Sterling Clark (1767-1850)

Sterling Clark was one of a long line of Clark men born in Central Connecticut.  He was born in East Haddam on 18 March 1767 to Samuel and Ruth (Graves or Sterling) Clark. 

Sterling met and married his wife Sarah Warner, descendant of the Connecticut Warners, founders of East Haddam.  Their wedding took place at the East Haddam Congregational Church, just like many other Clark weddings.

EAST HADDAM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

"FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST"

CLARK HILL ROAD, EAST HADDAM, CT

Sterling worked as a blacksmith, as did his father, and also Sarah's father Jabez.  He purchased a lot in 1793 from William Selby at the south end of Ballyback Road (no such road exists in East Haddam today).  He built a small dwelling house and a blacksmithing shop.  The business lasted until 1802, until he sold the property to Nehemiah Tracy.

During the time of his blacksmith shop, the work apparently took its toll on Sterling, as he was a frequent purchaser of the local town cider brandy made by none other than Mr. Nehemiah Tracy.  According to "Parker's History of East Haddam," Sterling was Tracy's biggest customer.  He bought one gallon of cider brandy every day for 18 days straight in January of 1795.  Later that year in March, he bought 13 gallons, and in December, 7 gallons.  All purchases were on credit.  Cider brandy was deemed one of the safest drinks to consume, since late 18th century water and milk was often contaminated.  But maybe Sterling had other reasons to drink so much of it?  In any case, I wonder if the drinking took its toll on the business.

In any case, 1820 he sold the residue of his estate to Peter Martin.  By the 1840 Census, he had moved to Whitestown, New York to live with his son Jabez, who was a podiatrist in the New York Mills district.  Given that Jabez was likely the same Jabez who appears on War of 1812 service records, it's very possible that Jabez was given this land via bounty from the US Gov't for his service.

Sterling was listed as "blind" for Jabez' 1840 census record.  Sterling died in Whitestown sometime after his appearance on the 1850 Census (which also contains his other son Samuel, the fiddle and cabinet maker - more on him below).  As for Sterling's wife Sarah, she doesn't appear on any family census after 1800, but one Ancestry family tree claims she died in 5 Jul 1855.

1874 MAP
WHITESTOWN, NY
NOTE HOME OF "J.F. CLARK"

2011 MAP
WHITESBORO DISTRICT
WHITESTOWN, NY
SEE YELLOW PUSHPIN
APPROXIMATE AREA OF DR. JABEZ CLARK'S HOME

Sterling & Sarah had 5 children:

Mary Clark (1789-1790) - died as an infant

Sterling Clark, Jr. (1790-1813) - apparently served in the Navy during the War of 1812.  He died young, after receiving $40.00 settlement from the Navy.

Jabez Clark (1792-after 1860) - named after his grandfather Jabez Warner.  He became a doctor, and moved to Whitestown New York, 240 miles west of East Haddam.  Whitestown is in Oneida County, where his aunt Sarah Clark-Spencer had moved to.  It's possible he moved to be closer to her.  Jabez married Fedelia Beebe, and had at least two children:  Jabez Jr. and Alvira.

James Clark (1794-after 1821) - my 3rd great grandfather.  He fought in the War of 1812, and received a land patent from President Monroe out near Quincy Illinois.  We aren't sure what happened to him.

Samuel Clark (1798-1874) - named after his grandfather Samuel Clark.  He was a cabinet maker, woodworker, and at one point was a violin and cello maker in Westmoreland, NY.  He lived in the JF Clark house (as noted in the above map), and such house is purportedly still standing, as of July 2016.  One of Samuel's cellos can be seen in the photo below, as found on a vintage auction site:

I know that my ancestor Leonard Sherman Clark, son to Samuel's brother James, was an avid violin player, as was some of his children, including my own grandfather, Frank Clarke.  It's fascinating to see the connection going back to the early 1800s.

Two other children, Joseph and Mehitable, also appear in various censuses with them, but they may not be Sterling's children, but rather, his brother Samuel Jr.'s.  More research needed.

Connecticut Founders

EAST HADDAM

WILLIAM VENTRES (1623-1701)

DANIEL BRAINERD (1641-1715)

William Ventres and his wife Elizabeth emigrated from England and were original founders of the town of Haddam in 1668.

Deacon Daniel Brainerd, also an English immigrant, was another Haddam founding father. He and his father John purportedly came from Braintree, England. Daniel’s grandson, Daniel III, was Grampy Herbert Clarke’s 4th great grandfather.

In 1669, Brainerd, James Wells, and George Gates (listed in the plaque above), together were charged with the task of mapping the lands on the east side of the Connecticut River.  They laid down the first roads in the area, and sold off the lands to a variety of families without ever having seen much of it.  In 1673, Robert Chapman (recent immigrant from Yorkshire and my 8th great grandfather), put the first house down along the river, just to secure his claim on the lands.  In 1685, the first settlers of East Haddam began doing the same.  By 1700, there were 30 families settled in East Haddam.  The family names of Clarke, Chapman, Seldin, Brainerd, Ventres, and Warner, all ancestors to Grampy Clarke, were known as the founding fathers of East Haddam, CT.

These settlers still needed to cross the Connecticut River westerly every Sunday to attend church in Haddam.  Captain John Chapman (Robert's son) built a ferry service for that purpose.  Some controversy arose regarding the need for travel, as the population started to grow.  As early as 1697, the Gates family petitioned the Connecticut Colony General Assembly to form an Ecclesiastical Society separate from Haddam.  There appeared to also be a disagreement on who should be pastor at the Haddam Church.  In 1704, East Haddamites finally got their own church, the First Congregational Church of East Haddam.  One of the very first baptisms performed by the Church was for Susannah Ventres-Brainerd, founder Daniel Brainerd's daughter in law, and my 7th great grandmother.  Many of my Fuller ancestors were also baptised here in the early years, starting with the children of Timothy Fuller, one my 7th great grandmothers on my father's side.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF EAST HADDAM

(ESTABLISHED 1704)

In 1734, East Haddam was finally incorporated as its own town.  It then began the process of expansion into the much larger town it's known as today.

HARTFORD & NEW HAVEN

GRAVE OF THOMAS LORD

HARTFORD CITY FOUNDERS PLAQUE
(portion showing ancestor William Parker)

William Parker and Thomas Lord were two of the founders of Hartford, CT, and are both direct ancestors of Niles Clark, Grampy’s father.

GRAVE OF DEACON WILLIAM PECK

WILLIAM PECK (1601-1694), an eighth generation ancestor to Niles M. Clark, was a merchart in London and it is believed that he came to America with his wife, ELIZABETH, and young son, JEREMIAH, on the good ship HECTOR, arriving in Boston on June 26, 1637. He was probably part of the Eaton-Davenport Company who migrated to New Haven in 1638/39. He signed the Fundamental Agreement of Quinnipiack in 1639 and became a freeman on October 29, 1640 in New Haven. From 1659 to his death, he was a deacon of the First Church of New Haven. His homelot was on George Street. Although his estate showed that he was not wealthy, he was highly respected.

He was one of three who inventoried the estate of Sgt. Thomas Jeffrie in 1661. In December of 1662, at a town meeting in New Haven, Deacon Peck informed those present that the town "elders" were not getting enough to eat -- that there was not enough wheat & malt to go around.

Deacon William Peck & another ancestor, ROGER ALLING, were appointed a Committee of Trustees for a trust that totalled £918 being authorized to direct the affairs of the Collegiate Grammer School in New Haven.

After Elizabeth's death in 1683, he married Sarah, widow of William Holt around 1684. While visiting his son, JOSEPH, in Lyme, he died in 1694. Lyme Vital Records gave his age at death as 93, while New Haven record says 90 years. However, his tombstone gives his age at death as 93 years.

STRATFORD

William Hayden (1602-1669) and William Wilcoxson (1601-1652), both eighth generation ancestors to Niles M. Clark, were English settlers who arrived in Connecticut in the 1630's.  They were part of the first families of Stratford Connecticut, formerly known as Cupheag Plantation, and prior to that, Pequonnocke.  Their children, Daniel Hayden and Hannah Wilcoxson (who became stepsiblings when Hayden married Wilcoxson's widow Margaret), settled in Killingworth, CT and later Windsor, CT.  Their daughter Hannah Hayden married William Phelps of Windsor, and had their son Charles Phelps (1708-1745), who was my 6th great grandfather, and was the first Phelps to settle in Lyme, CT.