Clara J Van de Grift


Clara was the wife of Jacob Van de Grift, and by marriage, the sister-in-law of author Robert Louis Stevenson, who had married Jacob’s sister, Fanny.

Clara’s sister, Emma, was the wife of Captain Charles Thomas Rice, a Civil War veteran. Both couples arrived in Riverside in 1880. The Rice’s daughter, Anna, married Joseph Bordwell, and their son, Alden Bordwell, became a beloved doctor in Riverside. Bordwell Park is named for Dr. Bordwell and he is the father of Little League baseball in the city.