In a collection of DAR records for Lancaster, York and Elberton Cos. SC, there are references to several Clark land deals. Among them a 7 DEC 1771 NC deed that shows Thomas and Sarah HARRINGTON selling 100 acres on Cedar Creek, near the Broad River, to Alston Clark Sr. Eli Clark, Hannah Clark, and Jedum Gibson witness the deed. At the time, the land was considered part of NC.
After the Revolutionary War, this land sale was either challenged or there was a need to clarify ownership and in 1791, the following affidavit was filed with the Elberton Co. SC court:
In Wilkes Co. GA, Gen. Elijah Clark personally appeared before me and swore that he saw Thomas Harrington and Sara Harrington sign, seal and then act and deed and deliver the within instrument (a copy of the 7 DEC 1771 deed to Alston Clark) in writing and that he saw Jedum Gibson and Hannah Clark (wife of Elijah) sign the same and witness. 26 FEB 1791, Thomas C. Russell, J.P.
Alston Clark was another of Elijah's brothers. He was buying land in SC near the Broad River from the parents of Elijah's wife in1771. Note the "Harrington" spelling of the "Arrington" name. More information is listed on that below.
In addition to the affidavit cited above, Hannah (H) Arrington Clark of GA is mentioned in Halifax Co. NC court records as the niece and sole heir of the deceased Drury Harrington of Halifax Co, N.C. Drury died a bachelor in early 1790/91(Drury married but had no children-Died without a will). Drury Harrington lived on Jacket Swamp off Fishing Creek between the Tar and Roanoke Rivers in the part of Bertie Co. that became Edgecombe Co. in1732 and Halifax Co. in 1741. Drury's younger brother, Thomas, who was Hannah Clark's father, lived between Burn Coat Swamp and Jacket Swamp. Both Drury and Thomas were sons of Thomas and Mary (Whitmel) Harrington of Chowan Pct. who settled along the Roanoke River about 1720.
Elijah and Hannah Clark had nine children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. John was clearly the oldest and Gibson was the youngest son, though he may not have been the youngest child. Mary and Sarah, I believe, were the two oldest daughters who married shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War. Two of the Clark children married Williamsons whose parents were Micajah and Sarah Williamson, who were Quakers from Louisa County. Elijah Clark (1733-1799) / Hannah Arrington (1737-1827) son John Clarke 1766-1832 m. Sarah Williamson. Their daughter, Mary "Polly" Clarke, b: c1768 m. 1st Charles Williamson 2nd William Hobby. Their daughter, Sarah Clarke c1769-1805 married Josiah Walton. Their daughter, Elizabeth Clarke married Beniah Smith. Their daughter, Nancy Clarke married Jesse Thompson. Their son, Elijah Clarke (twin) 1772- married Margaret Long. Their daughter Frances (twin) 1772- married Edwin Mounger. Their daughter, Susan 1774 died young. Their son, Gibson Clarke c1781-1849 did not marry. John Clark, who joined his father's militia unit at the age of fourteen (14), ultimately rose to the rank of Major General in the GA militia. He served as Gov. of GA for two terms and was later named IndianAgent for Florida. He and his wife both died of yellow fever in 1832, developed after a vaccination in Cuba. Elijah Clark Jr. graduated from Yale in 1801 and settled in Pointe Coupee Parish, LA where he practiced law and speculated in real estate. Gibson Clark graduated from the Univ. of GA and practiced law in Augusta, Georgia. A member of Congress, he never married.
Biographies of Elijah Clark vaguely suggest that he lived in Edgecombe Co. NC from the time he was born until he married. He may have been born after his parents left Bertie Precinct NC for Edgecombe Precinct NC. There is no data to support a Clark family residence in Edgecombe County, N.C. (In those days, Edgecombe included all land south of the Roanoke River and north of the Neuse River) as early as 1733. In any case, Elijah did live in Edgecombe Co. at some point in time during his childhood but probably left for Anson Co., N.C., with his parents before 1750 and while still a teenager. His father was traveling around the western frontier of Anson Co., N.C. by 1746 and he and wife Mary were clearly living along the Broad River in S.C. in 1751 and along the Pacolet River by 1755, several years before Elijah married.
The Edgecombe Co. Arringtons (Harringtons) also had moved to Anson Co., NC before 1760. (Note that a "widow Harrington" lived adjacent to John Clark along the Great Pee Dee River in 1751. Elijah and Hannah married about 1762 and probably took up housekeeping on Clark family property along the Pee Dee about that time. They were certainly living on Rocky Run near the PeeDee River in 1764 when Elijah was listed as a buyer at estate sales of two planters (Walter Gibson and Robert Lee) who lived along the same Rocky Run where Elijah lived. The Gibson and Lee families had also migrated south from Edgecombe County, N.C.
About 1771 Elijah and Hannah moved their family southwest to the Pacolet River where they settled on part of an 800-acre land grant obtained by Elijah's father in 1755. It was located along a part of the River known as Grindle Shoals, north of present-day Spartanburg, SC. The Hays biography of Elijah says that he found the Pacolet property swampy and unsatisfactory for farming. Other accounts suggest that Elijah was always a better hunter than farmer.
Whatever the case, in 1773 on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Elijah moved his family further south to the northern border area of GA. There, Elijah and Hannah settled in St. Paul's Parish along Wahatchee Creek near the new Quaker settlement of New Purchase but which later became known as Wrightsborough. Their early neighbors included William and Elizabeth Candler who had arrived in GA from VA about six months before the Clarks. (Neither Elijah Clark nor William Candler was a Quaker, but both came from families with Quaker ties and their wives had been raised as Quakers.) William Candler would later serve in the GA militia as second-in command under Gen. Elijah Clark during the Revolutionary War. Elijah's son, John Clark, who joined his father's militia band at fourteen, would later serve two terms (1819-1823) as Governor of Georgia. . William Candler's grandson, Allan Candler, also would serve two terms (1898-1902) as Governor of GA. (If my research about Elijah’s ancestry were correct, another related Clark served as Governor of NC on the eve of the Civil War. Quite a record: blood related Clarks served as Governors for six terms in three different states-- KY, GA, NC --during the 19th century.[For those wondering, the KY Governor was gr.-grandson of Capt.Christopher, through son Micajah and grandson Robert. LSS]
Elijah Clark's parents were John Clark (c1705-1768) and Mary, whose maiden name appears to have been either TURNER, GRIFFITH or possibly GIBSON. Elijah had several brothers and sisters, but at present I have only been able to confirm five brothers and one sister, plus another "possible" sister. The apparent birth dates and order of the known children is presented below:
John Clark (c1705-1768) / Mary Turner or Griffith. Children:
Thomas Clark c1728-1780 married Mary Elizabeth (?).
Elijah Clark 1733-1799 married Hannah Arrington.
John Clark Jr. 1736- married Judith Mallett.
Alston Clark 1735 married Rachel Owen.
Jemima * Clark 1737 married Benjamin Dumas Jr.
Jeremiah Clark** 1738-married (?).
William Clark 1740-1795 married Mary Willis or Williams. (*Possibly a niece rather than a daughter ** only a single reference as a taxpayer in Anson Co., N.C., 1768.)
Thomas Clark, the oldest son, appears to have settled initially near his father in the Pacolet River Basin of SC. Information on Thomas Clark beyond a couple of Anson Co., N.C., land transactions in the late 1750's could not be found. The Thomas Clark who acquired confiscated Loyalist properties in Anson and Montgomery Counties after the Revolutionary War may have been this Thomas Clark or possibly his son.
My notes on John Clark Jr. also are sparse but he may be the John Clark who married Judith Mallett. If so, they originally settled in Anson Co., NC where they had seven surviving children: Thomas, John William, James, Jeremiah, Jesse, Rebekah, and Elizabeth. John Clark Jr.-1736 served as a Major in the GA militia under his younger brother, Elijah, during the Revolutionary War. After the War, he returned to Anson Co. for several years before packing up and heading first back to GA where he received several land grants in Wilkes and neighboring Franklin Counties between 1784 and 1794 totaling over 1,500 acres.(Elijah Clark also had a son named John who joined the militia at age fourteen in 1780 and rose to the rank of Captain at the War's end when he was just sixteen. He later became a Major General of militia and served two terms as Governor of GA. Many have confused Elijah's brother John Clark Jr. with Elijah's son John, particularly since both served as officers under Elijah during the War. Beginning in 1788, Elijah's son John also received land grants in both Wilkes and Franklin Counties, GA totaling almost1, 400 acres by 1802.)
Alson Clark married Rachel Owen, a Quaker, and remained on the Clark family's Broad River properties. His name appears with his brother Elijah's and sister-in-law Hannah's on several deeds (as witnesses) in Lancaster and York Cos., SC. He served in the NC militia during the War with the rank of Colonel. Alston and Rachel had children named Absolem, John, Alston Jr., Richard, Patience, Mattie and Mourning. Alston and Rachel Clark's descendants are well documented and the DAR library has Clark Bible records that trace the Alston Clark branch of the family into the early 20th century. However, for John and Mary Clark to name a son "Alston" certainly suggests a relationship of some sort with the Alston/Austin family of NC -- _one that is worth exploring further. (I am preparing, slowly, a separate paper on John Alston (1673-1758) and Mary Clark (c1685-1765) who lived along Bennett's Creek in Chowan Precinct/County NC.)
William and Mary Willis (or Williams) Clark settled in the town of New Bern, NC along the Neuse River. William and Mary Clark had four children: (1) Elijah who married Elizabeth James and lived in New Bern, N.C.; (2) Sarah Elizabeth who married John Oliver of New Bern; (3) Michael who settled in Wake Co. near Raleigh; and (4) John Willis who married Mary Irving Roach and settled in Columbia, S.C. It was probably his brother William to whom Elijah sent his 12-year old son, John, for "proper schooling" in 1778, claiming that the state of Georgia offered no proper schooling opportunities for the high-spirited youth. Also, NC may have appeared to be a safe haven for John, particularly after William and Mary temporarily moved upriver to property located near Adams Ferry. (I have not been able to locate Adams Ferry, but I do not believe it was in Wake Co. as Elijah Clark’s biographers have suggested.) Young John had other ideas and after a British raid into Carolina he departed for GA and immediately enlisted in his father's partisan forces--at the young age of fourteen.
Missing from my list of John Clark's children is a Lewis Clark. In 1784, a Lewis Clark received a 350-acre land grant in Wilkes County, Georgia, adjacent to a similar size grant made to Elijah Clark. Elijah's brother, John, received a 500-acre grant nearby the following year. And Elijah's son, also named John received a 100-acre grant in the same vicinity in 1788. I think this Lewis Clark was another of Elijah's brothers, although he might have been a cousin. I also believe the Elijah Clark had an uncle named Lewis Clark who was several years older than Elijah's father. This would make him too old to have been the Lewis Clark of 1784 Wilkes Co. but he was probably the Lewis Clark who appeared on Anson Co. tax rolls in 1755 and 1757. This older Lewis Clark is important to this story because he may be an important clue to the identity of Elijah Clark's paternal grandfather.
Please remember this is Doug Tucker's work although I did add a few notes on the Harringtons, here and there.
Contributed by Barbara P. Parsons