First Lieut. U.S.A.') and his mother as Ruth Joyce Kelso; Ruth's 1973 death certificate names her son Herbert K. Clarkson as informant; the 1940 census has Herbert S., Ruth and Herbert K. in one household.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Image examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (10-03-2026, imported tree): The FTM import's own unassessed link. · Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: Herbert Kelso Clarkson's 1916 birth certificate names his father as H. S. Clarkson ('First Lieut. U.S.A.') and his mother as Ruth Joyce Kelso; Ruth's 1973 death certificate names her son Herbert K. Clarkson as informant; the 1940 census has Herbert S., Ruth and Herbert K. in one household. The certificate gives only the initials; the 1940 census (Herbert S., a Colonel, with Ruth and Herbert K.) and Ruth's marriage identify him.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Image examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (10-03-2026, imported tree): The FTM import's own unassessed link. · Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: The 1945 birth notice and the 1950 census household name Herbert and Cissie Clarkson as her parents.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
| Born | 16 AUG 1916, San Antonio, Texas Confirmed evidence: show whyWhy: His Texas birth certificate (no. 30437) gives San Antonio, Aug. 16, 1916, and names his parents H. S. Clarkson and Ruth Joyce Kelso. Records: Review: assessed 10-26-2026; evidence: Image examined. Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed. |
|---|---|
| Died | 14 JAN 1977, Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Texas, USA Confirmed evidence: show whyWhy: His death notice of Saturday 15 Jan 1977 says he died 'Friday in Sugarland, Texas', that is 14 Jan 1977, aged 60. Records:
Review: assessed 10-26-2026; evidence: Image examined. Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed. |
| Residence | 27 MAY 1920, San Antonio, Texas, USA Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 · Image: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 · Image: Texas, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1903-1932 |
| Residence | 1930, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 · Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 · Image: Texas, U.S., Rolls of Attorneys, 1840-2002 |
| Residence | 1932, San Antonio, Texas, USA Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 · Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 · Image: U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 |
| Residence | 1935, Austin, Lravers, Texas |
| Arrival | 26 AUG 1937, New York |
| Residence | 1937, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1939, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1 APR 1940, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States |
| Military service | 6 FEB 1941, Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Marriage | 9 OCT 1943, Little Church around the Corner, New York, New York, with Natalee Cissie Ligon (Chambliss) Clarkson 1919–1984 |
| Marriage of Ligon / Clarkson | Miss Ligon, Lt. H. K. Clarkson to be Married in New York, 3 OCT 1943, Austin, Texas |
| Natalee Cissie Ligon to marry Herbert Kelso Clarks | 10 OCT 1943, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Residence | 1945, 1516 North-Wood Road, |
| Residence | Occupation: Attorney; Relation to Head of House: Head; Marital Status: Married, 1950, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA |
| Residence | Occupation: Attorney, 1951, San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| Military service | FEB 1954 |
| Residence | 4807 Welford (city directory listing), 1955, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA |
| Residence | BET 1968 AND 1977, Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Texas, USA |
| Occupation | 1977 |
| Burial | Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA View memorial on Find a Grave |
| Departure | Naples, Italy |
| Education | Austin, Travis, Texas, USA |
| Residence | Bexar, Texas |
| Residence | Houston, Texas, USA |
| Residence | San Antonio |
6 newspaper clippings to view here. View them larger, one at a time.
24 record images to view here. View them larger, one at a time.
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Open an evidence label for the sources, assessment and review date. Unreviewed tree entries are Unconfirmed. How sure is each statement?