JNCLKPQT John CLARK of Pasquotank Precinct NC By Douglas Tucker JUN 1997 [Doug's complete title is: "Addendum to part II: Early CLARKs of Carolina -- John CLARK (c1660-1689) of Pasquotank Precinct." This is a continuation of his attempt to sort between the most likely grandfathers of RW Gen. Elijah Clark of GA. As in other things, Doug gets full credit for the data; I only for typos. LSS] John CLARK of Pasquotank Precinct died in 1689 from complications following a boating accident in the Pasquotank River. He was sur vived by his wife, Mary (Palin) Clark, and possibly two children. His will, written 30 May 1689, mentions a daughter Mary and dis cusses property transfer arrangements "...in case my lawful wife Mary Clark should prove with child by me..." It also mentions friends William Curry, Daniel Akehurst, John West and named Ed ward Smith as "overseer of my child or children". Wife Mary was executor and witnesses were Henry Palin Sr., John Hawkins and John Cabey. (I have seen only brief abstracts of the Clark will--the full text is available at the NC State Archives and the NC Historical Commission in Raleigh. The "property" information in the full will might help determine the origins of John Clark as I am reasonably certain that it includes descriptions of property in Virginia.) There has been much debate as to whether Mary (Palin) Clark was pregnant and gave birth to a son named John Jr., or whether her daughter, Mary, survived childhood. Many that think Mary Clark survivied to adulthood believe she married John Alston, and later settled along Bennett's Creek in Chowan Precinct. It is certain that a young lady named Mary Clark married John Alston in 1700/01. The unanswered question is whether Mary (Clark) Alston and the daughter of John and Mary (Palin) Clark were the same per- son. As for John Clark Jr., it is difficult to understand why researchers continue to question his existence. Pasquotank land records, beginning in 1716, seem to confirm his existence and kin- ship to Mary (Palin) Clark -- unless one wants to believe that Mary (Palin) Clark "gifted" her 1694 land grant on Flatty Creek to a John Clark who was not her son. However, John Clark Jr. "disappears" from Pasquotank Precinct records about 1727. Could John Clark Jr. born in 1689 shortly after the death of his father, be the John Clark of Anson Co., NC who was Elijah Clark's father and who named one of his other sons Alston Clark? Is there enough circumstantial evidence for a reasonable person (but perhaps not finicky genealogists) to conclude that Elijah Clark's father, John Clark, was closely related to the Mary Clark who married John Alston? Perhaps if we can confirm Mary (Clark) Alston's parentage we will have solved the riddle of Elijah Clark's grandfather. Along the way, we may also find proof that John Clark Sr. of Pasquotank was one of the CLARK brothers of Bar- bados and of CLARK and MOORMAN family legends. The following report is organized by generation. My objective is to lay out the known facts and see if others with an interest in these early CLARKs can help fill in the blanks. First Generation in North Carolina: Mary PALIN CLARK (1666-1740) Conventional genealogical wisdom has long held that Mary PALIN was the daughter of Henry Palin Sr. who, in 1663, settled along Newbegun Creek, becoming one of the earliest settlers of the Carolina Colony. However, the 1737 will of Chief Judge John Palin of Pasquotank Precinct stated that Mary Palin (who was twice married and was referred to as Mary Glaister in Judge Palin's will) was the daughter of Thomas Palin, Judge Palin's older brother and one of three surviving sons of Henry Palin Sr. Pasquotank Quaker records tell us that Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister was 74 when she died in 1740. That places her birth date back to 1666 and seems to confirm that Mary was Henry Palin's granddaughter rather than his daughter. We don't know when Mary Palin married John Clark Sr., but it was probably between 1683 and 1687. My guess is that Mary and John were married about 1684. Mary was widowed by 1689 and left to raise two children. In 1694 she received a land grant for 550 acres on the mouth of Flatty Creek near where it empties into Al bemarle Sound. The order to survey this land had been placed by John Clark Sr. before his death in 1689. The grant was based on the "transportation" of 11 persons including eight Negroes. Un like some land grants where "rights" were bought and sold on the open market, the persons listed as transported appear to have been brought to Carolina by John Clark. Mrs. Mary Clark, widow, has proven 11 rights including John Clark, Sarah Hatton, Thomas White and eight Negroes. Granted 550 acres, Pasquotank Precinct. 20 April 1694. Mary Clark's immediate neighbors on Flatty Creek were Governor John Archdale (a Quaker) and John Palin. (There were at least two John Palins, one Mary's brother and the other Mary's uncle. Later land information has Mary's uncle, Judge John Palin, living along Newbegun Creek, so I think the John Palin on Flatty Creek was Mary's brother.) An uncle and several cousins lived nearby along Newbegun Creek where Mary's grandfather, Henry Palin Sr. had first patented 450 acres in 1663 (a Virginia grant). In December 1694, there is mention of "Mrs. Clark's now dwelling house on Newbegun Creek" which suggests that the widow Mary Palin Clark resided near her grandfather's property rather than on the Flatty Creek property which was probably undeveloped. In an Al bemarle Co. Higher Court affidavit dated 13 FEB 1696, a gentleman named Patrick Henry states to Richard Plator, the Attorney General of Albemarle Co. NC, that the "widow Clark was the sweetheart of Henderson Walker and was living at Walker's house in Chowan Precinct." He also stated that Henry Palin Jr. (apparently called "Harry" by his friends) had served as "procurer" for the arrangement between his sister and Walker. (Social behavior was a _very_ public concern in those days and Plator was charged with enforcing laws against cohabitation out side of marriage.) Mary Clark assigned 375 of her 550 acres on Flatty Creek to Ar thur Workman on 17 OCT 1695. Workman was a wealthy merchant from Jamaica who also had property (and two sisters) in Ireland. The nature of his relationship to Mary (Palin) Clark is unclear, ex cept that when he died in 1696 he left much of his estate to Mary Clark who also was named his executor. Before his death, Workman had given Anthony Hatch a "lifetime tenancy" to Workman's 375 acre plantation on Flatty Creek. (Hatch was a merchant who later was named "powder receiver for the Carolina Colony. He was re lated to Elizabeth Hunt (Mrs. John Hunt) of Perquimans Precinct and my guess is that Elizabeth was either Workman's sister or his daughter. The Hatch tenancy was honored until 1719 when Hatch returned the property to the Workman estate and Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister subsequently sold it to John Meads Hunt for L60. In December 1719 the following notice was filed with the Pasquotank General Court: Mary Glaister, widow spinster formerly called Mary Clark, gentlewoman, legatee and executor of the Last Will & Testa- ment of Arthur Workman, late of Jamaica, Mert., deceased... This was Mary's last act as the Workman executor, a task that covered 23 years. The court document pretty well capsulizes Mary Clark's social status -- Glaister -- Clark -- widow -- spinster -- gentlewoman. As for Mary Clark's slaves, we know from Albemarle County Court records that in 1693 Mary gave a Negro girl named Sarah to Af frica Palin, widow of Mary's brother Thomas. Apparently, Mary's intention had been to make Sarah a gift-for-life, with Sarah to be returned to Mary Clark when Affrica Palin died. However, when Affrica Palin died in 1712, the residual estate of Thomas Palin passed to John Palin, Mary's other brother, who took possession of Sarah for himself. Mary and her then-husband Joseph Glaister, sued for return of the slave but the Court held that without documentation clearly stating the "gift-for-life" conditions, the slave Sarah was part of the property of the estate of Thomas Palin which was to go to his brother after the death of Affrica Palin. Mary (Palin) Clark was an early Quaker and the following entry is contained in the records of the Pasquotank Friends Meeting (Hinshaw), dated 16 MAR 1709/10: Mary Clark is liberated to marry Joseph Glaister from Monthly Meeting in Virginia. Joseph Glaister was a widower, a shoemaker by trade, and accord ing to local political leaders "the great apostle of the Quakers". When he married Mary Clark, Glaister was 37 years old and served as Clerk of the Norfolk Monthly Meeting to which the local Pasquotank Meeting was subordinate. He appears to have come to his second marriage with two young daughters named Sarah and Ruth. Some have reported that these daughters were born to Mary (Palin) Clark after her marriage to Joseph Glaister, but I think they may be wrong. Mary (Palin) Clark was 44 years old when she married Glaister and my instinct is that Glaister married her to give his young daughters a mother's influence. Mary Glaister, in the manner of Quakers, always referred to her step-daughters and her sons-in-law as her "sons" and "daughters". Though I found no record of the event, other documents make it clear that Joseph Glaister died in 1718 (Hinshaw) leaving Mary again with the task of raising young children on her own. Step daughter Sarah Glaister married Wyche Hunnicut of Prince George Co. VA in 1728 and Ruth Glaister married Stephen Scott of Pasquotank in 1729. The Hunnicut marriage is curious because most marriages of the day were among close neighbors and Hunnicut lived on Warwick Swamp along the Prince George/Surry Co. border. My guess is that Sarah and young Hunnicut met during the Quaker annual meetings. In 1718 just before Glaister died, he held 498 acres and paid tithes on 6 persons. In 1732 Pasquotank quit rent rolls show Mary Glaister, widow, with 404 acres. In 1735 the following note was made in the minutes of the Pasquotank Friends Meeting: "Mary Clark was growing ancient...friends selected two friends as overseers in room of Mary Glaister." Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister was 69 in 1735. For times when people in their 40's were considered old, 69 would certainly qualify as "ancient". In 1737 Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister witnessed the will of her uncle, Chief Judge John Palin. In his will Judge Palin mentions "my brother Thomas, deceased who had sons Henry and Thomas and a daughter, Mary Glaister". In 1740 Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister died. Her will, dated 9 JUN 1740 and probated in OCT 1740, mentioned the two Glaister daughters and their husbands and several of her Palin relatives. However, Mary's will does not mention either daughter Mary (Clark) Alston or son John Clark. Their omission appears to have led some researchers to conclude that Mary and John did not sur vive childhood. I can prove, however, that John Clark Jr. survived childhood and later assumed title to the property on Flatty Creek that was granted to his mother in 1694. As for Mary Clark, I think she, too, survived and was the Mary Clark who married John Alston circa 1700/01. The fact that they are not mentioned in Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister's will probably meant only that their in heritance had been dealt with many years earlier, probably around 1710 when Mary (Palin) Clark remarried and began raising her second family. (It could also be that John Clark Jr. had died before 1740. However, Mary (Clark) Alston was still alive in 1740, dying in Chowan Precinct in 1760.) John CLARK Sr. Conventional genealogical wisdom has long held that Mary Palin's husband, John Clark Sr., was born in 1655, the son of Humphrey and Jane Clark of Isle of Wight Co., VA. However, if the same genealogists were a generation off in assessing Mary Clark's age and parentage, we need to take a closer look at what has tradi tionally been offered as John Clark Sr's ancestry. Humphrey Clark (1620-1655) originally of Ratcliff, Buckingham shire and an ardent Royalist during the English Civil War, came to VA about 1650 and, with three Taberer brothers, patented 900 acres on the third swamp of the Blackwater River on 14 AUG 1652. (I believe the third swamp of the Blackwater was later known as Rattlesnake Swamp. Its northern branch is known as Mill Swamp which is where the Clark property was located.) Humphrey Clark died in Isle of Wight Co. VA in late 1655. His will was probated 3 MAR 1655/56. His will notes that his wife's name was Jane and that his only son, John, was "away at school". This implies that John Clark was born before 1650 and probably closer to 1645 and certainly appears to refute the 1655 birth date offered by some past researchers. (In fact, the birth date cited by some past researchers appears to be the same as the probate date of Humphrey Clark's will.) John Clark, supposedly Humphrey's son, is reported to have married Jane Brunt. I could find no Clark/Brunt marriage noted in surviving Isle of Wight records but have no reason to doubt a Clark/Brunt marriage. My instinct, however, is that Jane Brunt was not married to the John Clark who later appears in Pasquotank Precinct. However, a John Clark acquired a patent for 400 acres in Isle of Wight Co. on 4 MAY 1665 located on the "third swamp of the Black water River", the same area where Humphrey Clark had acquired his joint patent in 1652. Logic says that this John might have been Humphrey's son. The simple fact that he was awarded the patent in 1665 implies that he was born before 1645. However, the John Clark of the Blackwater appears to have had a wife named Katherine whose name is mentioned in a deed when John Clark sold 200 acres of his 400 acre tract to Edward Brown on 7 MAY 1666. On 1 NOV 1684, John Clark gave his "only child", daughter Katherine (Clark) King 100 ares for life, then to pass to Katherine's sons William and Henry King. This King parcel was noted as adjoining Edward Browne and said John Clark. (Henry and Katherine (Clark) King still resided on the Blackwater in 1694 but by 1701 lived on the upper reaches of Bennett's Creek adjoin ing William Speight and John King in Chowan Precinct. Henry and Katherine later moved to Salmon Creek, also in Chowan Precinct on the west side of the Chowan River. Henry died in 1712 and Catherine died in 1716.) If John Clark of the Blackwater River was the John Clark of Pasquotank (which I seriously doubt), he was already a two-time grandfather before he married Mary Palin who was more than 20 years his junior. Notwithstanding the skepticism caused by the age differential, there are other caution flags: There is no documentary evidence that the John Clark who was away at school when his father died ever returned to live in Isle of Wight Co. All we have is a John Clark acquiring land on the same swamp where Humphrey lived 10 years earlier. John Clark of Pasquotank's will does not mention a daughter by a previous marriage or grandchildren. There is a question of "wealth". Pasquotank records show that before his death, John Clark had commissioned the sur- vey process preliminary to petitioning for a land grant based on 11 headrights. What conditions would support the arrival in NC in the mid 1680s of a man with a contingent of eight slaves and possibly two servants? There was no mention in Humphrey Clark's will of slaves and Humphrey had only a quarter interest in 900 acres (land grant dated 14 AUG 1652). Chances are that John Clark Sr. of Pasquo- tank moved south from VA, but where had he previously employed the slaves? Shouldn't there be VA property records to support this man's presence in VA with substantial pro- perty? (A man with eight slaves would hardly have been a tenant-farmer or squatter in VA.) I offer a different scenario for "consideration". Might John Clark have arrived in NC circa 1682/83 looking for good land and a wife, accompanied by a contingent of Barbadoes slaves recently inherited from his father? Barbadoes records from 1680 show that the widow Margaret Clark, John's possible mother, had 78 slaves even after disposing of some of the estate left her by her hus band, Michael, who died in 1678. We have reason to believe that some of these Barbadoes slaves were later owned by Micajah Clark and left to his oldest son, Christopher. I'll leave this "idea" dangling and go on with the story of the second generation of the Clark's of Pasquotank. [And I'll stop here before turning to the second generation of this line of CLARKs in NC in ALSTNCLR.txt. LSS.]