Notes for David CLARK

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Notes for David CLARK

David Clark's Will was dated the day before his death, but was not probated until 1810. It names his wife, Sarah, and children Matthias, Rachel Baker, Phebe Clark, and son Joshua "if he should ever return", also David and Sarah, children of
dec'd son David Clark, and Sarah Badgley, youngest daughter of my deceased daughter Sarah Badgley; brother-in-law Robert Clark, and nephew John Marsh Clark, son of Robert [C.C.Gardner].
Richard P. Greaves, late Westfield Historian, whose files were located by David Kane in the N.J. Historical Society, placed David as the son of William. This is consistent with some other materials found in the files of Emma Reed Clark, and
also "fits" with such external matters as grave location, later Clark migrations to Georgia, and contacts, including military, between Matthias Clark and Charles Clark. It is curious that David left no son named William, and the name William does not
appear among David's descendants. As noted above, however, the children of David are from David's will in 1779 and it is possible that he had named a son William who did not survive and did not leave issue. There is certainly room in the dates of
birth of David & Sarah's children for such a son.
C. C. Gardner, who was probably the leading Clark genealogist, and whose work is generally quite reliable, erroneously has David as the son of Jonathan Clark, in the line of Richard (and thus a first cousin to his wife Sarah). Gardner shows
the abstract of the Will of Jonathan Clark, which was dated 6 Sept. 1748 and proved 14 Oct. 1748, and names four children, including a David Clark, but states that all were underage. Gardner then lists this David Clark, with birth date of 1719, as one
of the children, but this David, who, indeed was born in 1719, was 29 years of age in 1748, and could not have been the under age David son of Jonathan. [The children of this David Clark, and his wife, Sarah Clark, however, are descendants of Richard
Clarke of Elizabethtown, through their mother, Sarah].
David Clark's tombstone (Grave #795) is to the right of his son, Matthias Clark, and reads "Here lies the Body of David Clark who departed this Life Apr. the 3rd 1779 in ye 60th year of his age." While there is no stone remaining for Sarah,
there is space in the row where she may have been buried. In the same row, in Grave #796 (between David and Matthias) is David, Jr., (who married Hannah Miller) and in Grave #797, their son, David who died at age 10. The graves of Charity (Woodruff)
Clark (Grave #799) and Matthias Clark (Grave #800) come next, and then in Grave #801 is Joseph Woodruff, who died at 7 months, 17 days, the son of Aaron Woodruff and Polly Clark (grandson of Matthias and Charity Clark). This row is located in back of
Graves Nos. 815 and 816, occupied by Charles Clark, II and his wife Anna (Youman) Clark.

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