Clara L Catherwood

Clara Louise (Hastings) Catherwood Darling (1845-1929) was the daughter of Serranus Clinton Hastings (1814-1893) who was a U.S. Representative from Iowa as it gained statehood in 1846, became Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, moved to California where he became Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court then state Attorney General, went into private law practice then became a real estate investor, donated money to establish a law school at the University of California which was named for him - Hastings College of Law. Clara married Col. Edwin Church Catherwood (1835-1897), a Civil War officer in the Missouri Cavalry, in 1869. Their first child was born in 1869 in New York City where they lived with her parents for several years. Clara was apparently divorced from Col. Catherwood as she married John Augustus Darling (1835-1912) in 1895, two years before Catherwood's death. Darling was also a Civil War veteran, but with the Union forces, and was a lifelong military man retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 1907. He was also a musical composer under the nom de plume of August Mignon. He was commander of the post at Fort Mason in San Francisco and also assigned to Alcatraz Island, then was reassigned to Governor's Island in New York Harbor. Clara presumably followed Darling in his transfers but after his death returned to California and died in San Francisco and was buried in St. Helena.