James Clark

Descendants of James CLARK:

 1   James CLARK b: December 09, 1787 in Centre Co., PA   d: August 18, 1868 in Ashland Twp., Clarion Co., PA Burial: Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
..  +Elizabeth Betsey MCKINNEY b: Abt. 1790 in Centre Co., PA  m: May 27, 1813 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., PA d: January 24, 1826 in Walker Twp.Centre Co., PA
..... 2   Henry CLARK b: 1814 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., PA   d: Aft. 1880 in Clarion Co. PA
..... 2   John M. CLARK b: March 04, 1816 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., PA   d: March 10, 1904 in Cranberry Twp., Venango Co., PA Burial: Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
.........  +Hannah PLATT b: 1830 in Venango Co., PA  m: Abt. 1853 in PA d: February 22, 1883 in Cranberry Twp., Venango Co., PA Burial: Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
..... 2   William CLARK b: 1819 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., PA   d: Aft. 1880 Burial: Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
.........  +Mary C. HEFFNER b: Abt. 1825 in Pennsylvania  m: Abt. 1848 in Pennsylvania d: Abt. 1868 in Ashland Twp., Clarion Co., PA Burial: Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
..... 2   Sarah E. CLARK b: Abt. 1824 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., Pennsylvania
.........  +George HESS b: Abt. 1819 in PA  m: Abt. 1844 d: Aft. 1880 in Clarion Co., PA
  *2nd Wife of James CLARK:
..  +Mary MECKLEY b: February 17, 1804 in Centre Co., PA  m: Abt. 1827 in Centre Co., PA d: March 29, 1887 in Salem Twp., Clarion Co., PA Burial: 1887 Nickleville Presby., Venango Co., PA
..... 2   Thomas C. CLARK b: May 20, 1828 in Bellefonte, Centre Co., Pennsylvania   d: April 06, 1911 in Clarion Co., Pennsylvania Burial: Sisterville, Tyler Co., West Virginia
.........  +Leah BOYER b: November 17, 1829 in Centre Co., PA  m: 1847 in Clarion Co., PA d: March 16, 1889 in Warren Co., PA
.....  *2nd Wife of Thomas C. CLARK:
.........  +Rhuhanna b: 1851 in West Virginia  m: Abt. 1891 in West Virginia
..... 2   Isabella CLARK b: Abt. 1831 in Clarion Co., Pennsylvania   d: Bef. 1868
.........  +Chris LONG b: Abt. 1830  m: Abt. 1854 d: Bef. 1870
..... 2   Mary " Polly" Fleming CLARK b: 1835 in Salem Twp., Clarion Co., Pennsylvania   d: 1922
.........  +Henry Samuel WHITLING b: May 09, 1834 in PA  m: Bef. 1860 d: May 28, 1915 in Clarion Co. PA
..... 2   Nancy Jane CLARK b: Abt. 1837 in Salem Twp., Clarion Co., PA   d: Abt. 1874 in Ashland Twp., Clarion Co. PA
.........  +Conrad KENNEMUTH b: March 24, 1837 in Frankershausen, Eswege, Hesse, Germany  m: Abt. 1861 in Clarion Co., PA d: 1927 in Ashland Twp., Clarion Co. PA
..... 2   James Alfred CLARK b: April 16, 1837 in Salem Twp., Clarion Co., Pennsylvania   d: Aft. 1909
.........  +Louisa GLASS b: Abt. 1840   d: Aft. 1880
..... 2   George Augustus CLARK b: November 08, 1839 in Richland Twp., Clarion Co., Pennsylvania   d: May 01, 1890
.........  +Susanna PYLE b: September 26, 1847 in Beaver Co., PA  m: June 06, 1867 in Oil City, Venango Co., PA d: May 30, 1889 in Knox, Clarion Co., PA
..... 2   Ann E. CLARK b: Abt. 1842 in Clarion Co., PA
.........  +KNIGHT   m: Abt. 1861 d: Abt. 1863
.....  *2nd Husband of Ann E. CLARK:
.........  +Jacob Frederick KENNEMUTH b: January 21, 1840 in Frankershausen, Eswege, Hesse, Germany  m: Abt. 1867 d: 1925 in PA
..... 2   Josiah Fredrick CLARK b: Abt. 1848 in Clarion Co., Pennsylvania   d: Abt. 1930
.........  +Sarah G. YOUNG b: Abt. 1850  m: Abt. 1875 in Clarion Co., PA d: Abt. 1925
..... 2   Mary F. CLARK b: Abt. 1852 in Clarion Co., Pennsylvania


Notes on James Clark:
Two biographies of James Clark differ in several respects. According to the History of Venango County PA by Charles A. Babcock, J.H.Beers & Company 1919, "James Clark, ..., came to this country from Scotland about 1815, and locating at Bellefonte, Center Co. Pa., worked around furnaces and sawmills. He acquired the ownership of a farm near Bellefonte, and after disposing of it bought another in Salem township, Clarion county, a tract of two hundred acres, besides which he also owned considerable timberland in Clarion county, where he settled in 1830. Later he bought a large tract near Valley Church, Venango county, selling which he bought a farm in Ashland township, Clarion county, upon which he resided during the remainder of his life, hiring others to work it for him. He died there at the age of eighty-five years, after a useful, thrifty life, thoroughly typical of the race to which he belonged. His ancestor in the Clark line fought in the battle of the Boyne. Politically James Clark was a Republican, in religion an active member of the Evangelical Church. In Scotland he married Sarah [sic] McKinney, who died there, the mother of four children:... William, who married Mary Heffner;..."

Contradicting Babcock, John W. Jordan in his Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley Pennsylvania vol. III, New York 1913, says, "James Clark was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, and after reaching adult age he was the owner of a farm in the vicinity of Bellefonte. Subsequently he disposed of that estate and purchased a farm in Salem township, Clarion county, the latter comprising two hundred acres.... He was twice married, his first wife having been Sarah McKinney, who died in Center county.  In 1830 he married (second) Mary Meighley and in the same year removed to Clarion county..." [Since their son Thomas was listed  on the 1830 census and later determined to have been 2 years old in 1828,  it is likely that James and Mary married about 1827.]

According to the biographies James was of Irish descent but his father lived in Scotland before emigrating to America.  Those Irish called Scotch-Irish rented farms in Scotland because the rents were lower and the leases longer than in Ireland.  An ancestor fought in the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.  The Boyne is a river in counties Kildare, Meath and Louth northwest of  the city of Dublin in eastern Ireland.

"Boyne, Battle of the, important engagement of the Glorious Revolution in England (1688-1689). 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, Scotland, 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 1500 men, while William lost only 500; James returned to exile in France. The Protestant order of Orangemen, established in Ireland in 1795, was named after William of Orange, whose victory on the Boyne they commemorate annually."

"Boyne, Battle of the," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Church marriage records show that James Clark married Betsey McKinney in the Presbyterian church at Bellfonte in 1813.  Mary would have been 48 when daughter Mary was born, if this second Mary was really hers.  Although Mary's tombstone is still readable, James' stone is lying horizontally in the ground and quite eroded but seems to say 80 years, 8 months and 9 days. There is another small stone leaning against hers with the initials J.C.    Babcock calls this second wife Mary Bickley. It was probably neither but closer to Meckley.  Her parents were from Germany, and there were families by the name Meichtley on an old atlas map of Walker Township, Centre Co. PA.

Documents recorded at the courthouse in Bellefonte show that James' first wife was Elizabeth McKinney.  After her death in 1826 he re-married, and in 1831 petitioned the court for guardians for his four minor children for the purpose of claiming a bequest that was made to their mother Elizabeth and never paid.  As of 1839 Henry, John, William and Sarah signed a release stating that they had received their money.

December 10, 1830 James Clark purchased 300 acres of land from the William Downing estate, Alexander Downing, heir, in what was then Richland Twp., Venango Co. PA and now Ashland Twp., Clarion Co. PA for $3.33 per acre.  The deal was completed April 1, 1831 with a cash down payment of $500.   This land was settled as unoccupied land by William Downing.  Recorded in Deed Book E page 203 Richland Township, Venango County PA.

James and Mary are recorded in various land sales including land they sold to the three oldest boys, Henry, John and William.  James is also listed in the tax records from 1831 until he died.

The 1850 census for Richland Twp., Clarion Co., PA lists James Clark as age 60, farmer, worth $3,000.  Mary 49; Henry 35; John 33; Isabel 19; Nancy Jane 17; Polly 15; Alfred 13, Augustus 10; Ann Eliza 8; Josiah 2.

The 1860 census for Ashland Twp., Clarion Co., PA lists  James Clark 74, Farmer, $1,000 Real property and $1,000 Personal property; Mary 56.  Others still at home are:  Henry 45; Nancy J. 24; Alfred 23; George 21; Annie 18; Josiah 13; Mary  8.

The Venango County Historical Society read his grave this way: James Clark, 1787-Aug 18, 1868 age 80 years, 11 mos, 9 days

James left a will 2 May 1868 to wit: "I James Clark of Ashland township in the county of Clarion and state of Pennsylvania yeoman, being of sound mind memory and understanding do make and publish this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void all former wills by me at any time heretofore made. As to such estate as it hath pleased God to intrust me with I dispose of the same as follows, viz: I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Mary Clark the farm on which we now reside situated in the township aforesaid containing ninety-six acres or thereabout together with all the live stock, horses, cattle, sheep, swine or by me owned at my decease, and all the household furniture and all other items of property not particularly mentioned, to have and to hold the said messuage and appurtenances, and the said goods and chattles for and during her natural life, and at the decease of my beloved wife I give and bequeath to my sons Josiah F. and Henry Clark my real and personal property which I have now bequeathed to my aforesaid wife during her natural life. And I do order and direct that my sons Josiah F. & Henry Clark pay all my debts and funeral expenses and also pay to my other heirs as follows. To my sons John and William I give and bequeath fifty dollars each to be paid one year after the decease of my wife and to my daughter Sarah Hess one hundred dollars, and to the heirs of my daughter Isabella Long I give and bequeath one hundred dollars, and to my daughter Nancy Jane Kenemuth one hundred dollars, and to my daughter Mary Whitling one hundred dollars, and to James A. Clark one hundred dollars and to my son George A. one hundred dollars, and to Ann A. Kennemuth one hundred dollars, and I direct that two hundred dollars be paid to my grandson George Alburtus Knight, two hundred dollars to be paid him at his arriving at twenty-one years of age and should he die before his majority the two hundred dollars to be paid him is to be paid to his mother Ann A Kennemuth, and I order that my granddaughter Sarah E. Long arriving at the age of eighteen years one good cow and bed and a set of chairs, And I do direct that my sons Josiah F. and Henry Clark pay the above sums of each heir specified above, so as to pay one hundred dollars annually after the decease of my wife, commencing at the oldest and so down until all shall be paid off, and in case my son Henry should not marry at his decease, his interest reverts back to my son Josiah F. Clark. Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my esteemed neighbor George G. Howe of Elk township Clarion County to be the sole executor of this my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I James Clark the testator have to this my last will set my hand and seal this second day of May A.D. 1868. N.B. the interlineation between the sixth and seventh lines of the body of Will from bottom were made before signing.        James Clark  SEAL
      Jacob Benas
      Frederick L. Swentzel

In 1880 sons Henry and Josiah made settlement with the other heirs before the date specified in James' will of 1868, which was to be one year after the death of his wife Mary.  Missing from the heirs were Ann A. Clark Kennemuth and husband Jacob.  Thomas had not been mentioned in the will and did not receive anything at this time.  The grandchildren mentioned in the will were also missing from the signatories to the settlement.  The description of the homestead shows it to be in southern Ashland Township, Clarion County, PA just north of Beaver Township.  It is on a township map as 88 acres amid the farms of Jacob Kribbs, John Kribbs, Henry Whitling, W.F. Best, Knight's Heirs, and H. Hockman.  The 1880 census shows that H. Hockman adopted a 3 year-old Annie Clark, who could be a daughter of Josiah Clark.  It may have been a temporary arrangement while Sarah Young Clark was nursing her baby Mattie.



Map of Ashland Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania: MAP



Notes for Mary Meckley:
The spelling of Mary's surname is in doubt.  The most probable original spelling is something close to Meichtley, whatever the German name sounded like to English speakers.  Meckley, Meighley, Mackley and even Bickley are versions from biographies, but there is no corroboration.  On an old atlas map of Walker Township, Centre County, PA where she and her husband, James Clark, lived in the Nittany Valley there are neighbors named Meichtley, Long, Boyer and McCalmont, all names associated with the Clark family in Clarion County.  On the 1880 census for Clarion Co., PA her parents were listed as having been born in Germany.  There is a record from the Academia Presbyterian Church in Nickleville, PA releasing her to another congregation in 1871. Some neighbors on the 1880 census are named Meckly, which is another possible spelling of her last name. The Whitling Genealogy, 1828-1965, written by William H. Whitling page 92,  says:
"Henry Samuel Whitling, son of Henry Jr. and Sarah Schultz, was born May 9, 1834.  His father came over to this country in the year 1828. Henry Samuel died May 28, 1915.  His wife was Mary Fleming Clark, born in 1835, died in 1922. She was the daughter of James and Mary Meckley Clark."


Stone of Mary Meckley Clark and footstone of James Clark in the church yard of the Nickleville Presbyterian Church in Richland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.  His stone next to hers is prone and partially buried.