Genealogy

The Violent Middle Ages

The people of England and Ireland lived in a continual upheaval, usually the victims of clan wars, invading armies, or religious persecution. While this was common throughout history, the origin of Irish conflict goes back to the Roman times. Rome ruled England from about the time of Christ until several centuries later. As Rome became the center of Christianity, the Catholic priests and missionaries began converting much of England. This Catholic domination in early times clashed with the eventual Protestant influence that the Angles and Saxons brought with them in the 5th century. The Angles and Saxons, two Germanic tribes from western Europe, invaded England in the 5th century and drove out most of the Romans and chased the catholic natives to Ireland. These invaders came to dominate England for all time. Even the term Anglo-Saxon, became the common term for the race from western Europe and England. The name England also descends from the Angle tribe name (Angle-Land became England).

From this early time, the two religions, Catholics and Protestants, although both Christian, would battle each other throughout the ages - even until today in Northern Ireland.

In the late 1500’s, the English monarchy was Protestant (Episcopalian), but reigned over Ireland which was predominately Catholic. An unsuccessful rebellion by the Catholics in Northern Ireland led to forfeiture of their lands - if not death. In 1603, King James I of England, a Scottish Presbyterian, invited colonists from Scotland to settle on these confiscated lands. This became known as the Ulster Plantation (Ulster being the province in Northern Ireland) and was the beginning of a group of people who have become known as the Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish, and sometimes Ulster-Scots.

But changes back to a Catholic English monarchy, created persecution of these Scots in Ireland. The dynastic struggles and domestic turmoil that dominated 17th century England still were not over, though, and continued in 1688. James II, a staunch Catholic had inherited the throne from his brother Charles II. The devoutly Protestant English Parliament, feeling their faith was under attack, decided to depose their rightful, but Catholic, king and replace him with his fervently Protestant nephew, William Prince of Orange, whose other claim to the English throne was his marriage to James II’s daughter Mary. James eventually fled to Ireland where his lack of military skill and the tenacious resistance of the Protestants, particularly during the infamous Siege of Londonderry, led to his ultimate defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

Prince William of Orange
King of England
16xx-1702

The Battle of Boyne, is an important engagement of the Glorious Revolution in England. Fought on the banks of the Boyne River in Ireland on July 12, 1690, the battle was waged between troops of the exiled James II, former king of England, and the forces of the Netherlands ruler William of Orange, who had been proclaimed William III, king of England and Ireland, in 1689. To prevent James from regaining the throne, William led an army of about 35,000 men to Ireland, where James was ensconced with 21,000 of his supporters. In the subsequent engagement on the Boyne, James suffered a complete defeat, losing 1,500 men, with William losing only 500; he returned to exile in France who had been proclaimed William III, king of England and Ireland, in 1689. To prevent James from regaining the throne, William led an army of about 35,000 men to Ireland, where James was ensconced with 21,000 of his supporters. In the subsequent engagement on the Boyne, James suffered a complete defeat, losing 1,500 men, with William losing only 500; he returned to exile in France

Scots-Irish Beginnings

The Scotch-Irish remained predominately Scot by blood - not Irish. When they arrived in Ireland, they established purely Presbyterian colonies and inter-marriage with the Catholic Irish was virtually unheard of. They never referred to themselves as Scotch-Irish. This was a tag that others labeled them, particularly in America. Matter of fact, they were usually offended by this name. They definitely didn’t consider themselves Irish and preferred the name Scots. One common and humorous response was that "the only thing that is Scotch, is meant to be drank", referring to their native whiskey. One of the common names they did prefer was that of "Ulster-Scots".

The movement of the Clarks from Scotland to Northern Ireland began a trend that would last hundreds of years. The Clarks seemed to have some nomadic blood in them. While the early times naturally lent themselves to exploring new territories, many of the Clarks took this to the extreme. This is seen throughout our Clark history.

Our oldest record of Clarks is that of William Clark, born in 1604. We do not have a birthplace for him but, since this was at the very early stage of migration from Scotland to Northern Ireland, he could have been born in Scotland.

The Scot settlers in Northern Ireland were lowland Scots, that is from the coastal areas of Scotland, as opposed to the highlanders. Their ancestral home was the Strathclyde area, a coastal region in the south of Scotland with Glasgow as the center of the area. This region is conveniently less than 100 miles from Northern Ireland across the North Channel, between the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Our Clark family traces to the Coleraine region of Northern Ireland.

Name Traditions

This is a good time to describe a tradition that is very important in researching genealogy. With faithful following, these Scots (Irish) named their first born son after the paternal grandfather and the second born son after the maternal grandfather. The daughters were frequently named in the same manner. The rest of the sons and daughters would be named for uncles, aunts, cousins, and of course the parents. Looking at our early Clark family tree bears this tradition out. While this is useful in establishing connections in a family, it can also be very confusing when there is a multitude of people with the same given name.

Our first documentation of Clarks in Northern Ireland is the record of John Clark born in Carrickfergus in the year 1630. This is a port town about 20 miles northeast of Belfast. This must have been a popular area of settlement as it was less than 100 miles across Northern Channel to Scotland and probably an entry point for the Scots. John Clark married Anne Horseman (born 1636 in Carrickfergus). Records show that they had eight sons and one daughter. They named their oldest son John, born in Coleraine, Ireland in 1660. This may not have been the oldest son because the father, John, would have been 30 years old at this birth and the mother, Anne would have been 24, so it is likely they had some children even older. (Also, the naming tradition doesn’t match the names and dates available. The other children we know about are William (1662), Samuel (1664), Anthony (1666), Robert (1668), Richard (1672), Horseman (1674), Joseph (1676), Sarah (1678).

History is not kind to exact dates, and many are forgotten or altered over time. The above mentioned son, William (1662), may have been born before John (1660). It is likely William was named after his grandfather, and this honor went to the oldest son. However, one additional rule to the naming tradition. If the oldest son, named after the grandfather, dies or is killed, the next son born will be also named after the grandfather. It was important for the family given names to continue down through history along with the surnames.

John Clark (born 1660) married Agnes Adams (born 1676) in Northern Ireland. They proceeded to have a large family also. While living in Coleraine, Ireland we know they had eight sons and two daughters. They were Jean (1698), Matthew (1700), Thomas (1702), John (1704), James (1706), William (1708), Alexander (1710), Samuel (1716) and Elizabeth (1718). This John Clark would bring many of his children with him when he came to America.

Coming to America

Even though the Scots had been given land in Northern Ireland by the Protestant English monarchy, there were continuos uprisings by the Catholic Irish. The English monarchy even changed back to Catholic for a while in the 1600s. Life was always unstable. There was a major revolution in 1688 that nearly caused the destruction of all Protestants in Northern Ireland. But an army led by William of Orange (a province in France) overthrew the Catholic king’s army and restored the Protestant religion back to all of England and Northern Ireland. This success by King William of Orange is still celebrated today. There is a Protestant organization in Northern Ireland called the Orange Society and the members are called the Orangemen. July 12th is still celebrated as a holiday in Northern Ireland as the day marking the final battle and conquest by William of Orange at the Battle of Boyne in 1690. This is quite revealing, since one of our grand-fathers name is Orange Clark.

Stability never lasted long in those days. Even though the Protestants won, there were always periods of rebellion and violence. Even the English monarchy itself turned on the Presbyterian Scots in Northern Ireland. The English monarchy was Protestant (Episcopalian) which then became the Church of England. With the Catholics subdued, the English monarch now began persecuting the Presbyterians. This included forbidding them to hold office and even restricting their property rights. However, the new lands in America proved to be a timely solution for the Presbytarians.

In the early 1700s, the Ulster-Scots began leaving for America. The promise of spacious land and religious freedom fit their needs well. Of course things are never easy. While the prospect of leaving a homeland for a faraway place has to be personal challenge, the actual event in those days had to be very traumatic - and not nearly as romantic as movies portray.

Even when the Scotch-Irish did arrive in America, they still found persecution. The puritans and English were already quite entrenched in the major settlements such as Boston. So the newly arrived Scotch-Irish became the true pioneers. They moved together in Presbyteries. That is, a whole church congregation would set out and found a new settlement or town. The Presbytery set the laws and served as the court also. They forged outward to new lands - facing hardship, Indians, and other dangers. The Scotch-Irish became known for the bravery and skills at developing new frontiers. In the early 1700s they settled western Massachusetts.

This time frame begins the first good records of our family.

John Clark (the one just previously described, born in Coleraine in 1660) was the first of our ancestors to arrive in America. He and his wife Agnes arrived in America with many of their children around 1720. Shortly after their arrival they settled in Worcester, Massachusetts, a Presbyterian founded town. Worcester was a town (now a major city) in the middle of the state. The county is also called Worcester, so it is not clear if John Clark and family were in the town or someplace else in the county. Since they were probably farmers, it is likely they were not in the town itself. In fact, there is evidence they settled northwest of the town of Worcester around the towns of Rutland and Holden, as some of Matthew Clark’s children were born in Rutland. The area of Worcester, in the center of Massachusetts became a predominate Scotch-Irish settlement. From here the Scotch-Irish fanned out to other parts of the state and farther.

Our First American Born Ancestor

The first American born Clark of our family was George Clark, born May 12, 1722, in Worcester.

George may have been the youngest child of John and Agnes, as his father would have been 62 when he was born and his mother 46 years old.

Probably when George was young, the family set out with others and settled the town of Colerain, located fifty miles northwest of Worcester in 1739. The name of this new town is interesting to note - Colrain, Mass is named after Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Many of his brothers and sisters, who had families of their own at this time, also moved to Colrain with them, as many of George’s nephews and nieces were born in Colrain. But this was typical, as whole families, plus friends or neighbors set out for new lands. In those day, there was definitely safety in numbers.

They evidently stayed in this area for quite a while. When George grew up, he married Alice Harroun in Colrain, Mass. Alice’s parents also came from Northern Ireland, obviously part of the Scotch-Irish community. George and Alice had many children, including Elijah (1746), Susannah (1748), Eunice (1750), Molly (1753), Anna (1755), Ruth (1757), Seth (1759), Beulah (1762), Hepzibah ( 1762) (twins), and John (1767). Our ancestor is the last one, John. Sound familiar? This is the third John we have encountered so far, and there are more to come.

John Clark married Elizabeth Edgecomb in about 1787, probably in Colrain. They had their first daughter, Electa, in 1788 in Colrain. There are big gaps between the birth dates of the children we know they had , so some children are probably unaccounted for. John and Elizabeth also began moving around sometime after Electa was born.

The Scotch-Irish of these time stayed banded together. The organization of the Presbyterian church actually provided the order that guided these people, even as it applied to social and civic matters. Since they were essentially in the wilderness, there was not much government assistance or guidance. The church actually levied taxes and made decisions on such things as town laws, roads and other civic matters.

When they moved, they left in groups to establish new settlements. While Colrain became a significant settlement of the Scotch-Irish, our Clarks, moved on to another Scotch-Irish stronghold. It is possible they were some of the founders again. This new site was in Washington County, New York. Washington County was actually not that far from Colrain. It is in the eastern portion of upper New York, about 60 miles northwest of Colrain. It actually borders Vermont, just north of Massachusetts.

Land records show John Clark getting a mortgage on some land in Hebron, Washington County, New York in 1786. There were many other Clarks owning land in the immediate area also. As John was the youngest in his family (some of his brothers and sisters were 20 years older than him), many of these Clarks could have been a variety of cousins and even nephews.

It is here in Washington County, NY, that our next ancestor was born. George Clark was born in Washington County in 1795. Another son, named John also, was born here in 1797. Not content to stay in this area for whatever reason, they soon moved to Windham County, Vermont, another Scotch-Irish area, by 1803. This is just east of their home in New York and another son, Lewis Allen Clark was born here in May, 1803. There is also evidence that John had a son name Orange. This is not the Orange Clark that is our recent grand-father. This Orange would have been our Orange’s uncle. More on this will be explained later.

Over the course of the eighties years the Clarks had been in America, they move around quite a bit, living in numerous communities and three different states. But all were fairly close, and never moving more than 50 miles at a time. All of the settlements were also predominately Scotch-Irish, Presbyterian communities.

Leaving New England for the Midwest.

As early as about 1815, the Clarks left the familiar surroundings of their Scotch-Irish clans and moved to southern Indiana. We have no reason for this move, except maybe the promise of vast and newly available land. Indiana was just admitted as a state in 1816 and held the promise of rich farmland.

The Clarks journey found them stopping in Switzerland County, the southeastern most county in the state. This was not a Scotch-Irish stronghold, because, as the county name implies, it was settled by a group of Swiss immigrants. The Clarks probably did not make the journey alone, as people usually moved in groups. An interesting finding, which needs more research, is the large number of members of the Cole family that lived in the same area, even neighbors. There were numerous Coles living in Hebron and surrounding towns in Washington County, NY also, many with the same given names that now appear in Indiana. It is possible, the Clarks and Coles moved together. As a further interesting twist, George Clark’s son, Orange, married a Margaret Jane Cole.