My
Clark ancestors |
The surname Clarke is one of the most ancient of the early English
patronymics. It signifies literally 'the clerk', who under the English
ecclesiastical law of the feudal period was any one who had been admitted
to the ecclesiastical state, and had taken tonsure. The application of the
word in this sense gradually underwent a change and 'clerk' became more
especially the term applied to those in minor orders. The word also
developed a different sense. In medieval times the pursuit of letters and
general learning was confined to the clergy, the only persons who could
read and write, and who performed all notarial and secretarial work. In
time the clerk was not necessarily a clergyman, but one who performed the
duties of notary, accountant, or mere penman, etc. We therefore find the
term widely applied, and the office well established at the beginning of
the surname era, which accounts for the frequent recurrence of the surname
in medieval registers, and for the fact that it ranks ninth among English
surnames in point of popularity. Whether spelled Clark, Clarke, or Clerk,
the pronunciation is identical, and is always with the broad 'a'.
Source: History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations: Biographical NY: The American Historical Society, Inc. 1920
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Source material for first 3 generations listed below
is: English Origins of New England Families, Series 1, Volume 1,
Clarke-Cooke (alias Carewe)-Kerrich, by G. Andrews Moriarty, pp 648-655,
originally published in NEHGR, republished by Genealogical Publishing
Company) |
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GENERATION
1 |
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01. John Clark
[1]
was born about 1503, of Finningham, Suffolk, England
and died about March 2, 1559 in Suffolk, England. He married
Margaret about 1533,
prob. Finningham, Suffolk, England. Margaret was born about 1516 prob.
Suffolk, England. |
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GENERATION
2 |
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02. John Clark,
[1]
son of John and Margaret was born before February 11, 1541/2, of Westhorpe,
Suffolk, England. He died before April 7, 1598, prob. Finningham,
Suffolk, England. He married Katherine
Cook [Catherine] on October 12, 1567 in Westhorpe, Suffolk,
England, daughter of John Cooke/Carewe and Alice Carter. |
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GENERATION
3 |
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03. Thomas Clarke,
[1]
son of John and Katherine was born on November 1, 1570 in Westhorpe,
Suffolk, England. He marriedd Rose
Kerrich [Keridge] on May 13, 1600 in Saxsted, Suffolk,
England, daughter of William Kerridge and Margery. Thomas died on July
29, 1627 in Westhorpe, Suffolk, England.
| 1 |
Margaret Clarke (Feb
1, 1600 in England - Oct 12, 1608 in England) age 8
 |
| 2 |
Carew Clarke (Feb
3, 1602/3 in England - Aft. 1679 in Newport, RI)
Married Dorothy (-1658) - children unknown
|
| 3 |
Thomas Clarke
(See Below)
|
| 4 |
Mary Clarke (Jul
26, 1607 in England - Abt. 1647 in Newport, RI)
Married John Peckham (1595-1680) in 1638
1. Mary Peckham (Abt. 1640 in RI -
)
Married Tobias Saunders (-)
2.
John Peckham (Abt. 1642 in RI - )
Married Sarah Newport (-)
3.
William Peckham (Abt. 1644 in RI -
)
Married Mary
Clarke (-)
4.
Thomas Peckham (Abt. 1646 in RI - ) |
| 5 |
Margaret Clarke (Oct
12, 1608 - 1646 in Watertown, MA)
Married Nicholas Wyeth (1600-1680) in 1630 in
England
1.
Sarah Wyeth (1632 in England -
1701)
Married John Fiske (1619-1684) |
| 6 |
Dr. John Clarke (Oct 8, 1609 in England -
Apr 20, 1676 in RI)
Married (1) Elizabeth Harris
(-bef. 1671) bef. 1656
Married (2) Jane Fletcher
(-1672) on Feb 1, 1671 in RI
Married (3) Sarah Davis
(-1692) abt. 1673 in RI |
| 7 |
William Clarke (Feb 16, 1611/2 in England -
) may have died young |
| 8 |
Rev. Joseph Clarke, Sr. (Dec 9, 1618 in
England - Jun 1, 1694 in RI)
Married Margaret Turner (1621-)
1. Rev. Joseph Clarke, Jr. (Feb
11, 1642 in RI - Jan 11, 1726 in RI)
Married Bethia Hubbard (1646-1707) - 7 children
2. John Clarke (1645 in RI - Apr
11, 1704 in RI)
3. Carey Carew Clarke (Jan 1, 1668
in RI - Jun 5, 1759 in RI)
1. Mary Clarke (Aug 8, 1700 in RI
- 1777 in RI)
Married George Wightman (1699-1778) - 4 children
2. Caleb Clarke (May 22, 1703 in
RI - 1771)
Married Dianah Greene (1706-1771) - 2 children |
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GENERATION
4 |
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04. Thomas Clarke,
[1]
son of Thomas and Rose was born
probably in England in 1607, was a resident of Ipswich, Mass., in 1634 and
in 1639 was the recorded purchaser of the house lot of Mr. William Clark,
and "sett a dwelling there". The General Court on January 11, 1640, gave him
permission "to sett down Tan fatts at the end of his planting lot, upon two
rods reserved by the River." Thomas and his sons operated the tanyard there
at the corner of Water and Sumner streets for some fifty years, three sons
living on his land. The tanning vats were located on the river bank where he
and Robert Peirce had leave to build a wharf in 1662. A deed by Thomas Clark
Sr. conveyed March 23, 1686, to Samuel Peirce about a quarter of an acre
southwest "by the tann yards from the River, close to the water-hole, by the
beame-ing house, and soe on the back side of said house to ye upper corner
of ye tann shed, north-west land of my son Thomas Clark."
Thomas Sr.
was sworn a freeman in Ipswich in 1646 and was active in town affairs,
serving on the trial jury in 1651, 1659 and 1667, the grand jury in 1662. He
and his son Thomas signed the 1666 protest against the treatment of the
King's Commissioners in Boston, and signing with them was Thomas Clark the
cooper, brother of Edward Clark of Haverhill. In 1651, the court endorsed
his appointment as sergeant, and he is recorded as training men on the field
in Ipswich in March 1664. He had some education as he could write, and on
numerous occasions appeared at court as a witness, and in 1655 was named by
the court as an appraiser.
In 1682, Sergeant Thomas arranged his
will, bequeathing everything to his son Freeman in return for life-support
for himself and his wife Mary; a codicil made John the beneficiary. Thomas
died January 9, 1690, and his widow 27 weeks later. The homestead was sold
to Freeman Clark, mariner, April 10, 1694.
The ancient tannery fell
into disuse. The lower part of the lot where the beam house and tanyard had
been fell to John Clark and he sold it January 15, 1694, with a house, barn
and a halfacre of land. The upper part of the lot was left to Thomas Clark
Jr., and he sold the house and one acre June 15, 1703. In April, 1720,
Nathaniel sold 24 rods out of his late father's orchard on Sumner Street.
Source: "A Genealogical History of the Clark and
Worth Families" by Carol Clark Johnson
His wife's name may have been
Jane.
Children below are listed from Carol's book:
| 1 |
Thomas Clark (1638
- ) |
| 2 |
John Clark
(See Below)
|
| 3 |
Nathaniel Clark
(1642 - ) |
| 4 |
Samuel Clark (Feb 10, 1667) |
| 5 |
Josiah Clark (abt
1647 - ) |
| 6 |
Jonathan Clark (abt 1649 - ) |
| 7 |
Mary Clark (abt 1651 - ) |
| 8 |
Freeman Clark (abt 1658 - ) |
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GENERATION
5 |
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05. John Clark,
[1]
son of Thomas was born abt. 1640/41 in Ipswich, Essex, MA.
He died February 10, 1708 in Norwich, CT. He married
Mary Burnham, daughter of
Thomas Burnham and Marie Lawrence on October 09, 1672 in Norwich.
John purchased land at Preston, Conn. on April 16, 1694. His will
listed himself as
carpenter and named wife Mary and all 6 children below.
Source: "And Then There Was You" by Marjorie Eilene Wells-Cook
(1979) p. 44-45
| 1 |
John Clark (Sep
24, 1673 - Aft 1734 in Preston, CT) |
| 2 |
Thomas Clark
(See Below)
|
| 3 |
Mary Clark
(1676 - ) |
| 4 |
Phoebe Clark (Abt. 1684 - ) Married
Obed |
| 5 |
Isaac Clark (1684
- ) Married Mariam Tracey on May
27, 1707 |
| 6 |
James Clark (Bef 1687 - Bef 1719) |
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GENERATION
6 |
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06. Thomas Clark,
[1]
son of John and Mary
was born on January 15, 1674 in Ipswich. He married
Elizabeth
Leonard, daughter of Samuel Leonard and Abigail Wood and of Mayflower
ancestry on July 10, 1703. Thomas died in Norwich, CT.
Source: "Mayflower Families for Five Generations: James
Chilton, Richard More", General Society of Mayflower Descendants (1997)
| 1 |
Mary Clark (Dec
28, 1705 in Norwich, CT - Feb 28, 1760 ) |
| 2 |
Thomas Clark
(See Below)
|
| 3 |
Elizabeth Clark
(Mar 1, 1711 - ) |
| 4 |
Joseph Clark (Feb 24, 1714 in Norwich, CT - ) |
| 5 |
Sarah Clark (Sep
4, 1722 - ) |
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GENERATION
7 |
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07. Thomas Clark,
[1]
son of Thomas and Elizabeth was born on May 16, 1708 in Preston, CT.
He married Sarah Woodward, on December 18, 1735 in Norwich, New
London, CT. Source: "Mayflower Families
for Five Generations: James Chilton, Richard More", General Society of
Mayflower Descendants (1997)
Source: "Vital Records of Norwich
1659-1848, Vol. 1" p. 282
Source: "Descendants
of Richard Woodward, New England, 1589-1982" by Norma Slater
Woodward (1982);
p. 101
| 1 |
Thankful Clark
(Nov 8, 1736 - ) |
| 2 |
Elizabeth Clark
(Oct 4 1738 in Preston, MA
- Jul 1, 1815 in Hampden, MA )
Married Jonathan Herrick (1743-1813) on Dec 1, 1762
in Preston, MA - 10 children |
| 3 |
Sarah Clark (See Below)
|
| 4 |
Lydia Clark (July 1742 - ) |
| 5 |
Phineas Clark (May
4, 1745 - ) |
| 6 |
Mary Clark (Jan 4,
1747/8 - )
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GENERATION
8 |
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08. Sarah Clark,
[1]
daughter
of Thomas and Sarah was born on May 5, 1739 in Preston, CT. She
married Samuel Adams, son of Richard Adams and Susanna Preston on March
28, 1759 in Preston, CT. Their marriage record is listed in "Early
Connecticut Marriages" by Frederic W. Bailey (2008) p. 40. They had 9 children. Sarah died on
March 17, 1808 in Otis, MA.
I descend from
their daughter Mehitable Adams who
married Miles Jones. |
