John
Clark
aka Clarke
Born about in England
[uncertain]
[uncertain]Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Mary (Ward) Clark
— married
after Apr 1662 in Connecticut
Descendants 
Father of
Elizabeth (Clark) Parker, John Clark Jr., Joseph Clark, Sarah (Clark) Huntington and Mary (Clark) Bartlett
Died
at about age 77
in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut Colony
Profile managers:
Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree 
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[send private message], Lynn Brucker [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Rosie Blanckenburg [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 30 Nov 2010
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Contents |
Biography
Note: John Clark of Saybrook may be the same as the John Clarke (bef.1612-aft.1642) who appeared earlier in Cambridge and Hartford, but there is disagreement whether there is sufficient evidence to conclude they are one and the same. See Research Notes
Origins
John Clark's origins are unknown. He was born probably in England by about 1597 (assuming he was 25 at his estimated marriage).
Immigration
John Clark immigrated to New England by 1647, when he was first recorded in Saybrook, Connecticut Colony. At least two, possibly three of his children came with him from England. However, he may have arrived as early as 1632 or 1633, if he is the same man that settled in Cambridge and then Hartford. The records of Cambridge and Hartford show a John Clark settled in Cambridge by 1633, became a Freeman in 1635 (or possibly 1633) removed to Hartford in 1636 and served in the Pequot War, obtaining the title of Sergeant. For these details, please see John Clarke (bef.1612-aft.1642).
John Clark served as Deputy for Saybrook to the Connecticut General Court in 1649, 1651 to 1657, 1659, and 1661 to 1663. He was a member of the war committee for Saybrook, May 1653 and October 1654. He was selectman in Saybrook and 1656. He was named as Patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut in 1662, and was appointed Commissioner for Saybrook in 1664. He removed to Norwich for a short time around 1664, as he was admitted to the church in Milford in 1665, recorded as being dismissed from the church in Norwich.
While in Milford he served as Deputy to the Connecticut General court in 1666 to 1668. He was appointed Commissioner for Milford 1665 to 1674, though he could not have served in 1674 as he died in Milford on 5 February 1673/4. May have come to Milford due to his 2nd marriage.
Death and Probate
John Clark died Milford, New Haven, Connecticut Colony, 5 February 1674. His will dated 19 January 1673[1] mentions his son John of Saybrooke , his son (in law) William Pratt and his daughter Elizabeth Pratt, his grandchild, Sarah Huntington, and also his daughter Sarah Huntington. He divides all the household good brought from Saybrooke between his children. He mentions Abigail Fletcher. He mentions Reverend Roger Kenton, and Bro: Samuel Coley and Bro. Samuell Ells (?). His inventories were dated 28 February 1673/74,[1] one is for Milford and one is for Saybrook.
Family
- His first wife is unknown, possibly named Elizabeth (but this is quite speculative), and they likely married in England due to the ages of his children. John married second Mary Ward, widow of John Fletcher, in 1662. Mary died in Farmington, Connecticut in 1678.
- Children--
- Elizabeth Clark; born probably by 1622 (based on first known marriage by 1641). This profile, and hers asserted birth at Great Mindon, Hertfordshire without source. She first married William Parker and then William Pratt, and passed away on October 17, 1678.
- John Clark, Jr.; born say 1625. He married Rebecca Porter on October 16, 1650 in Saybrook, Connecticut, and passed away in Saybrook on September 21, 1677.
- Sarah Clark; born say 1635. Sarah married Simon Huntington in October 1653 in Saybrook, Connecticut, and she passed away in New Haven on January 4, 1721.
- Other possible children (not named by Jacobus)--
- Joseph Clark, born about 1622, who died at sea in on August 27, 1663.
- Rebecca Clark, born in England in 1638.
Research Notes
From Mary Walton Ferris, Louis Effingham DeForest, and Donald Line Jacobus,[2] some common variance to Anderson is noted.
Brother Coley. A previous version of this profile reported "John Clark mentioned 'Brother Coley' in his will; most likely a fellowship/church brother. He did not marry a Mary Coley."[3]
The Trumbull Papers. "Dr. Trumbull believes that this John Clark is the one who was in Cambridge, Hartford, Saybrook, Norwich, and Milford. In the Trumbull Papers, there is a letter from John Clarke of Saybrook, dated June 1650, to John Winthrop Jr regarding his son Joseph. There is also a letter from John Clarke of Saybrooke, with other executors, in regards to the estate of George Fenwick which is dated 1660."
Trumbull St. Without any further detail (town, county, etc.) and lacking a reference, a prior version of John Clark's profile contained this passage,
- An original proprietor, his home lot in 1639-40 was on the west side of the highway from Seth Grants to Centennial Hill (now Trumbull St) near the present Allyn St. His name does not appear on the list of tax-payers in the mill rates for the years 1655-7 which are preserved. His home, however, can be found in the lists of the "proprietors to which portion they paid for the purchase of said lands in 1665-6, and 1671-2. These divisions of the undivided lands were, however, made to now residents and even to the heirs of the deceased proprietors.
Witch Trial. A previous version of this profile reported John Clarke was the "Mr. Clarke" who officiated "during the Witch Trial of Goody Bassett" at Stratford, Connecticut, 1651. Cites genealogy.com user, "Goody Bassett was Hanged as a Witch," 28 July 1999, Bassett Surname forum; web content Genealogy.com
Disputed Identity
When Robert Charles Anderson profiled John Clark in 1995, he could not prove the immigrant who settled Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and shortly removed to, was a founder of, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, was the same man seen later in the records of Saybrook and Milford. Anderson wrote,[4]
- This position may be excessively cautious, and it may be that these records all do apply to one man ... For the moment we recommend further research and analysis directed toward resolving the problem one way or another.
Of the Cambridge-Hartford man, Anderson found no record of marriage or family; no record of his death.
The Great Migration Directory (2015) does not update Anderson's 1995 profile of John Clark.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9NV-R : 9 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 170-171. New Haven Probate Record, 1647-1687, Vol. 1, Part 2, page 54-56.
- ↑ Anderson calls their work, "The three most important summaries of his life," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 371-2 (John Clark), in particular, p. 372; digital images by subscription, American Ancestors'.
- ↑ From an earlier edit to the profile, citing Sherman W. Adams, Henry Reed Styles, ed., The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut ... (New York : Grafton Press, 1904), 236; digital images, Hathi Trust. Note: The referenced material says nothing about the will of John Clark or a "Brother Coley."
- ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 371-2 (John Clark); digital images by subscription, American Ancestors'.
- See also --
- Charles Henry Pope, The pioneers of Massachusetts ... (Boston, C.H. Pope, 1900), 102 (John Clark); digital images, Hathi Trust.
- James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England ... (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860-62), 1:396; digital images, Hathi Trust.
- Donald Lines Jacobus, Hale, House and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978.), pp. 492-493; digital images, Hathi Trust.
- J. Hammond Tumbull, The Memorial History of Hartford (Boston, E. L. Osgood, 1886), 234 (John Clarke); digital images, Hathi Trust.
- Robert Nelson Wallace [and Helen Myers Kyes], Twelve Generations of Descendants of John Alden and John Clarke of Hartford, Connecticut (Joliet, Ill.: The author, 1940), 5-7 (John^1 Clarke), 7-8 (John^2 Clarke); digital images, InternetArchive. Note: The Clarke entries here may be identical to those published as Helen Myers Kyes, John Clarke, of Hartford and Saybrook, and Some of His Descendants (Parker, S.D.: by the author, 1922); digital images, FamilySearchBooks.
- James Shepard, Connecticut Soldiers of the Pequot War (Meriden, Conn.: The Journal Publishing Co., 1913); digital images, FamilySearchBooks.
- Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985.), p. 156.
- Yet additional sources moved to John Clark - Other Sources
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DNA
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Rejected matches › John Clark (1769-1863) › John Albert Clark › John Clark (abt.1614-bef.1645) › John Clark (1656-abt.1715) › John Clark (abt.1801-) › John Clark (abt.1846-) › John Clark (1798-) › John Clark › John Clark (abt.1760-) › John R. Clark (aft.1891-) › John Clark (bef.1677-) › John Clark (1768-1855) › John Clark (bef.1700-) › John Clark (abt.1772-1856) › John D Clark (1880-aft.1910) › John Clark (abt.1637-1712) › Jack A. Clark › John Clark (bef.1860-) › John Clark (1829-1898) › John Clark (abt.1812-1861)
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I plan to also do a FSP that discusses in a little more depth the one vs two, and incorporates some of the comments mad here. This isn't necessarily the final disposition of the profiles, but I think, I hope, it is at least a little cleaner and provides a better foundation for moving forward.
edited by M Cole
That would be all right as a "minimum," but the status of freeman wasn't granted willy-nilly in those days to every 21 year old. A man had to have a certain status for that honor. Therefore, I think that it would be much more reasonable to show his birth as "about 1595."
it's more than plausible that he was identical to the John Clark who had been at Cambridge and then Hartford very early. Anderson's desire for caution on this point is excessive. Like every one else, I admire Anderson. However, as noted by M. Cole, Donald Lines Jacobus had no doubts on the identity of John Clark of Hartford with the Saybrook settler, and I trust Jacobus absolutely.
Contrary to the notion that John Clark of Cambridge & Hartford had a "limited public presence," how much do you expect for someone who was only at Cambridge for about five years, and at Hartford for only another six or seven? Isn't the grant of five parcels of land, the charge of responsibility for construction of a weir, and service as hog reave enough as to Cambridge? Why doesn't the grant of eleven parcels of land at Hartford and service in the Pequot War and on a jury count for something? The leaders of Hartford would not have passed out eleven parcels of land to a nobody.
More to the point, how does a man owning twelve parcels of land at Hartford suddenly disappear without a will, administration or other further trace, at the exact time that William Pratt (also previously of Cambridge and then Hartford) joins in the founding of Saybrook, where he achieves some prominence and is obviously close to his father in law, John Clark of Saybrook (& much later Milford)?
I suppose that someone with more spare time than I could study the history of those parcels to get to the bottom of this. Either there should exist a record of their sale to someone, a record of their having descended by right of will or inheritance to someone, OR - the town granted these properties to John Clark in the expectation that he would continue to live in Hartford, but when did not, they reverted to the town.
If there is no record of a conveyance, then I suppose that when he went to Saybrook the parcels returned to the town in consideration of his receiving replacement property in Saybrook. But if John Clark of Hartford died there after his jury service of 1642, still seized of these parcels, one would expect to see some mention in the property records of the disposition of the parcels either to his heir at law, or back to the Town as an escheat for lack of known heirs.
William & Elizabeth (Clark) Pratt were married in Cambridge in 1636, and went overland to Hartford a few years later. We know from the will of John Clark of Saybrook/Milford that he was her father. Therefore, it must be presumed that Elizabeth's father was the John Clark who had been at Cambridge in 1636 and then moved to Hartford. If this John Clark followed his daughter in law to Hartford, why would he not also follow her to Saybrook?
In short, the events of Elizabeth's life, from Cambridge to Hartford to Saybrook, provide all the support one could need for tying the known facts about John Clark in Cambridge and Hartford to her father, the settler of Saybrook and testator of Milford.
This brings me back to the issue of John Clark's estimated age. Given that his daughter Elizabeth married in 1636, she was likely born no later than 1620. A typical Englishman of those times was (on average) married at 24 and had his first child at 25. That's why I posited an estimated birth year of 1595 for him.
That said, in the "Research Notes" section, under the heading "Prior version of family," the above states that Elizabeth, daughter of John Clark of Saybrook, "first married William Parker and then William Pratt, and passed away on October 17, 1678." Most of that statement is bogus. Even as Research Notes on a "prior version" of anyone's profile, there can be no value in perpetuating it.
The marriage to William Parker (Parker-5648) was Elizabeth's second marriage, and took place 31 May 1682. Consequently, she could not have "passed away on October 17, 1678." Her first husband, William Pratt, died at some point in 1678, after 9 May when he attended the General Court in Hartford, but I know of no evidence for the October 17 date mentioned above (erroneously for Elizabeth).
A separate profile has been created for the imagined John Clark sans family of Cambridge and Hartford, namely Clark-20463. If someone wants to use a birth year of "before 1612 for that hypothetical person, fine. However, this profile (Clark-1315) should be restored as describing the real John Clark who must have been born before 1600, lived with his family in Cambridge and then Hartford, and who later settled Saybrook; finally spending his last years at Milford.
edited by Christine Clark
edited by Christine Clark
Perhaps we should reconsider splitting the profile into two people, as has been discussed in comments.
edited by S (Hill) Willson
Yes, there are lots of John Clarks and I have spent many years trying to separate all the different John Clark's in Colonial Connecticut, but who do you think he is if he is not the founder of Hartford from Newtown/Cambridge/Saybrook/Norwich/Milford?
The records are numerous that they are the same man. His children married Hartford men, and they seemed to have moved with him to Saybrook where they raised families, the younger children like Sarah moved to Norwich with him and he died in Milford where he writes his will. His son Joseph's will written 1658 places him in Saybrook and mentions his brother John and sisters Pratt and Huntington. His own will name the same children (John and daughters Pratt and Huntington) and places him in Milford.
Anderson did not even include John Clark of Watertown/Wethersfield/New Haven in the same series that you are trying to create the new John Clark from. Even though the records are clear there were two different men in the same general area (Cambridge/Watertown in 1634) He made mistakes. If anything he confused these two men but now they have been properly separated and sourced well.
Someone should just reach out to Anderson and get his most recent take (since the 1995 books).
edited by Christine Clark
"However, it must be noted that in the article on John Clark in the Great Migration Begins, Anderson does not specify John Clark’s passage on the “Lyon”, and he does not attribute any children to John Clark. This is because Anderson does not feel that he can connect the John Clark of Hartford to the John Clark of Saybrook. On the other hand, Donald Lines Jacobus in “Hale, House” says that John Clark of Hartford and John Clark of Saybrook and Milford are one and the same. One of the most convincing arguments that Jacobus’s observation is valid is in the will of John Clark in Milford, in which Clark names his son John of Saybrook and his daughters Elizabeth Pratt and Sarah Huntington and grandchild Sarah Huntington. These daughters marrying into the Pratt and Huntington families of Hartford clearly establishes the connection of John Clark of Saybrook and Milford with the John Clark of Hartford."
Do people feel that's sufficient to maintain one profile with a narrative from Newtown to Milford?
edited by M Cole
The to-be revised profile had assumed the man of Cambridge and Hartford was also the man of Saybrook and Milford. Anderson, did not follow that reasoning, saying his conclusion might be "excessively cautious," recommended "further research and analysis directed toward resolving the problem one way or another."
From a genealogical standpoint, the to-be-revised profile reports John Clark married twice, had several children and yet other "probable children." Anderson found no record of marriage or children recorded for the man he profiled.
The revised profile has not severed any genealogical links--so the wives and children formerly linked remain so. Pretty much in their entirety, narrative sections about "family" and "children" remain included, but as a research note.
Have removed the maintenance category "needs inline citations," but added "needs research" and "needs relationship check."
--Gene
edited by GeneJ X
edited by GeneJ X
I'd propose, changing this profile to be the Saybook/Milford man (so as not to disrupt the connections), and create a new profile for John Clark of Cambridge/Hartford as profiled in The Great Migration.
Objections? Thoughts?
edited by M Cole
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Clark-of-Hartford-Saybrook-Milford/6000000003357866404