I would appreciate help with my longest-standing brick wall, Henry Clark.

Question

My second great grandfather, Henry H. Clark, was born about 1836 -1841 in Illinois or Missouri and died in Lonoke county, Arkansas after June 1, 1900. He married Mary Jane Gibbons (or, perhaps, Givins) on March 7, 1858 in Greene county, Missouri. They were in Dade county, Missouri in 1860; White county, Arkansas in 1870; and Totten, Lonoke county, Arkansas in 1880. The last record I have for him is the 1900 census in Totten, Lonoke, Arkansas.

I have not been able to find his parents, confirm his birth, or find an exact death date and place, and I'm hoping someone in this wonderful WikiTree community will be able to help. Thanks!

Answer 1

Have you considered Abner W Clark as his father?  In the 1850 census, there was only one Henry Clark born in Illinois who lived in Missouri, age 16:  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZV-7DK.  His father was named Abner W. Clark.  Note that the FS indexed name is incorrect; the image shows that his name is Henry H. Clark, not Henry A. Clark.  Abner married Jane Hampton in Pike Co., IL in 1841 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9L-MY4Z, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFLS-RCF).  This wouldn't be Henry's mother but rather a second marriage for Abner as the children were older.  Abner was living in Pike Co. in the 1840 census:  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBD-F7K.

Abner W. Clark died intestate in Ralls, Missouri in 1851:  https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2435946:9071.  This often led to families dispersing and might explain why Henry thought his father was born in Illinois instead of New Jersey since Henry was still young.  It also might explain why Henry's birth year is all over the place.

The migration path is something that might be expected, Pike Co., IL to Ralls Co., Green Co., Dade Co., MO thne Lonoke Co.

I'm not saying that Abner is definitely his father, but it might be worth your consideration and further investigation.

Comments

More records that may apply to Abner W Clark.

1. Abner Winans Clark, a minor, named in 1803 will of Jeremiah Clark of Elizabeth Twp, Essex, NJ.  Proved 1811.  
   1. https://archive.org/details/calendarofnewjer00unse_6/page/68/mode/2up,
   2.  https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/883640:8796, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93Q-STLD?i=145&cc=2018330&cat=334458
2. Abner W. Clark purchased federal land in IL on 10 Apr 1835.  Coordinates of Section 6, Township 6 South, Range 4 West map to 39.570040     -90.905875, which is in Pike Co., IL.

---

Thank you, Kerry. Another lead is good!

Answer 2

Well, Kerry's lead, although reasonable, has turned out not to be the family I need. I will enter the family members for that Henry Clark when I get time, as I now have a pretty good idea where he came from and where he died!

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Answer 3

Have you seen the Ancestry.com personal tree that has Henry Franklin Clark? https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/58546392/person/340154042369/facts

His information is the same as your Henry, but with birth and parent information. It looks plausible.

Comments

Thank you, Doug.

Unfortunately, the sources for that profile do not connect to the supposed parents. I did find a source connecting Franklin to the parents in question which precludes him from being my Henry, however.

Thanks again for the suggestion, though.

---

Yes, I looked deeper at the sources and I see what you mean. Otherwise, the circumstances fit very nicely. Frustrating!

---

Yes, it is frustrating. I have learned to ALWAYS check sources on Ancestry family trees, if there are any -- they can help, even if they prove that the person being considered is not the person you want!