The Clarkson Family of Potsdam By Margurite Gurley Chapman POTSDAM, NEW YORK i958 f oPewoPd To the Reader: I have written this brief story of the Clarksons in Potsdam and their fore-bears in hopes it will answer some of the questions in your mind concerning the family. I suggest that the reader consult the accompanying geneology frequently as the names are often repeated and it is a problem to keep the various Davids, Matthews, Levinuses, Elizabeths and Ann Marys straight. It will help clarify the different families and their relationships. If you follow the spaces from left to right, you will be able to tell which Clarksons were in the same generation, which ones were brothers or whether they were cousins. I am indebted to Clarkson College for their cooperation in loan­ ing me material and pictures, to Mrs. Frederick Ramsdell for ma­ terial she obtained for me, to Mrs. Lloyd Keller, curator of the Potsdam Public Museum, for books and loans. My one regret is that more material is not available, but what there is, I hope you will find interesting. Marguerite Gurley Chapman June, 1958. "Holcroft'' as it was built by John C. Clarkson in 1821-2., before the mansard roof was added. This was copied from a picture on the edge of a map of Potsdam dated 1853. 'Property of L. Clarkson.' "Hofcroft11 as it appeors today with the mansard roof which was added at somet!me after 1853 by T. Streatfeild Clarkson. Residence of David L. Clarkson which was built about 1836. It is now the Merritt Apartmenfs, Leroy Street. "The Homestead" which stood on the Clarkson estate about half way between "Holcroft" and "'Woodstock" was the residence of Thomas S. Clark• son and his descendants. 11 was built in 18.40 and burned 11'1 1909. This picture was token from the 1853 map of Potsdam. Lavinia Clarkson standing by her brother, Tho~as S. Clark­ son. Seated are their aunt, Lavinia Clarkson, and their mother, Elizabeth who were daughters of Levinus Clarkson. THE CLARKSON FAMILY IN POTSDAM The Clarkson family whose name is perpetuated in the college which the Misses Elizabeth, Lavina and Frederica founded in mem­ ory of their brother, Thomas S. Clarkson, has played an important part in the development of the town and village of Potsdam. REV. DAVID CLARKSON-1622-1686 The Clarkson family of Potsdam is descended from the Rev. David Clarkson of Bradford Co., York, England, priest of the Church of England. It is not surprising that the Clarkson family took such an active interest in the Episcopal churches of Potsdam, Colton, Norwood and Lawrenceville. The Rev. David Clarkson mar­ ried Elizabeth Holcroft, daughter of Sir Henry Holcroft of East Ham, Essex, England. (Holcroft was the name given to the first Clarkson home to be built on the hill and still bears the name, al­ though it is now a dormitory for Clarkson students. When John C. Clarkson first built it in 1821-1822 it was called 'The Mansion House'). David Clarkson was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and was a leading non-conformist of his time. MATTHEW CLARKSON. DIED-1702 David's son Matthew came to America sometime about 1685 or 1686 and was here for four years. There are several proofs that he was here. One, especially noteworthy, was the following: 'Matthew Clarkson, son of Rev. David Clarkson, was in New York on August 10, 1687, for he signed his name as a witness to a conveyance of land to his friend Chas. Lodwick. Lodwick later returned to Eng­ land. At the time of his death his wife, Margaret, and two daugh­ ters survived him. One daughter, Elizabeth, married George Streat­ f eild of an ancient Kentish family, the name of whose nephew, Thomas Streatfeild occurs many times in the Clarkson family in later generations. Matthew returned to England after four years here. Soon after, the position of Secretary of the Colony of New York became vacant and he petitioned the crown for the appoint­ ment, emphasizing the fact that he had lived in the colony and understood the conditions. The request was granted by William and Mary and in December, 1690, he sailed for America and in 1691 assumed his duties as Secretary of the Colony of New York which • position he held till his death in 1702. 1 On January 19, 1692 Matthew Clarkson married Catharina Van Schaick of Albany. By this marriage Mr. Clarkson became connected with the most prominent families in the Colony, namely, the VanCortlandts, the Van Rensselaers, the Schuylers and Liv­ ingstons. The wedding took place in the Dutch Chapel in the Fort. In 1697 J\,Iatthew Clarkson obtained a patent for a parcel of land in Fletcher Street for which he was to pay the yearly rental of one peppercorn. He built a brick mansion here and his neighbors were Johannes de Peyster on one side and Thomas Pearsall on the other. One of -Clarkson's sons, Matthew, married Cornelia de Pey­ ster and from this marriage are decended the "Philadelphia Clark­ sons", just as the "New York Clarksons~' are descended from Matthew's son, David. The Matthew Clarksons had six children but two of the girls died, leaving three boys and one girl, namely: Da­ vid, Levinus, Matthew, and Anna. In 1702 the parents died of yel­ low fever within a few days of each other and the children were entrusted to the care of a maternal aunt, Margrieta Van Schaick, a successful business woman who made a fortune in the mercantile business. On August 25, 1705 she married Rev. Bernardus Freeman and they had one daughter Ann Margaret Freeman whom David Clarkson (her first cousin) married on January 25, 1724 when he was 30 years old. MATTHEW'S CHiLDREN, DAVID, LEVINUS, MATTHEW AND ANNA David was born in New York August 19, 1694 and was bap­ tised in the old Dutch Church in Garden Street. Little is known of his childhood but he was apparently sent to England to his rela­ tives there to be educated. He is known to have been living in Lon­ don in 1719. In 1718 the three brothers, David, Levinus and Mat­ thew were established as merchants in London, Amsterdam and New York respectively. At some period within the next succeeding six years David returned to America but the date of his arrival in the Province is not known. Matthew was the only one of his father's family in the city at this time. Levinus and Anna had already gone to reside in Holland. As I mentioned before, David married Ann Margaret Freeman in 1724. It is on record that, 'David continued to trade with profit and advantage in the colony. Besides having a joint interest in other vessels, he owned several of his own and carried on trade principal­ ly in European and East Indian goods.' In 1732 he purchased for 156 pounds ( $390) one of seven lots on 'The Strand'. His lot was 2 on the south-east corner of Whitehall and Pearl Streets. He built a residence there which was the Clarkson home for four generations. The ground is now occupied by the Corn Exchange. David was a member of the Assembly and sat in five successive assemblies dur­ ing the administrations of Clark and Clinton, covering a pP-riod from 1739 to 1751, except for 17 months. He died in 1751 and was buried in the Clarkson family vault in Old Trinity Churchyard. DAVID'S FOUR CHILDREN-FREEMAN, DAVID, MATTHEW and LEVINUS David and Ann Margaret Freeman had four children:Freeman (1724-1770) who never married and concerning whose funeral I shall relate later in order to show the customs of the day. Dauid (1726-1782) from whom the Potsdam Clarksons are descended, ex­ cept David M. and John C. Clarkson who are descended from the next brother, Matthew. Matthew (1733-11-7.2) married Elizabeth Depeyster in 1758 and their son David M. (1769-1815) was one of the original purchasers of the town of Potsdam in 1802. David M. Clarkson married Mary Van Horne, sister of Garrit Van Horne in 1784. In 1785 two mercantile houses were established. One, "Van Horne and Clarkson" was composed of Garrit Van Horne and his brother-in-law David M. Clarkson. The other, in which the three brothers of General Matthew Clarkson were associated was known as 'Freeman, Streatfeild and Levinus Clarkson'. They were sons of David (1726-1782). David M. Clarkson's son John Charlton Clark­ son was the first Clarkson to come to Pot..c;dam to live. THE REASON THAT SETTLEMENTS WERE NEEDED I think this is, perhaps, the best time to relate a bit of the early history of Northern New York, how it happened to be settled at this _time and the part the Clarkson family played in it. At the close of the Revolutionary War almost nothing was known about this part of the state, especially north of the Totten and Crossfield Purchase, which line formed the southern boundary of St. Law­ rence and Franklin Counties. Carlton Island and Ft. Oswegatchie (Ogdensburg) were still in the hands of the British. The Tories, under the leadership of Sir John Johnson, had fled to Canada and many had settled on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. There was a pressing need for a· buffer state to be established to protect the Mohawk Valley and the rest of the state from an in­ vasion from the north. To promote the settlement, the legislature took early measures for bringing into market the unpatented 3 lands.