THSYEOPM Thomas CLARK of the Yeopim River by Douglas Tucker [Doug's full title for this report is: "Addendum to Part II: The Early CLARKs of Carolina -- Thomas CLARK (c1662-1718) of the Yeopim River, Chowan Precinct, NC". This is another installment in Doug's effort to identify the grandfather of RW Gen. Elijah Clark of GA. Doug receives full credit for the data; I only for typos. LSS] Thomas CLARK of the Yeopim River is first documented in Albemarle Co. NC in 1683, and he is noted in Court records as selling a mare to a William Billings in July 1684 when he is referred to as "Thomas Clarke of Yampim". There is no evidence that he was a "titled" land-owner before 1694 when he was recorded as having proved 13 rights and received a grant for 627 acres along the west shore of the Yeopim River near its mouth. He subsequently purchased three additional tracts adjacent to his original grant and by 1701 owned more than 2,000 contiguous acres along the Yeopim's west bank. He also leased a 1,200 acre plantation from the heirs of Perigreen Mannors and appears to have leased another adjacent tract known as Phillips Plantation. He even had at least one small land tract on the east side of the Yeopim River in Per quimans Precinct. To place these CLARK holdings in context, the 1694 Albemarle Co. tax roll (for all four precincts) contained 146 "planters" with each planter holding an average of 275 acres. With 2,000 acres under his own name and another 1,500 acres leased, Thomas Clark of Yeopim was a big time land-owner. Based on March 1717 tax rolls, Thomas Clark still owned 1,500 acres, not including the leased property, and was among the 20 largest landholders in the four precincts of Albemarle Co. However, by 1717 I believe Thomas Clark had transferred some of his land to his son, John, and sold several parcels to others. We also know from various Carolina records that Thomas Clark of Yeopim was a major producer of pork and that he built a private wharf on the Yeopim River in 1685 that was served by coastal traders from as far away as Boston. He also owned and operated a grain mill located along a tributary to the Yeopim River. (He asked the Precinct to maintain the dam he built near his mill be cause local horse traffic across the dam was forcing him to make constant, costly repairs.) Thomas Clark married at least three times. In 1694 he was married to a woman the records show only as Mary Clark. In 1701, Chowan Court records show he married the widow Elizabeth Ottery (I believe the correct name may have been Ottey). At the time of his death on 4 DEC 1718, he was married to the widow Mary Wood. The terms of Thomas Clark's will establish that Mary Wood Clark was not the mother of either of Thomas' two known sons, John and Samuel. Other official documents confirm that she was not the mother of Thomas' only daughter, Elizabeth (Clark) Falconer. Mary Wood Clark, however, had a teen-age daughter named Mary Wood by an earlier marriage. Surviving Chowan court documents show that Samuel Clark was still a minor in 1719 and was granted a guardian by the name of Charles Wilkins. Samuel Clark sold his father's 640 acre home plantation in January 1722 (our calendar), an action that seems to peg Sam's birth date back to roughly 1701. I have assumed that older brother, John, was born about 1697, although he could have been born earlier. Samuel Clark of Chowan Precinct, planter, to Cornelius Leary of Perquimans Precinct. 18 JAN 1721...L50 good and lawful money of this Province...640 acres on the south side of Yawpim River, joining John Falconer, a branch and the said River...all houses, out houses, orchards, fences, etc....being the land whereon my father dwelt. Wit: James Springer, Richard Leary. Ack. 15 SEP 1722 before me, C. Gale, Chief Justice, Reg. 30 DEC 1722. (_Chowan Precinct, NC Genealogical Abstracts of Deed Books 1696 to 1723..._ by Margaret M. Hofmann, 1976, page 190.) Disputed Will The death of Thomas Clark produced a belated scandal. Thomas died in late 1718 and his will was proved in Chowan Court in early 1719 by William Havett, a neighbor who would shortly marry Thomas Clark's step-daughter Mary Wood. In 1722 a dispute arose (Ogilby vs. Pinckett) concerning an award by John Falconer of a year's lease to Thomas Pinckett for the 1,200 acre Perigreen Mannors Plantation. This plantation had once been leased from Mannors' estate by Thomas Clark but he later exercised an option to pur chase the property. He apparently gifted the plantation to his daughter, Elizabeth Clark, when she married John Falconer, a Quaker neighbor about 1710. When Thomas died, the Mannors' property was apparently in the pos- session of John Falconer and was being held in trust for Thomas Falconer, minor son of John and Elizabeth. [Elizabeth (Clark) Fal- coner died about the time of Thomas Falconer's birth.] Falconer let the Mannors property to Pinckett for one year begin ning 1 FEB 1722 but Pinckett was ejected from the property by force of arms after two days by Cornelius Leary, the same Leary who had acquired Thomas Clark's home plantation from Thomas' son Samuel in January 1722. Leary claimed that the Mannors plantation was part of the "property" he had acquired from Samuel Clark. The case went to Jury which ruled against Leary and in favor of Pinckett and Falconer. The case is interesting because a will was introduced that Leary's lawyer claimed to be the last will and testament of Thomas Clark. _Colonial Records of NC, Higher Court Records_ reproduces a copy of the will which the jury subsequently ruled was a forgery, though there is no indication of who forged the will or the motive of the forgery. A copy of substantive portion of the disputed will is presented below: ...First of all, I make Peter Jones Senior at Perquimans Precinct and Charles Wilkins of Chowan Precinct my execu- tors to see this my Last Will and Testament performed. Item. I give unto my loving wife Mary Clarke one third of all my estate and a good Negro to be purchased out of my estate, she to have use and benefit of said Negro during her life and also to have use and benefit of said Negro during her life and also one feather bed and furniture. Item. I give unto my son Samuel Clark all the remainder of my estate both moveables and immovables only he to be ruled by my aforesaid wife Mary Clark until he becomes of the full age of twenty- six years and not to act or do anything without her consent in any bargain whatsoever. Item. I give unto the boy John Ottery one cow and calfe. Item. Also, if in case my aforesaid son Samuel Clarke dyes without issue and comes by any untimely end then aforesaid estate given to him to fall to my sister Miles, her children in Maryland. Her husband's name is Tobias Miles. If in any case none of them is living, to fall to my brother's children in Essex, England in Braintree and if none of them is alive, then the estate aforesaid to be given to maintaine poor, fatherless children here in Chowan, to a schoolmaster to live on it and to teach poor children as the Court of Chowan shall think fit, to putt such a schoolmaster there of a good life and conversa- tion he be maintained out of said estate during his living there. Also, my will is that my estate aforesaid shall not be brought to any appraisement. And lastly I doe hereby own this to be my last will and testament now given under my hand and seale this first day of November One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighteen. Thomas Clarke (TC) Wit: John Swain, Mary Swain, William Havett. Significantly, the contested will _does not mention older son John Clark_ and requires that younger son Samuel "...be ruled by my aforesaid wife, Mary Clark, until he becomes of the full age of twenty-six years and not to act or do anything without her con- sent in any bargain whatsoever." (We know from other documents that Samuel petitioned for a Court-appointed guardian which took him out of the "control of his step-mother." I have assumed that Samuel sold his father's land to Leary when he reached 21 years of age rather than the 26 years mentioned in the forged will above.) Two of the three supposed witnesses to the forged will provided testimony in Court as follows: John and Mary Swain, said to be witnesses to the said deed or will. The said John and Mary his wife on their Corporall Oaths do swear that they never were witnesses to the same deed or will nor did ever putt their hands to the same as wittnesses, but they were witnesses to a certain will made only by the said Thomas Clarke on or about the said first day of November, Anno Domini One Thousand Seven Hundred Eighteen. Aside from Cornelius Leary, it is hard to see who would have benefited from the forgery other than possibly Mary Wood Clark who may have wanted to keep Sam Clark under her control. Unfor tunately, I have not seen a full copy of the "proved will" so that I can compare it to the forged one to see the differences. As mentioned above, the forged will does not mention John Clark, Thomas Clark's older son. Yet John Clark was mentioned in a deed of-gift filed with the Chowan Court in May 1718, less than eight months before Thomas Clark wrote his last will and testament. Thomas Clark of Chowan Precinct, planter to Samuel Clark and John Clark (residence not given), 9 May 1718...for the love I bear my 2 sons...the livestock running on or belong- ing to my plantation known by the name Phillips to be joynt stock and if either son should dye before marriage the sur- vivor shall enjoy the whole benefit of said stocks (stock marks are described). Wit: Sarah Hare (?), Robert Hicks. Might John Clark have died in the intervening eight months? Before I explore the answer to that question, let me continue with other members of the family of Thomas Clark of Yeopim. Mary Wood, Thomas Clark's step-daughter, was named a beneficiary in Thomas Clark's will. The following abstract is of an entry in Chowan Precinct records concerning Mary Wood and her future hus band, William Havett who was a witness to Thomas Clark's last will. William Havett of Chowan Precinct to Mary Wood the daughter of Mrs. Mary Clark, widow of Mr. Thomas Clark of the Precinct aforesaid. This 17 DEC 1718 (sic)...money, household goods etc. to be paid to the said Mary out of the estate of Thomas Clark deceased upon the death of Mrs. Clark aforesaid or upon the marriage of the said Mary pro- viding she marrys to her mother's liking. Wit: James Ward, George Deer. Reg. 25 DEC 1718. The above document is a bit confusing but I believe it refers to a legal commitment by Havett to Mary Wood concerning their proposed "future" marriage and Havett's custodial respon sibilities with respect to Mary's inheritance. (The abstract leaves much to the imagination.) Another entry relating to William and Mary Wood Havett is equally confusing. I, William Havett of Chowan Precinct, gentleman, and Thomas Harvey of Perquimans Precinct, Esquire, this 26 MAY 1721 are bound to the Honorable Charles Eden, esquire, Governor of this Province in the sum of L500 current money of this Province...the said Harvey to pay all debts due from me with my wife Mary Havett, heir to the third part of Thomas Clark, deceased, and we have set over all our Estate, real and personal, to the said Thomas Harvey. Wit: James Ward, James Chesson, Ann Chesson. Reg. 28 APR 1722. I have puzzled over this abstract but now believe this was a "bond" related to the fact that william Havett was still not of legal age in 1721, but had married and assumed certain financial obligations which he had no liquid means to repay. Pursuant to this agreement, Harvey sold off at least one Havett property at Bluff Point, south of Albemarle Sound. The need for the Havett/Harvey transaction implies that Mary Wood Clark was still living in 1721 and that Mary Havett's share of her step-father's estate had not yet been distributed. (It also may imply that Mary Wood Clark did not approve of William Havett as her daughter's husband.) The selection of Thomas Harvey of Perquimans Precinct for the broker role is also interesting. Harvey lived in adjacent Per quimans Precinct. Harvey "appears" to have played a similar finan- cial role for Thomas Clark in 1694 regarding Clark's acquisition of his Yeopim River properties. That same year, Harvey went to Chowan Court to request payment of "1,728 pounds of pork promised Harvey by Thomas Clark." Thomas Harvey was also a close personal friend of John and Mary (Clark) Alston who lived in the upper reaches of Chowan Precinct along Bennett's Creek. One of the major unsolved puzzles of the Carolina CLARKs concerns the parentage of Mary (Clark) Alston. The Court dispute over the Falconer lease of the Mannors Planta tion established that Thomas Clark had only one daughter whose name was Elizabeth. Also, John and Mary Alston already were well known to Chowan officials so there was not likely any mistake or oversight in the Court record. (For more on the possible origins of Mary (Clark) Alston, see report on John Clark of Pasquotank Precinct.) [JNCLKPQT.txt and ALSTNCLR.txt LSS] Elizabeth CLARK Miles of Calvert Co. Maryland In his will, Thomas Clark stated that he had a sister married to Tobin Miles in Maryland. My subsequent research has established that her name was Elizabeth Clark and she was the wife of Tobias Miles Jr., son of Tobias and Elizabeth Miles who resided at Miles End Plantation near Port Royal, Calvert Co., Maryland. His father's will left Tobias Miles Jr. a small plantation near Port Royal named "Bantry" which lay along Parker's Creek. Bantry had been sold by Miles before 1714. By that date I believe Tobias Miles Jr. and Elizabeth were residing in neighboring St. Mary's County, Maryland. How it happened that Elizabeth Clark met and married Tobias Miles Jr. is unclear, except that Tobias Miles Jr. was a "mariner" which may have given him greater mobility than most colonial set tlers. (John Clark, the mysterious son of Thomas of Yeopim, was also a "mariner", but whether this has any bearing on the connec- tion between the CLARK and MILES families is unclear.) Tobias Miles Jr. was born and raised in Maryland, so the possibility that the marriage might have occurred in England seems remote. Thomas Clark also wrote in his will that he had a brother living in "Braintree" Essex, England. (The abstract butchers the name Braintree. However, the town name is clear in the forged will as presented in Albemarle Court records.) Might this lead us to the English origins of "our" CLARK family? I made a quick check and found lots of Essex CLARKs with name patterns that fit "our" Clarks. Braintree, Essex is a mid-sized town that in the 17th cen- tury included Braintree Parish and Bocking Parish, both of which were home to CLARK families. Bocking Parish in particular had a steady progression of Thomas, Francis, John and Edward Clarks over the late 16th and early 17th centuries. I haven't had the time or resources to look into the CLARK families of Braintree, Essex or the MILES family of Maryland, but they could offer keys to unraveling the CLARK family puzzle! But, while I think we may have stumbled on a significant Clark church, I don't think we have located the correct pew -- not yet. Whatever the case, I suggest that we search Essex parish and civil records for a gentleman named Christopher Clark who may have died about 1720. Why Christopher? Because I think I can ac count for brothers John, Edward, Micajah and Francis, all of whom predeceased Thomas Clark of Yeopim. (You now see where I am headed with this report.) Thomas CLARK's Virginia Origins Thomas Clark's will doesn't say where he came from before set tling on the Yeopim River, but the odds are great that he migrated south from Virginia. A 1716 letter of attorney suggests this might have been the case. Thomas Clark of Chowan Precinct to Mary Clark his wife... 31 APR 1716...Letter of attorney to recover debts due me in the Collony of Virginia or any other place. Wit: Joshua Porter, John Bateman. Reg. 3 AUG 1716. (Hofmann, pg. 106.) There is another possible interpretation. Thomas Clark was a large scale farmer and raised a lot of livestock which he sold to a broad group of customers. Some of these customers may have been in VA which could explain the background of the attorney powers granted to Mary Clark. One other thing this act implies is that Thomas Clark was in failing health more than two years before his death in DEC 1718. Thomas Clark's Second Wife -- Elizabeth OTTEY Thomas Clark's will provides the information that he had more than one wife but does not offer any names. In 1696 land docu ments show that Thomas was married to a woman named Mary who I suggest was Mary MacKINNE of Nansemond Co. VA. (We have met Mary before and I will get back to her shortly.) Chowan Court records also show that Thomas married the widow Elizabeth Ottery (I suggest her correct name may have been Ottey) on July 8, 1701. Actually, Thomas was forced by the local authorities to marry Elizabeth Ottey after he and Elizabeth were charged with "cohabiting scandalously together" on January 2, 1700/01 by Richard Plator, Attorney General of Carolina. By marry- ing her, Thomas avoided a stiff fine. (See also report on John Clark of Pasquotank Precinct for another example of Plator's role as Carolina's "social policeman".) In his will, Thomas Clark left "the boy John Ottery one cow and a calfe." This suggests that John Ottery was still underage in late 1718. We know virtually nothing about Elizabeth Ottey except that she was from VA and was a widow with a baby in early 1701 when described in Court papers submitted by Atty Gen'l Plator. There is another court record that bears on the CLARK family. In 1715, the sheriff of Chowan Precinct hauled Thomas Clark into Court to answer to an undisclosed charge of teen-age highjinks and rowdiness by his sons John and Samuel and step-son John Ot tey. No indication what the trouble was, but Thomas Clark paid a fine. The trouble, however, suggests that John, Samuel and John Ottey were relatively close in age. Samuel CLARK's Mother When she married Thomas Clark, Elizabeth Ottey brought with her an infant son named John Ottey. Based on timing, I think Elizabeth Ottey probably was Sam Clark's mother and my guess is that she was pregnant with Sam at the time of her marriage to Thomas. Sam was a minor when his father died in 1718 and he peti tioned the court in 1719 to have Charles Wilkins, one of his father's executors, assigned as his guardian. Significantly, he does not act to have his older brother, John, who must have been at least 22 in 1719, named as his guardian. Also, Sam Clark clearly did not want his step-mother, Mary Wood Clark, named as his guardian. Chowan Precinct Court, held at the house of William Branch, 21 APR 1719 and continued by adjournment to the 22nd of the same. Last will and testament of Thomas Clark is proved by oath of William Havett...Upon petition of Samuel Clark, ordered that Charles Wilkins be appointed his guardian and take into his custody the said Clark's estate til he comes of age. Charles Wilkins, executor of the last will and testament of Thomas Clark, prays that the said Clark's estate may be appraised and divided according to the said Clark's will, ordered that John Porter, James Ward, William Charleton and Robert Hicks appraise and divide the same. (Hofmann, pg. 247) Samuel Clark's actions suggest to me that his relations with step-mother Mary Wood Clark were not good and that older brother John almost certainly was not Samuel's full brother. I am reasonably certain that John Clark's mother was Thomas Clark's first wife who I suggest was Mary MacKinne. Elizabeth Clark Falconer North Carolina colonial records confirm that Thomas Clark also had a daughter named Elizabeth who married Clark's neighbor, Quaker lawyer and merchant John Falconer who lived on a planta tion at Drummond Point, at the mouth of the Yeopim River. In 1719 a jury in Chowan Precinct, after hearing testimony about the con tested ejection of a lessor from property formerly leased by the deceased Thomas Clark who transferred his leasehold to Falconer, reported: ...wee of the Jury also find that Elizabeth, the sole daughter of said Thomas Clarke, was married to the said John Falconer to whom during coverture she bare Thomas, eldest son of the said John and afterwards departed this life, and said Thomas, her son, still living. Whereupon wee of the Jury find for the plaintiff and assess damages occasioned by the said ejectment to be two shillings be- sides cost and charges of suite, etc. James Castellaw, foreman. Elizabeth (Clark) Falconer was almost certainly the daughter of Thomas Clark's first wife. Land records show that her son, Thomas Falconer, was born before 1710. Furthermore, this suggests that Elizabeth (Clark) Falconer was older than John Clark. [DCT: John Falconer was one of three Quakers (Falconer, Brady and Hyan) who attempted to buy the Carolina Colony for L350,000 from the Lord Proprietors in 1720. The bid was rejected. Falconer was the only resident Carolinian among the three.] [I'll stop here; the second part of this reports begins with other "possible" children of Thomas of Yeopim. I hope others are having an easier time than I am in keeping all these CLARKs straight. LSS]