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y^ _/^z£/ genealogical items connected with the family descended fr 0771 William Clark, one of the 0}'iginal settle7^s of Haddam, Confi.; especially in the li7ie of Ebenezer Clark, ivho fro77i 1753 to 1800 lived in Washi7igto7i, Co7tni^
I.
William Clark.
William Clark, the first of this family, as far as at pres- ent known, was one of the first settlers at Haddam, Conn. In Field's '' Statistical Account of the County of Middle- sex in Conn." it is stated that the first settlement there was made in 1662, by twenty-eight young men, who bought their land of the Indians for thirty coats. At the beginning of the first book of Haddam records William Clark's name is third in the list of those to whom land is distributed. A deed to him, dated Oct. 11, 1669, speaks of him as then " of hadam." He died at Haddam, July 22, 1 68 1, and his will, dated June 30, 1681, with the inven- tory of his estate, is among the probate records at Hart- ford, Conn. It is from these papers, which are quite full
* This account consists only of a few items, by no means complete, col- lected at odd times from the old records of Haddam, Middletovvn, and Hart- ford. The statements made, however, are not surmises, but facts resting upon adequate evidence. Should any one desire to amplify or continue the account of the family, of which it is believed none has heretofore been printed, the undersigned would be happy to give all aid and information in his power. He would also be glad to learn of other facts connected with the family that any one may know. Salter S. Clark,
115 Broadway, New York City.
and interesting, that most -of ■ fhe information with regard to him is obtained, and they show him to have been a man of some means. The will begins : " I, William Clark, of Haddam, knowing the imcerLainty of m.y life ac all times, and at this time finding my bodil}' strength much decayed, and being apprehensive that I have not long to live," . . . His estate was appraised at £412 i8s., of which ;^274 5s. was in land in and about Haddam, both large sums for those days. Among the items of personal property were two oxen, two horses, four cows, two two-year-old steers, two year-olds, two calves, twenty sheep, a gun, a small gun and sword, two canoes, and ten hives of bees. The weapons are significant of the stern times in which he lived. Two other facts significant of the same are that the will, in common with very many documents of those days, is signed with a mark, and that his books in the inventory are valued at but five shillings. One of the witnesses to this will, and, judging from its opening, pos- sibly the drawer, was the Rev. Nicholas Noyes, the first minister at Haddam, and who afterward went to Salem, Mass., and figures in history in connection with the Salem Witchcraft. .
At his death William Clark left surviving him : His wife (name unknown) ;
Thomas, "1
William, I c
T u r Sons ;
John, r
Joseph, ^
A daughter who had married a Wells ; " " " Fennoe;
" " " Spencer ;
'* Hannah ;
A son-in-law, Daniel Hubbard ; A grand-child, Daniel Hubbard, under twenty- one years of age, about whom the will expresses the desire that he be taught to read and write.
5
By far the greater portion of the property is given to the son Thomas, who is also made sole executor. The homestead is given to the widow for her life, and then to go to Thomas.
These facts would perhaps indicate that the other three sons had left Haddam before their father's death and become established elsewhere.
The son Thomas remained in Haddam, and afterwards became " Lieutenant Thomas Clark, Senior."
The son William was at one time of Wethersfield,
Conn., married Susannah , and died about 17 14,
leaving a son Thomas.
The son John went to Middletown, Conn.
It would probably not be difficult to follow down many of the descendants of these children. There are several families of the name now in and around Haddam, In those times little regard was had to spelling, and this name appears in the four forms — Clark, Clarke, Clerk, Clerke.
It will probably be quite difficult, if possible at all, to trace this William Clark back of Haddam. The surname was common, and there were then quite a number of William Clarks in New England. Field's book (before referred to) says that ten of the Haddam settlers came from Hartford (Clark not among the ten), and the rest probably from the neighboring towns of Wethersfield and Windsor. Thus far I have been unable to find any record of a WilHam Clark at that time in Wethersfield or Windsor.
In Hartford there was from 1640 to 1660 a William Clark, who was a servant of Mr. John Crow, and who in 1639 was fined by the court " for drinking," and also in 1659 again fined "for trading liquors contrary to law ;" in 1661 the court ''considered the low estate of his familv" and remitted part of his fine.
Savage's Genealogical Dictionary identifies this man with the Haddam settler, on what ground it does not appear, though probably because Haddam was settled mainly from Hartford.
It seems quite improbable that a servant who from 1639 to 1661 was a drunkard or a liquor-dealer should in 1662 have emigrated with a family into the wilderness, become a farmer and proprietor, and at his death, in 1681, left property worth ^412. Upon such a point Savage's work cannot from its nature be wholly reliable.
Hinman, in his " Connecticut Settlers," refuses to iden- tify the Hartford liquor dealer and the Haddam settler, and intimates also that there may have been another Will- iam Clark at Hartford, who might have been the one who went to Haddam. In the records of Ipswich, Mass., there is a list of those who were householders there in 1648, and a William Clark appears in the list. There is nothing to indicate that he remained at Ipswich or left a family there ; but I find no intimation where he went if he did remove, except that the names John Wiate and Thomas Smith also occur in that list, and a John Wiate and Thomas Smith were also among the first settlers at Had- dam. The name Wells was also at Ipswich in 1648 and Haddam in 1662.
II.
John Clark (i).-
John, the son of William, went to Middletown, Conn., probably between 1675 and 1680, and married Elizabeth, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel White, of Middletown.
* There is a tradition in the family that the first ancestor in this country was a John Clark who came from England soon after 1620, and that from him came three successive Johns in the direct line, the last one of whom was the father of Ebenezer (l) {vide post). But that tradition is undoubtedly incor- rect.
7
Among the early records of Middletown is one as follows : " March 21. 1680. Land of John Clarke in Middleton in the county of Hartford & Collony of Conoctociitt Recorded to him & two his heirs forever . . . [among other parcels] One parcell of meadow land which he bought of Townehashquesuncksqua lying on the east side the Great River at Wongonk" [now Portland].
This John Clark probably lived in Middletown until his death, which occurred July 26, 1731. He was called '' Sergeant," more often " Senior," and appears to have been a man of standing and property, his name occurring often in the land records.
The children of Sergeant John and Elizabeth, his wife, were :
Nathaniel, born April 18, 1676.
June 14, 1678.
Aug. 30, 1680.
April 3, 1685.
April 3, 1 69 1 (died young).
Sept. 8, 1692.
Nov. 4, 1693.
May 4, 1695.
Elizabeth, the mother, died Dec. 25, 171 1, aged 56. Elizabeth, the daughter, married Ebenezer Selden, of Hadley.
About 1720 "Sergeant" John gave a homestead to each of his three sons, the one given to his son John being the " homestead whereon the said father and said son John now dwelleth .... containing 13 acres," which was in the " North Parish" of the town, on the west side of the Connecticut River. A year prior to his death he also conveyed to his son John 161 acres of land at Had- dam. This land had been conveyed to the father, John, by his brother Thomas, and in the deed their " Honored Father, William Clark of Haddam, deceased," is spoken of.
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John, |
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Daniel, |
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Elizabeth, |
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Mary, |
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Sarah, |
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White, |
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Mary, |
8
Sergeant John and Lieutenant Thomas both sign their deeds with a mark.
Nathaniel, John, and Daniel, the sons of Sergeant John, married and had children at Middletown (see M. Family Records).
III.
John Clark (2).
This John, the son of Sergeant John, married. May 9, 1 7 10, Sarah Goodwin, of Hartford, a great-grandchild of Ozias Goodwin, who was one of the first settlers of Hart- ford and a prominent man among them.
The children of John and Sarah were:
Ebenezer, born July 12, 171 1.
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William, |
" Aug. 31, 1713. |
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John, |
" Dec. 9, 1715. |
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Moses, |
" March 25, 1718. |
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Aaron, |
" March 2, 1720-21 |
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Sarah, |
" Aug. 4, 1723. |
On April i, 1735, the father, John, sells for ;^620 (with a small piece of meadow) his homestead, being the thirteen acres which he had received from his father. Sergeant John, in 1720. This John is able to write, but his wife, Sarah, signs with a mark. In December, 1743, he gives portions of his farm lying on the east side of the Connecti- cut River to each of his five sons. It will thus be seen that with the homestead worth ^600 or more, this farm on the east side large enough to divide among five, and the 161 acres at Haddam, besides other property both in Middletown and in Haddam, he must have been a man of property. These records show that the Clarks in this line were at least thrifty.
Up to 1 73 1 this John was John Clark, Junior. Where or when he died is not known. After 1743 no mention is
made on the Middletown records of him or of any of the children except Ebenezer. Possibly they removed to another town.
From 1690 to 1700 there was in Middletown another John Clark, who married Abigail, the daughter of Ensign William Cheny, of Middletown, and they had a son John, born in 1693 ; but the father of this family had died prior to 1705, and in all probability the son also ; there were, however, many descendants from other children of this family born in Middletown from 171 5 to 1750.
In 1 73 1 still another John Clark, called "Captain" and coming from Milford, Conn., settled in Middletown. Thus care must be taken to distinguish these three families.
IV.
Ebenezer Clark (i).
Ebenezer, the son of John, married, June 21, 1733, Abigail, the daughter of Joseph (Sr.) and Hannah Whit- more, of Middletown. His wife Abigail died April 9, 1738, aged 26. The widower married, Sept. 20, 1739, Ann Warner, probably of Middletown. About 1753 he removed with his young family from Middletown to Washington (then a part of Woodbury), Litchfield County, Conn., and there remained until his death, April 5, 1800, at the green age of 89. Thus the family was in Middletown for about seventy-five years.
His gravestone, now standing in the Washington Ceme- tery, states that he was a deacon in the church at Wash- ington for forty-four years. He also had the title " Cap- tain." His wife Ann died March 3, 1795, aged 79.
The homestead occupied by the family was situated at what was called " Upper End " (of Washington), on a spot where a house stands now occupied by Mrs. Bloss.
lO
The children of Ebenezer and Abigail were : Abigail, born April i, 1734. Jedediah, " Jan. 16, 1736.
The children of Ebenezer and iVnn were : Tabitha, b. June 18, 1740, mar. in 1768 Dr. John Cal-
houn of Washington, d. Nov. 23, 1796. Ebenezer (2) b. Feb. 28, 1742, vide post. Ann, b. Mar. i, 1744, married a Moseley, d. Nov.
16, 1839. Rebecca, b. Dec. 28, 1745, d. Nov. 11, 1755. Susannah, b. x-lpril 23, 1748. Joseph, b. May 30, 1750, married and had children in
Washington, d. Feb. 24, 1832. Jerushe, b. April 24, 1752, mar. a Parker, d. July, 1808.
Sarah, b. Mar. 3, 1755, unmarried, d. June 30, 1776.
Moses, b. Mar. 4, 1757, d. Mar. 4, 1757.
V.
Ebenezer Clark (2).
Ebenezer, the son of Deacon Ebenezer, married, Sept. 15, 1762, Hannah Tenney, of Norwich, Conn. She was one of three sisters, all of whom, visiting Washington, found husbands there, the other two marrying, one a Mit- chell and the other a Hazen. This Ebenezer was, like nearly all the race, a farmer, and lived all his life in Wash- ington. It is surmised that at his marriage his father set off for him a farm of about seventy acres, the northern portion of the homestead, the remainder descending to the other son, Joseph. Of the house built upon the north- ern portion, where Ebenezer lived, nothing is now left but a portion of the chimney. He died in .1813.
The children of Ebenezer and Hannah were : Erastus, b. May 26, 1766, married, d. April 8, 1813. Jehu, b. Dec. 8, 1767, a clergyman, d. Mar. 22, 1839.
Anne, b. Mar. 18, 1770, married Joseph Calhoun ol
Woodbury, d. May i, 1852.
1 1
Cyrus, b. Feb. 22, 1772, married, lived at Waterbury,
Conn., d. Feb. 8, 1828.
Moses, b. April 16, 1774, married, lived at Wood-
bury, Conn., d. May 3, 1831.
Eunice, b. Jan. 14, 1776, married Amos Smith of
Washington, d. Feb. 14, 1854.
John, b. Jan. i, 1778, married, lived at Waterbury,
d. April 25, 1854.
Sarah, b. Feb. 23, 1780, married Patron M. Blackman,
d. June 19, 1845.
Rebekah, b. Dec. 14, 1781, married Anthony Smith of
Washington, d. about 1866.
Ebenezer(3),b. Dec. 4, 1786, vide post.
VI.
Ebenezer Clark (3).
Ebenezer, the grandson of Deacon Ebenezer, married, May 25, 181 3, Sally Sanford. He passed the first half of his life where he was born, on his father's farm in Washing- ton, and on the latter's death took the farm, buying out the interests of his brothers and sisters. Besides sturdy Puritan piety, he had one other prominent trait, musical taste and ability, being for many years leader of the choir in Washington church. In 1832 he sold his farm in Washington, and in 1837 settled with his family at Medina, Ohio, in the Western Reserve. He died April 5, 1867. Sally, his wife, died Jan. 31, 1861, aged 68 years.
The children of Ebenezer and Sally were :
Lucius Ebenezer, b. July 4, 1814, now lives at Yonkers, N.Y. Emily, b. May 17, 1817, married Nelson T.
Burnham, and lives at Medina, O. Cyrus, b. Feb. 20, 18 19, now lives at Medina, O.
Laura Elizabeth, b. Sept. 7, 1822, married Herman L.
Loomis, lives at Medina, O. Frankhn b. Sept. 8, 1825, lives at Hartford, Conn.
Watson Daniel, b. Nov. 4, 1832, lives at Medina, O.
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
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