A GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF CERTAIN DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH CLARKE, DORCHESTER, 1630; DENICE DARLING, BRAINiREE, 1662 ; EDWARD GRAY, PLYMOUTH, 1643; AND WILLIAM HORNE, DOVER, 1659; AND SKETCHES OF THE Orne (Horne), Pynctton, and Downing FaIIlilies~ BY AUGUSTUS PECK CLARKE, . A. M., M. D., OF CAMBRIDGE, MASS., Member of the New-England Historic Genealogical Society. •rn l:., , ,~ "" ,~ .. u<J'7rEp i;EVOf. xaipoVTES toEtV TraTpr.oa yaiav, Ovrws OE ot ypa.cf>ovTES i8eiv {3r.{3'A.lov T£Aos. CAMBRIDGE, MASS. : THE HARVARD PRINTING COMPANY. 1896. Copgright, 1896, Sg AUGUSTUS P. CltA~l(E. i lI ! I I lDebtcatton. tto tbe Memot\1 of m\2 1lUUfe, mar\? bannab Gra\? ¢larhe, 'ttbts lt)olume - ts Bffecttonatel\2 1nscttbet, b)2 bet 'lbusbant,. ttbe Butbor. PREFACE. My fh·st intention in making genealogical researches was to obtain authentic records for private use; being encouraged by finding entries of considerable importance, I felt that it might not be unadvisable to continue the work until sufficient material had been gathered for a smail publication. It was not my design· to .make an exhaustive genealogical history of all the branches of the several families embraced within the work, but only to have the record extend to such members as have not received at the hands of previous writers due consideration. In collecting such data I did not hesitate to avail myself of the advantages of records wherever they were to be found. lIJ tmc-­ ing the Clarke genealogy I followed the family traditkin of1 my immediate ancestors, and so was quickly enabled to malt~ a b~~1rA ning that gave promise of much success. In preparing :t~record of the earlier descendants of Joseph Clarke I found thae Tit~ llistory of Medfield was of considerable service ; so also was Jameson's History of Medway. From-these invaluable sources of information I did not hesitate to draw largely. It is also with p~easure that I make acknowledgement for the great help I obtained from Austin's Genealogical Di~tionary of Rhode Island; this publication was especially helpful when preparing the record of Edward Gray of Plymouth. Raymond's Gray GeD:ealogy fur­ nished important data for this portion of the work. · Though these publications proved very useful, it was neverthe­ less necessary to make a vast deal of original research before it was possible to determine what was the connection between the families of the last few generations and those of the earliest date. In ascertaining those relations I availed myself of the direct aid of old records of the town clerks of Dorchester, Salem, Marble­ head, Lynn, Mendon, Bellingham, Dedham, Attleborough, Hollis­ ton, Rehoboth, Wrentham, and Plymouth, in Massachusetts, and of . Vl PREFACE. those of Bristol, Tiverton, Little Compton, Smithfield, Cumber­ land, Lincoln, Scituate, and Barrington in the State of Rhode Island, also of those of Corinth, :Fairlee, West Fairlee, and Chelsea in the state of Vermont, and of W eMs, York, and Kennebunk in the state of Maine. When preparing the sketch of the Darling genealogy, I was favored by a personal interview with Mr. John Darling of Chestnut Hill in Blackstone. This gentleman had collected many valuable records relating to this old family, and though they were mainly for.his private use, he cheerfully accorded me an opportunity to copy from his record whatever facts I desired to use. Most of the dates I then gained I was subsequently able to verify by comparison with the original entries. I can now attest their accuracy. I am especially indebted to the officers and the management of the New-England Historic Genealogical Society for their uni­ form courtesy and readiness in placing at my disposal important publications of their library. The courtesies of the officers of the Harvard University Library were also freely extended. Many rare volumes of the Cambridge Library were consulted with pro­ fit. Most important facts relating to the ancestors in England were gleaned through the assistance of Mr. Henry Gray, 47 Leicester Square, and of Mr. Arthur Crisp of Denmark Hill, Lon­ don. I should express my obligation to the managing officers of the British Museum for opportunities to consult some rare old books ~nd manuscripts that proved of unusual advantage in this line of inquiry. I should not close without expressing my indebtedness to my loving and venerable friend, the Rev. Lucius R. Paige, D.D., for the loan of interesting and valuable books and papers and for kindly suggestions. I shall not forget to acknowledge here the invaluable service rendered by my own daughter, Miss Inez Louise Clarke, A. B., of Radcliffe College ; she, besides copying for the use of the printer the manusc1·ipts I had prepared, emblazoned with her own brush for the engraver the various arms that embellish the work. Her suc­ ~ess in this undertaking needs no comment. .. PREFACE. Vll In accomplishing this work which I now place before my read­ ers it is but fair to say that much time has been employed and mueh money has had to be expended. The labor of gathering and of arranging the material was not felt to be a mere task­ work, but was a labor of love and was prompted by a filial regard ·for.the men who had participated in the early settlement of the country. Inconsiderable and imperfect as the work may be, had I fully realiz~d in the beginning how much labor, thought, and research would have been required for its completion, I should undoubt­ edly have shrunk from the undertaking. Now that the labor is brought to a close, I can but rejoice that I have made the at­ tempt to offer the contribution. Cambridge, Mass., 1896. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE ARMS OF CLARKE ••...•••..••.•••••••••••• ' .•.•.•. xi ARMS OF THE ABBEY OF ST. EDMUND'S BURY........................ 3 ARMS OF DARLING. • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • • . 41 ARMS OF GREY......... ................................... ~. • . 6t •.\.RMS OF HORNE. • • • • . • • • • . • • • . • . • • • • • • • . • . • • • . • • . • 101 ARMS OF DOWNING•••••••••••••.••••. ~ .. • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • • . 143 A fac-simile of Joseph Horne's signature as macle in 1775, reduced one-half. 107 A reproduction of the signature of William Pynchon, the American emigrant ancestor. 137 rrhe accompanying arms of Clarke are a reproduction of those of an ancient family in Suffolk County, England. The following is the description given in heraldic language. Arms.-Argent; on a bend gu]es, between three roundels sable, as many swans of the field. Crest.-Out of a tau cross or, three roses gules, leaves vert, between a pair of wings azure. Motto.-" Secretum mei gaudii in cruce," '' The secret of my joy is in the cross.'' CLARKE GENEALOGY. The origin of surnames, says Bowditch, is known to have been assumed in some instances before the Norman Conquest, but such names did not become general in England until two or three centuries later. The name Clarke, in its various forms of Clark, Clarke, Clerk, Clerke, etc., says the author of the Life of Hugh Clark, is one of great antiquity, having probably been used in Great Britain as early as the eleventh century. Like all names which are derived from an occupation or employment, it is given to very many individuals whose families were entirely distinct. To show that persons in past ages have changed their names into that of Clarke, which was considered the more honorable, the following instance is adduced. In the time of Edward I., accord­ ing to an old pedigree of the Clerkes, in_ the Herald's College, London, there lived at Willougb by, in the county of Warwick, one Hammund, son of whose posterity (having been good benefactors to Magdalen College, Oxford) do continue still at Willoughby, being owners of considerable estates there and elsewhere, but who changed their name of Hammund into that of Clarke, as by sev­ eral writings of these appear wherein they have writt (written) themselves Hammund als Clarke. One Richard of that family in a lease-note to him by the aforesaid College, in the 22nd of Henry VI., of the 1\iianor and Tithes of Willoughby being written Richard Clerke, Esq., the descendants from that Richard for some generations downward do appear in a book kept by one of the family still at Willoughby aforesaid, and likewise in the Manorials of the said College as founders of these tithes (Burke's Peerage). The name Clarke is derived from dignities, temporal and ecclesi­ astical. Clarke means a learned person, one who could read and write ancient and medireval lore ; medireval bearers of this name were proud of it; hence the present frequency. In the ;" Domes- 2 CLARKE GENEALOGY. day Book" Clerke was Clericus (See Lewis's Dictionary of the United Kingdoms, London, 1860). "Clerk as connected with the church ha~ come down to the world." "Clericus and Clergyman," as names or terms, were con-­ fined entirely to the ordained ministry. The introduction of lay clerks appointed to lead the responses of the congregation has, however, connected them all but wholly with the later office. A curious not to say cumbrous surname is m·et with in parliamentary writs -that of Holywater Clerks. A certain Hugh Holiwater clerk was set down as dwelling at Lincoln. As Clerk (Clerke) he was doubtles~ connected with the Cathedral of Lincoln ; the- . Reformation was the menns -of removing the office donated. _..,.\ Walter le Clerk (Clerk) is found in the same record. Our num­ berless Clarks or Clerks, therefore, may belong either to the pro­ fe~sional class or to the one we are considering (that is, may be­ called Clerk, as a sobriquet). Chaucer speaks of "writting clerks," " Clark," " clerke," and " Beatrix Clerk." Milo le Clerk .(Milo le Clark), is found in the I-Iundred Rolls.