Byrne, Clawson, Virgil families papers

Sarah Topping “Sallie” Drake was born February 21, 1856 in Chester, New Jersey to Nancy Maria Scudder and William Hart Drake. She married John Wesley Clawson (1851-1899) on October 25, 1873 with whom she had seven children. Sometime between 1882 and 1884 the family migrated to Boise, Idaho where they operated a homestead near the present-day intersection of Overland Road and Maple Grove Road. After the death of John Clawson, Sallie and her children purchased several lots in the Brumback Addition, now Harrison Blvd, in Boise’s North End Neighborhood. Sallie Clawson died on September 19, 1928.

Bertha Edna Clawson was born March 21, 1889 in Boise, Idaho to Sallie Drake and John Clawson. She married Charles Arthur Howland in 1908, they had one son, James A. Howland (1918-2001). Bertha married a second time on June 25, 1925 to Oliver Hazzard Perry Virgil II (1884-1952) giving birth to two more children, Frank Jay Virgil (1927-2011) and Ina Marie Virgil, and raising his son from a previous marriage, Vernon Wyatt Virgil (1910-1998). Bertha and Perry purchased a farm located at 6211 W. Hill Rd. where they raised their family and lived until their daughter, Ina, and her husband purchased the property from them in 1967. Bertha died on February 19, 1967.

Ina Marie Virgil was born on June 15, 1929 in Boise, Idaho. She married Thomas Patrick Byrne on April 16, 1949, they had four children together, Timothy Patrick Byrne, Thomas Joseph Byrne II, Shaun Byrne, and Perry Michael Byrne. Ina graduated from Boise High School in 1947, she was an active member of the Girl’s Athletic Association playing baseball throughout her time there. She died on November 1, 2011.

Thomas Patrick Byrne was born on March 10, 1928 to Frances Burns and Thomas Joseph Byrne in Richfield, Idaho. Before marrying Ina Marie Virgil in 1949 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as a butcher on the U.S.S. Samar out of San Diego, California. He died October 12, 2023.