by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2024
Clara Dena KNOWLES was born on December 18, 1879, in Key West, Florida to Justin Everett KNOWLES (1847-1900 Bahamas) and Jane Ann HOPKINS (1847-1933 Georgia).
In 1885, Clara lived on Watson St in Key West with her parents and siblings. Her mother’s parents (Hopkins) lived nearby). Living on the same street at the time were the families of ARIAS, GRIFTH, CAREY, PENT, JOHNSON, HOPKINS, MARSHALL, BRADY, LOWE, and ALMIDA.
In 1900, Clara lived with her parents, siblings, and her daughter, Rosina Violet at 1126 Watson St in Key West.
Clara Dena was married three times and had six sons and four daughters.
Clara Dena married Enrique Manuel RODRIGUEZ in Key West, Florida, on December 21, 1895, when she was 16 years old. This was Clara’s first husband. Their daughter Rosina Violet was born on December 27, 1896, in Key West, Florida. In 1910, they lived at 905 Grinnell St.
Granddaughter, Jane GARCIA Rowland recalls, “This man was a Spaniard. It seems he and Clara had a bitter breakup. I remember she once told me he was such a dirty #### that when his daughter Rosine was found to be anemic, and she asked for money to buy her iron pills, he told her to go soak some nails and water and drink that. He went by the name Henry.”
Next, Clara Dena married Manuel RODRIGUEZ de CANIZARES in Key West, Florida, on June 29, 1901, when she was 21 years old. Their children include:
- Manuel Canizares Rodriguez 1902.
- John Andrew Rodriguez 1903
- Anna Maria 1906
- Clarie 1911
Clara’s final husband was Manuel Andres LARIZ. He was born on November 30, 1875, in Key West, Florida, to Coleta V. JIMENEZ, age 29, and Manuel Andrew LARIZ, age 34. They were married in Key West on August 5, 1914. They had two children, Clara Bell and Andrew Woodrow (Bubby) LARIZ. Her son, Clarie, from her second marriage lived with them.
In 1917, Manuel and Clara lived at 1005 United St. In 1920, they lived at 1023 United St.
In 1921, Clara delivered a stillborn child.
In 1927, Clara and Manuel lived at 1013 Catherine St.
In 1930, they lived with their two children, Clara Bell and Andrew ‘Bubby’.
In 1940, Clara and Manuel lived at 1227 Royal St. with her daughter, Clara Bell, son-in-law, Evelio GARCIA, and granddaughter, Jane Ann.
FAMILY MEMORIES
Granddaughter, Josephine GARCIA Simmons recalls, “I remember that Grandma had very long hair, it went past her butt. It was snow white. She used to let us brush her hair. She would sit in her rocking chair and let us brush and play with her hair for as long as we wanted. Once there was a restaurant down the street from where we lived that caught fire. All the houses in Key West are very close together and so the fire department evacuated us even though we were about five or six houses away from the restaurant. Grandma refused to leave. The firemen had to pick up the rocking chair that she was sitting in and carry it out of the house and down the street. They deposited her, and her rocking chair, in the middle of the street. She sat in her rocker and cussed out the firemen and anyone else who dared to come near her.” (Personal Interview, 2019)
Clara Dena had blue eyes and light brown hair. She was of average height and was neither fat nor skinny, she had a trim figure. She was her mother’s Wild Child much to the contrast of the very strict religious life of Jane KNOWLES. One old member of the family told me, “your grandmother was a thorn in her mother’s side”.
“She would get someone to cash her ‘blind pension check’ as she called it. She arranged the bills in some order and always seemed to know which was which. My dad says he swears she wasn’t really blind and used that to rule people. She did actually see shadows, I think, because of the cataracts she didn’t see clearly. I know we couldn’t sneak anything by her. We lived with our grandparents most of our lives. My dad did try to sneak us off to Tampa for a short time, but one day while he was at work, my grandpa, at my grandma’s insistence, took the bus to Tampa, packed us up, and was on the bus back to Key West with us before my dad got home from work.” (Personal Interview with Jane GARCIA Rowland, 2019)
Clara Dena died on August 13, 1961, in Key West at the age of 81.
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NOTE: Any additional info or photos would be appreciated.
SOURCES: Ancestry.com, United States Federal Census Records, Key West Directory 1917 and 1927, Personal memoirs of Jane Ann GARCIA Rowland and Josephine GARCIA Simmons
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