Persons of Interest – William Clark Eastlake Posted 9 April 2018 by Tessa KeoughWelcome to the first post in our new series Persons of Interest On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, we will share a short story provided by a member about a person of interest in their one-name study. So whether your person is good, bad, or simply interesting or unusual, please send us your 200-300 word story with one or a few images. First up from Guild member Kim Baldacchino – William Clark Eastlake, “Dental Pioneer of the Orient” William Clark Eastlake William Clark Eastlake (1834-1887) was born in New Jersey as William Clark Eastlack, son of Richard Wills Eastlack and his wife Sarah Clark. Richard was a dealer in patent medicines and son William grew up to study dentistry. As part of the Japanese Government’s efforts to modernise Japan, William was one of a number of westerners who brought their skills to the Orient in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries. He first travelled to Japan with his wife, Almira Vernon Rose, and eldest son, Frank Warrington, in 1860. He established his practice in Yokohama but lived in the foreign settlement in Tokyo. This settlement later became subject to ‘strict limitations, but he alone was allowed to live anywhere he liked, because of his services’. He not only introduced modern techniques but also became a middle-man for arranging the education of Japanese dentists in American institutions. Notable westerners are buried in the Foreigner’s Section of the lovely Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo including William and at least seven other family members, most recently Dorothy Rose Eastlake in 2013. A dedication stone of 2007 reads: In Memoriam Laid to rest here in the Foreign Section of the Aoyama Cemetery are men and women who came to Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of them played leading roles and contributed greatly to the modernization of Japan. We have erected this monument to commemorate their achievements and ensure their memory is passed on to posterity. In 1985, the Kanagawa Prefecture Dental Association erected a monument to commemorate the 125th anniversary of William’s arrival in Japan and ‘the birthplace of Western Medical Dentistry in Japan’. His children would become noted for their own achievements. Gravestone of William Clark Eastlake www.findagrave.com Foreigners’ Section Dedication Stone, Aoyama Cemetery www.minorsights.com The Eastlake One-Name Study website is found at http://mbaldac2.tribalpages.com/ and the DNA website is found at http://www.familytreedna.com/groups/eastlick-name-project/about Why not submit a story about a person of interest in your own one-name study. Email each story and image(s) to marketing@one-name.org.