American Acorns

People: C

Herbert Kelso Clarkson

1916–1977 · Male · died at 60

How to read this page

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.

Overview

Explore this person's tree: ancestors Descendants

Service

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

Stories and biography

About Herbert

Mentioned in other stories

These stories are about someone or something else, and name Herbert Kelso Clarkson.

Biography

Herbert Kelso Clarkson studied at the University of Texas, served in the military and later practised law in Rosenberg, Texas.

University and service

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).

Confirmed About this evidence

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).

Confirmed About this evidence

The records cited do not explain the 1937 trip or connect the Army enlistment to the Naval Reserve commission.

Marriage and homes in Texas

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).

Confirmed About this evidence

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.

Likely About this evidence

The 1955 entry's identification remains Likely, and no exact move date is established.

A lawyer in Rosenberg

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).

Likely About this evidence

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.

Timeline of the public record (5 entries)
WhenWhat the record showsHow sure
16 August 1916Born in Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997: Herbert Kelso ClarksonConfirmed
26 August 1937Arrives in New York from Naples, Italy. New York, U.S., Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909-1957: arrival 26 August 1937Confirmed
6 February 1941Enlists in the Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946Confirmed
9 October 1943Marries Natalee Cissie Ligon in New York City. U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current: Clarkson / Ligon, 9 October 1943Confirmed
14 January 1977Dies in Fort Bend County, Texas. Texas Death Index, 1903-2000: Herbert Kelso ClarksonConfirmed

Family

Parents

Wife: Natalee Cissie Ligon (Chambliss) Clarkson 1919–1984
Unconfirmed evidence: show why

Why: From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.

Review: not yet reviewed.

What the labels mean

Wife: Mary Florence Victery 1916–1999
Unconfirmed evidence: show why

Why: From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.

Review: not yet reviewed.

What the labels mean

Life events

Born16 AUG 1916, San Antonio, Texas
Confirmed evidence: show why

Why: 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.

What the labels mean

Image: 1930 United States Federal Census · Image: U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985 · Image: 1940 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, ward 42, ED 103-2678, sheet 14A, household 338 (East Delaware Place), enumerated 16 April 1940: Herbert S. Clarkson (49, colonel, U.S. Army), his wife Ruth (48) and their son Herbert K. (23, in school).
Died14 JAN 1977, Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Texas, USA
Confirmed evidence: show why

Why: 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.

What the labels mean

Residence27 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
Residence1930, 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
Residence1932, 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
Residence1935, Austin, Lravers, Texas
Arrival26 AUG 1937, New York
Residence1937, Austin, Texas, USA
Residence1939, Austin, Texas, USA
Residence1 APR 1940, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
Military service6 FEB 1941, Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Marriage9 OCT 1943, Little Church around the Corner, New York, New York, with Natalee Cissie Ligon (Chambliss) Clarkson 1919–1984
Marriage of Ligon / ClarksonMiss Ligon, Lt. H. K. Clarkson to be Married in New York, 3 OCT 1943, Austin, Texas
Natalee Cissie Ligon to marry Herbert Kelso Clarks10 OCT 1943, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Residence1945, 1516 North-Wood Road,
ResidenceOccupation: Attorney; Relation to Head of House: Head; Marital Status: Married, 1950, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA
ResidenceOccupation: Attorney, 1951, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Military serviceFEB 1954
Residence4807 Welford (city directory listing), 1955, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA
ResidenceBET 1968 AND 1977, Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Texas, USA
Occupation1977
BurialHouston, Harris County, Texas, USA View memorial on Find a Grave
DepartureNaples, Italy
EducationAustin, Travis, Texas, USA
ResidenceBexar, Texas
ResidenceHouston, Texas, USA
ResidenceSan Antonio

Newspapers

6 newspaper clippings to view here. View them larger, one at a time.

Also cited, with no image here

Record images

24 record images to view here. View them larger, one at a time.

Sources

Research sources

Share a memory of Herbert Kelso Clarkson: saved privately, not published (family members can sign in to send one).

Open an evidence label for the sources, assessment and review date. Unreviewed tree entries are Unconfirmed. How sure is each statement?