link between the GA Rev. War militia General Elijah Clark and
Capt. Christopher Clark of New Kent Co. VA. For those non-CLARK
researchers--two lines from Capt. Christopher and Penelope Clark
went to GA.: Micajah Clark who married Luranna Johnson 1770 in
Louisa Co. VA is the son of Bolling and Winefred (Buford), thus
grandson of Capt. Christopher. Christopher Clark Sr. of Elbert
Co. GA was the son of Micajah Clark Sr., thus grandson of Capt.
Christopher; his son Christopher m. Rebecca Davis.
As in other things, Doug gets credit for everything but
typos, which are entirely my own. My comments are within brackets
and initialed; his "asides" are within (). LSS]
CLARK Family Connections:
Gen. Elijah Clark of NC and GA
by Douglas Tucker
FEB 1997
Part One: Elijah Clark's Parents
The following paper reports on my search for the immediate ances
tors of General Elijah Clark of Georgia. The Georgia end of the
trail is fairly well-documented and I will not go into much of it
here except to mention that Elijah Clark and William Candler sol
diered together and became close friends and that after the end
of the Revolutionary War, Elijah and Hannah Clark lived adjacent
to Christopher Clark, son of Micajah and Luranna Johnson Clark.
Coincidences? Probably, but the publicly stated belief by later
Clarks of Christopher's line that Elijah was a blood relative was
more than enough to get me to sniffing out the trail of Elijah's
ancestors. My main goal, however, was to see if Elijah's trail
led to any new information about the ancestry of Christopher
Clark who is part of my line.
Discussion
I have puzzled about the relationship of land speculator John
Clark of Bladen Co., NC and "our" Clark family of VA. John Clark
first acquired land near Buffalo Island on the Great Pee Dee on 2
FEB 1743/44. Over the next 12 years, John Clark would receive 41
separate land warrants in Bladen and Anson Co. NC. He would sell
his Buffalo Island property to Benjamin Dumas Sr. of Hanover Co.,
VA in 1748, near the beginning of a sizable Quaker migration from
Hanover and Louisa Cos., VA to the border areas of North and
South Carolina. (No border in those days!) Most of Francis and
Cordelia Clark's children were part of this migration as was the
extended family of Andrew Moorman Sr., youngest son of Thomas and
Elizabeth Simpson Moorman.
John Clark's presence in Bladen Co. and the portion of Bladen
that became Anson Co. in 1748, in close geographic proximity to
the Clarks of Louisa Co. could have been simple coincidence.
Clark was a relatively common name and John hardly was a distinc
tive first name. In fact, another John Clark, a Scots immigrant,
was present in Bladen Co., having settled in eastern Bladen Co.
about 1736 near present-day Clarkton, east of Lumberton. (No con
nection, apparently, between the Clarks of Clarkton and John
Clark of the Pee Dee River.)
I also was curious about the origins of the Frances (Fanny) Clark
(c1714-1753) who married Benjamin Dumas Sr. (1706-1766) about
1730 and the Jemima Clark (some report her given name as Ruth)
who married Benjamin Dumas Jr. (1735-1796) about 1755. Given her
birth date (c1714), her name, her Quaker faith, and her home loca-
tion in St. Paul's Parish of Hanover Co., probably in close
proximity to the Dumas farm adjacent "Polegreen's old field",
Fanny Clark Dumas almost certainly was the daughter of one of the
sons of Micajah and Sally Ann Clark. Her most likely parents
would have been Francis and Cordelia Clark. (Fanny would not have
been listed in Francis Clark's 1769 will because she had died in
NC in 1753. Benjamin, who died in 1766, also was not listed in
Francis' will.) Alternatively, Fanny could have been a daughter
of Edward and Hannah Clark of Henrico Co who, although living in
a different county, were located just across the Chicahominy from
where the Dumas family lived. But Fanny's existence was not men
tioned in the 1736 disposition of the estate of Edward Clark of
Henrico.
Finally, it is possible that Fanny Clark Dumas was the daughter
of Micajah Clark Jr., who family legend says was the fourth and
youngest son of Micajah and Sally Ann Moorman. I am reasonably
convinced that Micajah Jr. was living in Hanover Co. through the
mid-1720's and was the Micajah Clark who bought property in
Goochland Co. adjacent ADAMS and Andrew MOORMAN Sr. in the later
1730's. (Anticapating loud cries of "error", I suggest that close
scrutiny of the dates of land transactions and the later disposi
tion of that land prove without any doubt that the Micajah Clark
living adjacent to Robert Adams was "Christopher's son!)
[Doug's right; I think he errs on this one--Capt. Christopher's
son Micajah married Robert Adam's daughter Judith before 1738. It
seems reasonable he would be the one purchasing land adjacent his
father-in-law. I'll eventually write a report on this Micajah
Sr. LSS]
Whatever her parentage, Frances Clark Dumas came from Hanover
Co., VA and not from NC. Jemima Clark, however, not only was a
Carolina Clark of uncertain parentage, but she was not a Quaker
as were most of the early Clarks of Anson Co. Was Jemima the
daughter of the mysterious John Clark of Anson Co.? Were John
and Jemima Clark somehow related to the Clark's of Hanover and
Louisa Cos. VA?
It turns out that Jemima Clark Dumas (b.1737) was either John
Clark's daughter or possibly his niece, the daughter of older
brother, Lewis Clark, who also was present in Anson Co. between
1750 and 1760. I have also seen records that suggest that
Jemima's surname was McClendon which was the surname of Benjamin
Dumas Sr.'s' second wife, Martha. I think not. The name Jemima is
present in several generations of the descendants of John Clark's
children, particularly the branches living in SC and GA which is
where Lewis Clark's children settled after the Revolutionary War.
Though I have not found a record of Lewis Clark's family, the
1755 date of the Dumas/Jemima Clark marriage was several years
after John Clark had moved further west to the Broad River Valley
in what is now Cherokee Co. SC. (John Clark's first wife, Mary,
died sometime shortly after 1754 and John married Mrs. Martha
Pickens, widow of John Pickens of Craven Co.) John's brother,
Lewis, appears to have remained behind to oversee Clark's
numerous properties along the Pee Dee River, some of which were
close to the property of the Dumas family who operated a ferry
across the Pee Dee at Buffalo Island. Later, two of John Clark's
married sons would also live on the Pee Dee River properties.
John Clark of Anson Co. NC,
Father of General Elijah Clark of GA
Back to John Clark of Anson Co. Using a variety of sources, in
cluding NC, SC and GA land records, Louise Hays' biography of
Elijah Clark ( Hero of Hornets' Nest ), official GA and NC
records, the Draper Manuscripts, and National Archives and DAR
records relating to the French & Indian and Rev. War service of
Clarks, I am" certain that the John Clark (c1705
c1768) who sold land to Benjamin Dumas Sr. in 1746 was also the
father of General Elijah Clark (1733-1799) of Georgia. This may
be old news to some Clark researchers, but it is new to me and
could yield important clues as to the origins of my Clark ances
tors. After all, some of Christopher Clark's descendants (notably
his great grandson James Clark who served as Governor of Ken
tucky) claimed blood relationship to both General Elijah Clark
and General George Rogers Clark. Perhaps John Clark of Anson Co.
can help us unravel some of the mystery.
For me, the clincher to the father/son relationship between John
and Elijah was a reference in the Hays' biography stating that
after the end of the Revolutionary War, Elijah Clark needed to
raise funds to pay for a "proper wedding" for his two oldest
daughters. To raise the money, he instructed his brother John and
Uncle Lewis, both then living in Anson Co., NC, to sell several
parcels of land in Anson Co. that had been given to Elijah by his
father. One of these properties, a 400 acre tract on Rocky Run on
the south side of the Pee Dee River about 3 to 4 miles from the
mouth of Rocky Run, was sold in 1784 to Richard Randle for L100.
[The "L" is for British pound; this ascii sign doesn't travel
well in cyberspace. LSS] This particular property had been ac
quired by John Clark on 3 OCT 1748 (item 2397" Land
Entries in North "vol. 1, 1735-1752, by Dr. A. B.
Pruitt), while the area was still the western frontier of Bladen
Co., and there was no record of it being sold until Elijah sold
it to Richard Randle.
Knowing where to look, I found other Anson Co. land records that
confirm the relationship and provide information on the location
of certain Clark's at specific dates. In" Co. NC Deed
Abstracts 1749-1766, Abstracts of Wills & Estates 1749-"by
Brent H. Holcomb, the following entries appear:
29 OCT 1748. John Clark of Anson Co. to Benjamin Dumas of
Louisa Co. Va, for L200 proclamation money...land in Bladen Co.
on north side of Great Pee Dee called Buffaloe (sic) Island, ap
plied for 2 FEB 1743/44, granted Clark 20 JUN 1746. (DCT--This is
where Ben Dumas established his ferry.)
27 JUL 1750. John Clark of Anson Co., labourer, to Benjamin
Dumas of same, labourer, for L50 proc. money...land on south side
of Great Pee Dee and north side of Rocky River...opposite Andrew
MOORMAN's land...400 acres granted to John Clark 13 APR
1749...wit: Charles MOORMAN, Anthony Hutchins, John Gregg. (DCT-
The Andrew Moorman referenced probably was Andrew Moorman Sr.,
Charles Moorman was his son.)
2 OCT 1751. John Clark, 250 acres in Bladen Co. on north
east side of the Great Pee Dee joining his own corner tree, widow
Harrington, and the River. (DCT. This was a colony grant as
reported by Hofman in" of North Carolina, Abstracts of
Land Patents, 1735-"It is included here because the widow
Harrington was likely Sarah Whitmel Harrington, paternal
grandmother of the future wife of John's son Elijah.)
10 DEC 1754. John Clark and Mary, his wife, of Anson Co. to
John Fenister (lease s5, release L40 VA money)...land on south
side of Broad River adjacent Love's line...400 acres. (DCT --This
property was 100 miles west of the Pee Dee in what is presently
Union Co. SC. John Clark appears to have first purchased property
along the Broad River on 26 MAR 1751. He was living there before
1753 as there is a 1753 land transaction in which Clark sells the
"land and house in which he now lives" to Richard Hughes of PA.
In a 1758 "dower" land sale affirmation, John Clark refers to
"Martha, my wife" who turns out to be the widow of John Pickens
of Cravens Co. NC. Thus Mary Clark died sometime between late
1754 and 1758.)
27 SEP 1754. John Clark Jun. witnessed a land sale from John
Conyers of Anson Co. to James Crunk. (DCT--First reference to
John Clark Jr. in the Anson Co. land records. It is not clear
from the entry abstract whether the property was located along
the Broad River in western Anson Co., or along the Pee Dee River
in the eastern part of the county.)
25 JAN 1755. Col. John Clark of Anson Co. to Benjamin Dumas
of same, for L30 proc. money of NC...land on the north side of
Great Pee Dee River adjacent Philip Henson's line, McAnthony
White's line...500 acres granted to John Clark in 1751. No wit
nesses. (DCT--Establishes John Clark's militia service which is
further confirmed by 1754 letter to Governor Rowan from Clark con-
cerning Indian raids which killed 16 settlers and captured 10,
contained in the official papers of the State of North Carolina.)
28 MAR 1755. John Clark, warrant for 800 acres in Anson Co.
on Pacolet River -- including place where he now lives, joining
the south side of the River. (DCT. John Clark sold his property
and house on the Broad River in 1753. He had established his new
home on the Pacolet before 1755.)
22 FEB 1765. Walter Gibson of Anson Co. to Shadrach Hogan of
same, for L10 proc. money...100 acres on southwest side of Pee
Dee, adjacent Benjamin MOORMAN, Rocky River, granted to Gibson 5
DEC 1763...Walter Gibson (seal) Wit: Joseph Culpepper, Elijah
Clark, Recorded July term 1766. (DCT-- It has been suggested
that John Clark's first wife, Mary, may have been a Gibson and
not a Turner or Griffith as I tend to believe. It is possible, of
course, but I like the Turner or Griffith options better. It's
too long to go into here but is covered later in this report.)
11 JUL 1764. David Hildreath & Ann Hildreath (et al)...all
of Anson Co. to John Clark of Same, for L10 s10... 300 acres on
Rocky River at mouth of Ugly Creek, in Mr. McCullock's
line...wit: Elijah Clark, John Gibson. (DCT--Other people link
Elijah and John Gibson. My guess is that Elijah and John were
close friends and that Elijah later named his youngest son Gibson
in honor of his friend.)
In" Co. NC Land Entrys, 1778-"the following items ap
pear. All relate to property in Anson Co. close to the Pee Dee
River.
#913 23 JAN 1779. John Hardy enters 150 acres in Anson Co.
on west of Rocky Run; includes land known as Elijah Clark's in
Walter Neck.
#1193 7 NOV 1784. Richard Whitehead enters 100 acres on
south side of Rocky Run; border Water's line; includes Elijah
Clark's old field.
#1205 7 APR 1785. Richard Whitehead enters 400 acres on
south side of Rocky Run; borders entry made by Whitehead "that
includes" Elijah Clark's old field and joins Lynch and Westfield.
(DCT. This particular land parcel was originally entered by John
Clark on 21 NOV 1746, described as follows: 400 acres in Bladen
Co. on south side of Pee Dee, border of John Westfield's upper
line, #1971" Land Entries in NC, vol 1: 1735-"by
Pruitt.)
These land abstracts establish that John Clark had a wife named
Mary and sons named John Jr. and Elijah, and that an Elijah Clark
was present and living on Rocky Run in Anson Co. during the
1760's and still had title (possibly lapsed?) to land there as
late as 1785. Also, they establish an extended business relation
ship between John Clark Sr. and Benjamin Dumas Sr., whose son was
to marry Jemima Clark. However, the land entries do not mention
Lewis Clark, John's younger borther, who other records show was
present in Anson Co. during roughly the same period. I suppose
(dangerous word) Lewis may have lived on land owned by John Clark
but never owned land in his own name.
Regulators Petition of 1769
One other record establishes the presence of Elijah and brother
John Jr. in Anson County in 1769. In that year, both John (no
Jr. as his father was dead) and Elijah signed the Regulators Peti-
tion to the Governor of NC protesting the Stamp Act and other
colonial taxes and considered a precursor to the Declaration of
Independence. Francis Clark Jr., Thomas Moorman, Achilles Moorman
and Benjamin Moorman also signed the same petition, as did Thomas
Arrington who I believe was the father of Elijah's wife Hannah.
(Note: Elijah Clark spelled his name both with and without an
"e". His children uniformally spelled the name without the "e".
His father also appears not to have used the "e". I have used the
CLARK spelling throughout this paper even though many records
prior to 1750 use a CLARKE spelling and some biographers have
used it as well. The Arrington family of NC spelled their name
both with and without a leading "H". The Harrington version seems
to have prevailed by the end of the 18th century.)
[This seems like a good place to break; this 11 page segment is
too long to send through cyberspace in its entirety. I'll try to
get the next installment out by mid-week. I'm encouraged that
some of you are finding connections and clues! LSS]
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