Theophilus Clarke (1670 - 1737)

Born 25 Sep 1670 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Rachel (Partridge) Clarke — married 1691 (to 1717) in Medfield, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 7 Oct 1737 at age 67 in Ashford, Windham, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Clarke is correct LNAB

Theophilus Clarke was born on 25 Sep 1670 in Medfield, Massachusetts. He was the son of Benjamin Clark and Dorcas Morse.^[1]

He married Rachel Partridge (1669-1717), daughter of John Partridge and Magdalene Bullard around 1691 in Medfield, Massachusetts. They had 12 children:^{[2] [3]}

1. Rachel, b. Dec. 13, 1692
2. James, b. Mar. 7, 1693-4
3. Rebecka, b. Jan. 23,? 1694-5 , died Aug. 13, 1716
4. Benjamin, b. Oct. 10, 1696, died Aug. 24, 1716
5. Theophilus, b. Apr. 16, 1698, died Aug. 28, 1716
6. Ebenezer, b. Jan. 21, 1699-1700
7. Deborah, b. Oct. 12, 1701
8. Zebiah, b. Nov. 1, 1703
9. Caleb, b. Sept. 24, 1705
10. Dorcas, b. Mar. 13, 1706-7, died 1776
11. Mary, b. May 5, 1710, m.?? Joseph Whiting , Nov. 21, 1727 or William Province, Dec. 29, 1738??
12. Abigail, b. Apr. 20, 1712

He eventually would settle in Medway, Massachusetts and would own 110 acres of land. There he ran the “Bent Sawmill” near the road to Mendon. He served as selectman for Medfield in 1714 and 1722, and served on a few committees that helped build a meeting house and securing a minister for the town.

Rachel died in Medway on December 1, 1717.^[4]

Theophilus remarried to Elizabeth, widow of Nathaniel Cutler, in 1718 in Medway. They had, in Medway:^[5]

1. Esther, b. Jan. 1, 1719-20, married Timothy Eastman, Apr. 15, 1739
2. Theophilus, b. Apr. 19, 1722, married Bethyah Billings, Dec. 5, 1745
3. Benjamin, b. Mar. 17, 1724, married Hannah Tiffany, Dec. 17, 1747

In 1733 a Mary Burrit was “warned out of town” (blackballed) at Theophilus’ house by his brother, Constable Edward Clark. Around the same time he moved his family to Ashford, Windham, Connecticut. In 1737 he sold his property in Medway to Jacob Parker and Thomas Corbin, who later sold the land to other residents of Medway. Later that year he created his Will on 10/5/1737 and died 2 days later.

Theophilus Clark died in Ashford, Connecticut on Oct. 7, 1737, in his 67th year^[6]

His will, dated 5 Oct 1737 and probated November 1737 names children Ebenezer, Caleb, Deborah, Corcus, Mary, Abigail, Theophilus, Benjamin and Esther, and wife Elizabeth.

Research Notes

Notes

Who was Theophilus Clarke's second wife, Elizabeth Cutler?

1. the daughter of Nathaniel & Elizabeth (Underwood) Cutler, Vital Records of Reading Massachusetts, to the year 1850. p. 58
   
   or
2. the second wife of Nathaniel Cutler, Elizabeth Haines
   
   but not
3. the first wife of Thomas Cutler, Elizabeth Underwood

Elizabeth Clark, widow's will names Cutler children, providing the answer that she was the second wife of Nathaniel Cutler.

Sources

1. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850, p. 40;"Clarke"
2. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850, p. 33-39
3. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medway, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 , pp. 169,
4. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medway, Massachusetts to the year 1850, p. 298
5. ↑ Norfolk, Vital Records of Medway, Massachusetts to the year 1850, p. 35
6. ↑ Barbour Collection, Connecticut Town Marriage Records pre-1870, Ashford, original Vol.1, p. 16: transcription p. 79

• NEHGS, Vital records of Medfield, Massachusetts (1903) Pg. 33-34, 36, 39, 40, 146, 170
• NEHGS, Vital Records of Reading Massachusetts (1912) Pg. 314
• Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, Norfolk, Medway, 2/24/1718
• Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1719-1744, Windham Co., #521, 10/5/1737

See also:

• Jelke and Allied Families, by Mary Marjorie Tayler, pp. 123-124.
• Partridge Genealogy, by George Homer Partridge, David Clapp and Son, Boston, 1904, pp. 3-4.
• Bullard and Allied Families, by Edgar J. Bullard, E. J. Bullard, Detroit, Michigan, 1930, pp. 11-15.
• Vital Records of Medway, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1905, pp. 170-171, 296, 298-99
• Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1903, pp. 33-34, 36, 38-40, 127-129, 200-201, 203-204.