Daughter of William Farmer Clarke and Gertrude Randall-Clarke, Willie Colma Clarke was born on June 23, 1907 in Franklin County, Georgia.
At age 13 (substantiated by the 1930 Federal Census), on August 24, 1921 Colma married Carl Fay Smith (age 22). Carl Smith (April 8, 1899 - June 7, 1979)1), who was the son of Rutledge R. Smith (July 1876 - January 16, 1946) and Julia E. (July 1880 - ?) from Rabun County, Georgia.
Carl Fay Smith was a “Moonshiner” and gambler. According to family rumor, after he shot and killed a man in a legal duel, the Sheriff strongly “suggested” that Carl leave Franklin County (to avoid any retribution from the dead man's family). So they moved to South Carolina for a period of time.
Carl and Colma had one daughter:
1940 United States Federal Census
State: Virginia
County: Norfolk
Township or other Division of County: Western Branch
Dat Sheet Started: April 26, 1950 (Sheet 75)
| Name | Relation | Gender | Age | Marital Status | Birthplace | Occupation | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl F. Smith | Head | M | 51 | Married | Georgia | Instrument Man | Naval Air Station |
| Colma Smith | Wife | F | 42 | Married | Georgia | Manager | Cleaning Plant |
| Carlene Smith | Daughter | F | 25 | Divorced | Georgia |
Source: “United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Western Branch, Norfolk, Virginia; Roll: 5904; Sheet Number: 75; Enumeration District: 65-126
Colma rented a small storefront where she operated a laundry “Drop-off/Pick-up” location. After customers dropped off their laundry in the mornings, she would transport them to a laundry; and retrieve the clean laundry from the previous day.
At some point after 1950, Carl & Colma adopted a boy named Jarrett (nicknamed Jerry). Relatives remembered that Carl & Colma considered Jerry their son… and raised him as their own.
Carlene Hazel Smith died on January 30, 2007, in Nags Head, Dare, North Carolina.
Willie Colma Clarke (June 23, 1907 - Mar. 18, 1999)2).