A Touch of Glory!

Author Marian Clarke Dolive was inspired by her own heritage and that of her husband. Her father, William Clarke, was born in England and, at age eleven, emigrated with his family to the U.S. in1853, settling in Albany, New York. He later served in the Union Army, married, and had two children before his wife died of tuberculosis. In the early 1870s, he moved with his children to Jacksonville, Florida. There, he opened a plumbing business and remarried. Tragically in 1880, a home fire killed his second wife and all but one of their children. Subsequently marrying his sister-in-law, he had more children, including author Marian in 1889.Marian was a vivacious and theatrical child. At age fourteen, she became smitten with an older gentleman boarder, Henry Louis Dolive, and he with her. Her father refused permission for her to marry until she was at least eighteen. At that time, they married in 1907 and moved to Tampa. The couple had two children, the older being this book editor's father, Clarke Dolive. Henry succeeded in business, first banking and then as the de facto CEO of Baker Bros. Co., a general store which he expanded to eleven locations throughout Central Florida. These were wealthy years, including significant travel. However, the 1927 Florida land bubble bust destroyed the state's economy and sent Baker Bros. into a tailspin. Henry borrowed heavily, but the onset of the Great Depression dealt the final blow. In 1930, Henry closed the stores and moved back to Orlando where he managed the family grove. No doubt affected by stress and debt, he died in 1936.Following her husband's death, Marian's business skills emerged. Through work, investments, and negotiation, she settled all the debt incurred in the attempts to save Baker Bros. Around 1940, she began writing a biography of her father-in-law, William Louis Dolive, starting with his surrender at the end of the Civil War and describing his business success in naval stores and citrus. Having enjoyed writing poetry for much of her life, Marian received guidance from a playwright, author, and professor at Rollins College, in nearby Winter Park. In 1953, Marian suffered a major stroke, paralyzing her right side and rendering her bed-ridden for the rest of her life. At this point, Clarke began weekly trips to Orlando to help his mother, Marian, revise and finish the story. Attempts to publish it at that time were unsuccessful, and Marian's death in 1965 relegated the manuscript to a closet shelf.