ELIJAHPI CLARK Family Connections -- Gen. Elijah CLARK of NC and GA by Douglas Tucker FEB 1997 [Since one of our members is working on a "possible" connection in VA between this line and Capt. Christopher's, I decided to send these reports from Doug next. As in things past, Doug gets credit for everything except typos. This is a works-in-progress and first of at least three parts on Elijah. I capitalized given names for easier scanning for specifics later. LSS] Sorting out the CLARKs of late 17th and early 18th century Carolina is tough--too many Clarks and too little hard information. One goal of this research paper has been to firm up the ancestry of Gen. Elijah CLARK of GA who some in Christopher Clark's line claimed was their blood relative--similar to claims made about Gen. George Rogers Clark. Were the claims simply wishes to be associated with War heros or was there a common bloodline? Also in tracing Elijah, I hoped to find new clues about the parentage of Christopher and Francis Clark. Following is a summary of findings for those who may not wish to wade through a long and rambling discussion. SUMMARY Part I: Elijah Clark's Parents * Gen. ELIJAH Clark (1733-1799) of GA was the son of John and Mary (Turner, Griffith or Gibson) Clark who migrated to Anson Co., NC from Edgecombe Co. NC before 1750. This is the same John Clark who sold land to Quaker migrants (beginning with Benjamin DUMAS Sr.) from Louisa Co. VA in the late 1740's. * JOHN Clark (c1705-c1768) most likely was born in either Surry or Nansemond Co., VA. His parents moved to NC when he was a teenager. After marriage, John lived for a short period in Edgecombe Co. but began acquiring land patents in Anson Co., NC beginning about 1746. He probably moved his family from Edgecombe Co. to property in Anson Co. along the Great Pee Dee River before 1750. In 1751, he and wife Mary moved west to the Broad River in what was then Anson Co. but would later become part of Cherokee and Union Cos., SC. In 1753 John and Mary again moved to a grant along the Pacolet River near where it joins the Broad River. * ELIJAH Clark, lived on Clark family property along Rocky Run, near the Pee Dee River in Anson Co. from his marriage in 1762 until about 1771 when he moved to his father's land near Grindal Shoals on the Pacolet River. In 1773 Elijah moved his family to GA where he settled along Wahatchee Creek near a new Quaker settlement then known as New Purchase but later renamed Wrights- borough. Elijah joined the Whig Partisans (anti-Royalist colonists) and was elected commander of the local militia. His militia second-in-command was William CANDLER who was also Elijah's neighbor on Wahatchee Creek. Both became popular heros of the American Revolution. Part II: Earlier Clark Generations and Connections The identity of Elijah Clark's paternal grandfather remains unclear. My preliminary research suggests his grandfather was one of four Clarks -- Francis, Edward and two men named Thomas -- who migrated from VA to NC before 1728. Were any of these three CLARKs related to Christopher and Francis Clark of New Kent Co.? What facts exist are too few and scattered to make a conclusive finding that would pass scrutiny of my Clark co-researchers. Even so, I believe there is a good chance that several of these Clarks were blood relatives of ["Capt"] Christopher and Francis Clark of New Kent Co. Below, the four candidates are reviewed briefly. The order of presentation has no significance. *** Grandfather candidate No. 1 is THOMAS Clark (c1670-1728) who resided much of his adult life along the upper Blackwater River in Surry Co. VA but after 1724 lived along the south shore of the Meherrin River in Bertie Precinct on the NC side of the VA/NC border. Today, his property would lie in Northampton Co. NC, a few miles northwest of Murfreesboro and just east of the small town of Severn, NC. THOMAS Clark's will, which was filed in Bertie Precinct NC was written 24 MAR 1728. A wife is mentioned, but not named. Later property records show that her name was SUSANNAH and that she was married to Thomas as early as 1700. (I think Susannah was Thomas Clark's second wife but have not been able to confirm the name of his first wife. Could his first wife have been Mary MacKinney of Nansemond Co., sister of John and Barnabas and daughter of Michael and Elizabeth?) The nine Clark children mentioned in the will include the oldest son, Thomas Jr., with other sons named Lewis, William, JOHN, and Matthew, mentioned in that order in the will. Daughters Elizabeth and Mary appear to have been older than John while Grace and Bridget appear to have been younger. Thomas Jr., Elizabeth and Mary appear to have been born before 1700 and may have been the children of Thomas' first wife. Thomas Clark's son JOHN seems to have been born about 1705, based mainly on his marriage date and the age of his son John. He married Mary Turner of Surry Co. VA about 1727 and appears to have lived on property owned by Daniel Turner, Mary's father, until after 1734 when the property was bequeathed to John Clark in Daniel Turner's will. In 1742 John and Mary Clark acquired property on Jack Horse Swamp, a tributary of Fishing Creek in Edgecombe Co. NC. Most of the known facts about this John and Mary Clark fit the bibliographic profiles of ELIJAH's parents except that in this instance son Elijah almost certainly would have been born in VA and not in Edgecombe Co. NC as the Hays biography of Elijah Clark suggests. (I think biographer Hays was wrong about where Elijah was born. She also said Elijah was married to Hannah Arrington in Edgecombe Co. before moving to Anson Co., NC but I can prove that Elijah Clark was living in Anson Co. by 1750 when he was just 17. He did not marry Hannah until he was 29.) I found no direct information that would peg Thomas Clark's birth date. However, age, property and marriage information associated with his sons Thomas Jr. and John (if this John is the John Clark who was Elijah's father) suggests that "Thomas Clark of Meherrin" was born before 1674. This proves nothing, but helps to eliminate this Thomas Clark from being the son of several other Clark famililes known to be living in Surry and Isle of Wight Counties (i.e., this Thomas Clark came from outside these two counties). Was he the Thomas Clarke of 1689 processioning orders in New Kent County? It's theoretically possible, but I remain far from being able to prove the case. Was he one of the "legendary" Clark brothers of Barbados? Again, I can't prove a Barbados connection, but can say the indirect evidence is not inconsistent with his being a Barbados Clark, a brother of Edward Clark (the sexton) of New Kent Co., and an uncle to "our" Christopher and Francis Clark. (Age seems to be the biggest problem with fitting this Thomas into the Barbados Clark family. Thomas Clark of Meherrin died in 1728. If he were a Barbados Clark, he would probably have been born betwen 1663 and 1665. This would have made him 63 to 65 years old at the time of his death -- unusual longevity for the period. Not impossible--just unlikely.) In his 1728 will, Thomas Clark mentioned "two plantations" joining the county line and Thomas Boykins and implied that Nehemiah and Martha (Turner) Joyner resided on part of one of the Clark plantations. (Martha Turner appears to have been the sister of Mary Turner, one of three plausible candidates for John Clark's wife.) In 1733, Susannah Clark would sell a 50 acre piece of one of the plantations to James Joyner, who I presume was Nehemiah's son. In 1737 she sold another piece of the same plantation to Henry Dawson. Thus, we know that Susannah Clark survived Thomas by at least nine years. Property transactions in Anson Co. NC and later in GA suggest that John Clark had a brother named LEWIS and that he may have had a son named Lewis as well. Thomas and Susannah Clark had documented sons named John and Lewis. *** Grandfather candidate No. 2 is FRANCIS Clark who resided on Cutawhiskie Meadow (he spelled it "Cattawatsby") which was located along the lower reaches of the southernmost branch of Meherrin Creek (a tributary to the Meherrin River) now called Potecasi Creek. This is just west of present-day Ahoskie and Aulander in Bertie Co. NC. I am not certain when Francis Clark first appeared in the Cutawhiskie Meadow area but he was certainly there by 1727 and I found a "non-property" reference in Chowan Precinct court papers to a Francis Clark as early as 1716. I did not find a land grant in Francis' name, nor did I find a property purchase or sale with Francis Clark as the principal. So I think Francis must have been a tenant on someone else's property. Available evidence suggests that Francis Clark may have migrated to NC from the Somerton area of Nansemond Co., VA. Many of Francis Clark's immediate neighbors on Cutawhiskie Meadow (Francis Speight, William Speight Jr., James Holland, Thomas and Sarah Jernigan, Henry Jernigan, John Holmes, John Moore Jr., and William Wright) migrated from the vicinity of Somerton between 1716 and 1723. My experience has been that early 18th century migrations were often group undertakings. Somerton, some will recall, was the first VA home of the MOORMAN family and of Micajah Clark of the Barbados Clarks, at least according to legend. Was Francis Clark of Cutawhiskie another of the Clark brothers of Barbados? Possibly, but it seems more likely that he may have been the son of one of the Clark brothers of Barbados. Bertie Co. property records suggest that Francis had survivng sons named Francis Jr., JOHN, and William. Son John was "given, for love and affection," a 150 acre tract on Horse Swamp, on the southern border of Cutawhiskie Meadow, on 10 JAN 1734/35 by Henry Vize, a carpenter of Bertie Co. Normally, the gifting of property reflects a blood relationship or a very close personal friendship, but I have not discovered any such relationships between Henry Vize and John Clark. Did Henry have a daughter married to John Clark? Is it possible that Henry Vize's wife was a Clark? In 1727 John Griffith, who lived on nearby "Potecasi Swamp" and was survived by a widow, two sons and two daughters, bequeathed a "a suit of clothes" to a John Clark. Who was the John Clark named in Griffith's will and why was he included? Was he the same John who was Francis Clark's son? John Griffith was survived by a wife, two sons and two daughters. His wife was named Jemima and one of his daughters was named Mary. We know that John Clark of Anson Co. had a wife named Mary and "appears" to have had a daughter named Jemima who married Benjamin DUMAS Jr. Was John Clark a suitor of Mary Griffith? Was he a neighbor's son? Or was he merely a favored servant boy in the Griffith household? (Note: the nature of the bequeathal suggests that this John Clark was under 21 years of age in 1727. This, too would fit the mold for John Clark of Anson Co.) Why the "servant boy" question? NC General Court records for July 1725 include a suit by a William Whitehead of Bertie Precinct against one Andrew Clark, planter, of Bertie. The suit charges that a William Clark, employed as a servant boy in Whitehead hosuehold, ran away in 1725 and sought refuge with Andrew Clark, planter, of Bertie Precinct. (Andrew was not William's parent or brother) where he remained in hiding for one full year. Whitehead claimed $200 in compensation from Clark. I believe this same William Clark later married Margaret Beverly, daughter of Henry Beverly, and had settled in Orange Co. NC sometime before 1759. Was John Clark employed in a similar fashion by the Griffith family? Were John and William, who appear to have been close in age, brothers? If so, this particular branch of the Clark clan appears to have been of very modest means--property renters with male children hired out as servants. ANDREW Clark's origin also remains an enigma, and I have found no documentation that would connect him to Francis except geographic proximity. Still, I am inclined to believe that he was related to Francis Clark of Cutawhiskie Meadow. Andrew Clark left Bertie and settled in Bath Co. (later Onslow Co.) along the New River about 1730. He appears to have been the father of the Michael and Francis Clark who acquired land grants in Onslow Co. between 1736 and 1743. He probably was the father of Sarah and Judith as well. Michael Clark, who was born before 1715, became an active land surveyor in Onslow Co. (The name of Andrew Clark's known children certainly are interesting!) *** Grandfather candidate No. 3 is EDWARD Clark of Surry Co. VA who may have been the former sexton of the upper church in New Kent Co. and guardian of nephews Christopher and Francis Clark. This Edward Clark never reached NC, dying intestate shortly before 13 FEB 1713/14 in Surry Co., VA. On that date, the Surry Co. court agreed to a request by Arthur Kavanaugh, the "greatest creditor of Edward Clark, deceased ..." to administer the Clark estate. George Wyche, Henry Wyche, and Thomas Avent were appointed to appraise and value the estate. Although I cannot prove that this Edward Clark was the New Kent sexton, he clearly was not related to any documented Clark family in Surry Co. at the time of his death. Nor does he appear to have had a living wife or sons who had reached maturity by 1713. An Edward Clark, who I believe was a son of Edward the sexton, resided on property in Occoneechee Neck along the north bank of the Norattock (Roanoke) River in Chowan Precinct before 1720 and possibly as early as 1714. This property was purchased by Arthur Kavanaugh in 1713, before Edward Clark Sr. died. We know from Surry Co. records that Edward Clark Sr. was under financial obligation to Arthur Kavanaugh. Perhaps the obligation related to the NC property acquired by Kavanaugh, and Edward Clark Jr. became a tenant on the property to satisfy his father's indebtedness to Kavanaugh. We know from Surry Co. records that Arthur Kavanaugh continued to live in Surry Co. through the late 1720's. We know, also, that an Edward Clark was in physical possession of the Roanoke River property from 1719/20 until at least 1753. However, I have not been able to find any record that indicates that Edward Clark ever "owned" the Roanoke property. Likewise, I have been unable to find any records relating to Edward Clark Jr.'s family, including whether he may have had a younger brother named John (a son would have been too young to qualify as Elijah's father). Circumstantial evidence suggests that Edward Clark Jr. had sons named Edward and possibly Christopher and John, and at least three daughters named Sarah, Elizabeth and Ann. Ann Clark seems to have married Thomas Pope whose parents were neighbors of Barnabas MacKinney who lived directly across the Roanoke River in an area called Caledonia Woods -- now the Caledonia State Prison Farm. The Edward Clark who appeared on processioning lists in New Kent Co. from 1711 through 1719 most likely was a younger brother of Christopher and Francis Clark, and probably was the same Edward who married Hannah, was a Qauker, and died in Henrico Co. in 1736. I believe a fourth brother, Micajah Clark Jr., also lived in the New Kent / Hanover/ Henrico area. I have found considerable evidence of several of Micajah Jr.'s children in Goochland Co. VA, but only one piece of property evidence indicating the existence of Micajah Clark Jr. *** Grandfather candidate No.4 also was named THOMAS Clark. In 1710 he acquired 225 acres from John Bently along the north bank of the Morattock (Roanoke) River near Cut Cypress Creek and a place called "Curriss". (The site of this property would be on the Roanoke River about 4 miles directly south of present-day Windsor. The general area was later referred to as Cashie Neck and was located in what was later referred to as Cashie Neck and was located in what became Society Parish of Bertie County. It is about 25 "river miles" downstream from Occoneechee Neck where Edward Clark Jr. later settled.) I know next to nothing about this Thomas Clark, except that he was born before 1689 and still owned the Roanoke River property as late as 1727. I also can infer from property records for Society Parish that he had sons named Edward, Christopher, Francis, JOHN, and Thomas Jr. (no birth order implied). These, too, are an interesting set of names, clearly suggesting the possibility of a blood relationship to the Barbados Clarks. Could this possibly be the Thomas Clark of 1689 processioning in New Kent Co. and the husband of Mary MacKinney? Mary's younger brother, Barnabas, later acquired several thousand acres on the south side of the Roanoke River about 25 miles upstream from Thomas Clark and almost immediately across the river from Edward Clark Jr. In 1670, an Edward Clark of Society Parish in Bertie Co., who I assume was the son of Thomas, employed an attorney named John Sholar to recover certain family properties that were located at the head of Bennett's Creek in Nansemond Co., VA. Whether these properties accrued to Edward from his Clark side or as a dowry inheritance is unclear because we do not know the identity of his wife. However, a glance at a map will show that the head of Bennett's Creek (the branch now called Duke Swamp) crosses the VA border directly south of Whaleyville and less than 3 miles from Somerton village. Christopher Clark, son of Thomas Clark, was a mariner. He appears to have married a daughter of neighbors Thomas and Martha West. Their second son, Christopher Clark Jr. (1746-1799) was both a mariner and international "Merchant of North England and Edenton". A privateer during the Revolutionary War, Christopher Jr. and his second wife, Hannah Turner, lived along Black Walnut Swamp and later acquired substantial property of loyalist Nathaniel Dunkenfield's estate along the Salmon River where Christopher built "Elmwood Plantation". Christopher Clark Jr. was named Navigation Commander of NC in 1789. His only son, James West Clark (1779-1843) graduated from Princeton in 1797, married Arabella Toole and was employed as Chief Clerk of the U.S. Navy Department. He also served one term in Congress. James West Clark's only son, Henry Toole Clark, was governor of NC in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War. Thomas Clark, another grandson of Thomas Clark, was one of the original commissioners of the new town of Windsor where he was a merchant. I am not certain who Thomas' father was although he may have been the oldest son of Christopher Clark Sr. [Uncle of "Capt" Christopher Clark (c1681-1754) LSS] Given the pool of supporting evidence and coincidences and the absence of any contrary evidence, I am increasingly comfortable with the position that JOHN Clark of Anson Co. was probably a cousin to Christopher and Francis of New Kent Co. Stated differently, John Clark's father, whoever he turns out to have been, probably was one of the CLark brothers of Barbados. [I agree with Doug that the Henrico and Chesterfield County Clarks are "interesting" although I might disagree with yet another Micajah Jr. ; two members of our group descend, or at least have allied connections, to these particular CLARKs. We are sharing data and looking into possibilites, none of which is to the point of sharing with the group as a whole. LSS]