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^ \fe!,- ^ CLARKE-CLARK GENEALOGY. RRGORDS — OF — THE DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS CLARKE ^ PLYMOUTH, 1623— 1697. -COMPILED by- Rev. William W. Johnson, COMPILER OF ''RECORDS OF THE DESCENDANTS OF DAVID JOHNSON, OF LEOMINSTER, MASS." -).-> J-" jj '.1 -"Written foi'i(hu to CDtiife''— "tfeU it' to " g'feiitfi'artioA the generation foliow ing. —Bible. > Published by the Compiler, NORTH GREENFIELD, WISCONSIN. 1884. ^C 3 1/ ^ PRINTING CO. ^^ -.^1 RIVERSIDE MILWAUKEE. HM / ^ o^b^':> ', ' ^4- / • •• '• I • • • • • • • • • • » • • •• •••••• • ••• « ••• ••• « • ' • ••-• .* \• *, .*, • *. • . ••• • r • • • PREFACE. ' The stranger, or the citizen, who reverently and carefully walks among the ancient graves, on "The Burying Hill," at Plymouth, Mass., may read upon a memorial stone that marks the grave of one of the fathers, the following inscription: " Here lies buried ye body of Mr. Thomas Clark, aged 98 years. Departed this 'life March 24, 1697." From this man, whose mortal resting place is thus kept in remembrance, and who severed the instinctive ties that bound him to his native land, and left, forever, all the sacred associa- tions of boyhood that clustered around his home in the old world, to assist in laying the foundation of a great republic in the new, an extensive and intelligent race have sprung, if not like the descendants of Abraham, numerous as the ''stars of heaven," yet great in numbers, and great in influence, as the following pages will show. From the hardy and pious ancestors, who established them- selves, in hardship, in hunger, in peril and in toil, on the wild and comparatively sterile shores of New England, many distin- guished families have descended, but not many of these can show a better record than the descendants of the mate of the Mayflower. Owing to the location of these descendants, in close proximity to the sea, many of them, like their great ancestor, have spent life in the midst of ocean perils, but among them, all the varied avocations of life are well represented, the learned professions prominently appear, and art and science, in all their extensive domain, have but few abler advocates. In presenting this work to the numerous descendants of Thomas Clarke, of Plymouth, whose records are contained herein, the compiler desires to call attention to a few facts in connection with the work. In 1869, Mr. Samuel C. Clarke, now of Marietta, Ga., issued from the press of D. Clapp & Son, of Boston, Mass., a genealogical pamphlet compiled with great research and care, en- '' titled, Records of some of the Descendants of Thomas Clarke, Plymouth, 1623-1697." In the year 1881, a desire was expressed by several of the descendants, for a revision and continuation of the work, and a correspondence arose between Mr. Clarke and the present compiler, by which an arrangement was made that the latter should undertake the work, Mr. Clarke generously offering him the pamphlet above referred to as the basis of a new work, assuring I ' him, also, that he would aid him in the collection of new rec- i I \ _-4 — ords. In accordance with this arrangement the work was com- menced, and the first eighteen pages of the said pamphlet, almost entire, will appear in the new work. During the past two years the compiler has put forth persevering efforts to col- lect, in a thorough manner, the records of the numerous branches of this great family, and he desires to say that he has received hearty co-operation and assistance from many who have manifested a deep interest in the movement, and, without personal mention, would extend his sincere thanks to all such, and to those, also, who have made the work interesting by lib- erally contributing the means to illustrate it with valuable por- traits. The general arrangement of the work is the same as the arrangement in the pamphlet of Mr. Clarke. Genealogical works have become numerous, and they appear in different forms, but the compiler has seen no form that he prefers to this. The records are presented in the order of the generations, and families of the same generation appear in connection in the book. The descendants are numbered in the regular order of descent, from the first to the last, and this descendant number is found on the right hand side of the page; and when any descendant becomes the head of a family the descendant number is placed before the name of that person, in connection with his family record, on the left hand side, and in its new location may appropriately be called the family number. Thus, if the reader desires to know anything more of a descendant in a future direction, he will turn forward until he finds his descendant number on the left; or, if he desires to see the record of the family of this descendant's father, he will note his family number and turn back until he finds this number on the right. Thus the book, in its general arrangement, is an index to itself The compiler designs to give the birthplace and parentage oJ each descendant, not by having these facts appear with his name in connection with his own family record, but by refer- ring to the record of his father's family, especially when the children were all born in the same place. But there are some instances where birthplace was not given, and of course must be omitted. There are difficulties connected with the produc- tion of a genealogical work, which none, but those who have had experience in it, can fully know. The information, especially the later records, must be obtained by correspondence. Many letters must be written. Some will be promptly answered while others will remain unanswered, and a second, and some- times a third, must be sent before the desired information comes, if it comes at all. Meanwhile the compiler hopefully, and pa- tiently, must wait. With all the care and scrutiny that he car command to make the dates correct, there still will be some er- rors. Different members of the same family have sent to the compiler different birthdates of the same person. One of these must be used, it may be the right one, or it may be the wrong — 5 — one, he must use his own discretion and let it pass in that way. It may be appropriate to express a thought in regard to the spelling of the Clark name. By some of the descendants of the it is same ancestor spelled with the iinal e, and by others without it. Even the name of Thomas Clarke is spelled both ways. On his gravestone it appears without the final e, also in the name of Clark's Island. But this different spelling is not con- fined to the Clark name alone. Burk, Kirk, Wild, Wait, Brown, others are and spelled with the final e, as well as without it, and yet the identity of the name is not questioned. It seems to be a matter of taste more than of essentiality. In this work, the female branches of descent are traced, as fully and as extensively as the male branches. The descendants of a female ancestor, not bearing the patronymic name, are considered worthy of the same attention, as the descendants of a male ancestor But, without discussing the question in regard to the propriety of tracing the female lines in a genealogical work, we would refer our readers to the able discussion of this question, by Dr. D. P. Holton in his preface to the Winslow Memorial, Vol. I. The compiler is not a Clark descendant, but his children are Clark descendants; and betakes a deep interest in the work, and has neglected no means that would help to crown it with success. And he desires and expects, that the intelligent, the educated, the generous hearted, and the wealthy, whose records are foun J in the book, will give their patronage to it, to such an extent as will enable him to receive back the amount of money, which he has expended in the publication of the same, but for the per- jsevering labor which he has bestowed, he expects nothing but 'the satisfaction of having given to the world the records of a race, ranking high among the descendants of a sterling and pious ancestry, who rescued New England from its pristine wildness, and made it the land of the free, and the home of the brave. North Greenfield, Wis., March 6, 1884. A INTRODUCTORY POEM. An ancestor of an ancient line, Who came with the Pilgrims o'er the brine, The captain's mate, (on a pilgrim bark,) Bearing the name of Thomas Clarke; At length became a man of renown, the settlers of Among Plymouth Town. ^ One of those men who the forest cleared' Or beneath its shade their cabins reared; Ready, with counsel and deeds w^as he. this land ''the of the free." To make land ^ In the wildness there, that round them stood. He joined in prayer with the just and good; In the trials great of that desert shore, His part with the rest he nobly bore ; And a loug and useful life was given, In which to prepare his soul for heaven. The years of a century, nearly passed Before he was called to breathe his last. He first looked out on the world's bright scene, In the quiet reign of the "Virgin Queen;" And he was living in manhood's prime, In the trying days of CromwelPs time; The scepter from James the Second had passed, And William the Third w^as crowned at last, And Thomas the Pilgrim, a pilgrim still— But, rested at length on ''The Burying Hill." And now as the tourists softly tread Among the graves of the ancient dead, On "Burying Hill," wiiere they laid his bones.

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