Rootsweb is still not back online. A recent update says they are still working on the issue. In the meantime, access to my John Clark website is not available. Likewise, GenWeb sites hosted on Rootsweb are also inaccessible. We can only wait. I had become convinced a few years ago, that it would be wise to convert all my genealogy papers to electronic data. I had done so with many records. Now, I regret that decision. This mess with Rootsweb has been a major obstacle. In the not-too-distant future, I will retrieve what electronic records I have, and publish them to be distributed in relevant repositories. This is a long-term project with no foreseeable release date.

Digging Deeper in Connecticut

Tracing the Clark line is difficult because of a lack of probate records, recorded deeds, and family papers. In looking more closely at allied families: Weed, Ambler, Westcott, Hoyt, and a few other known lines, my research leads me to believe our Clark line may have come to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 or 1631, then to the Wethersfield Colony in Connecticut, and finally to the colony in Stamford, CT before their migration to Bedford and Poundridge in Westchester county, New York. Early in our American ancestry most families clustered within a Parish or Church congregation around which a community grew. Factions would have spun off from these groups, and likely would have maintained a cohesiveness bound by friendship and family ties. My focus has been to follow the group and look for bits of information to help build a Clark history.

John Clark Website

I keep several websites on Rootsweb, including three GenWeb sites and one personal site dedicated to John Clark. Access to these sites are not currently available from December 2017 and for the next several weeks while they sort out what is apparently a hacking issue.

John Clark's Ancestry

I keep a tree on Ancestry (dot) com, but previously had never connected John Clark's (1740) father because I always had questions about continuity based on statements in Jotham Clark's journal about John's father and grandfather. Until and unless proven otherwise, I have placed John Clark's father b. ca 1715 and his grandfather, also John, b. [calculated] ca 1690. The Bedford census of 1710 shows a John Clark b. 1695 born to William Clark. Because there is no evidence to the contrary, and there is some circumstantial evidence in support, I have linked our line to William Clark of Bedford, b. 1670. William is the son of William Clark, b. 1645. This line came from Stamford. William Clark b. 1645 is of undetermined parentage. Following a lineage model I use to estimate generations, I assume William's father to have been born ca. 1620. Other progenitors allied with the Clark line came to Massachusetts and Connecticut between 1630 and 1840 within "The Great Migration" of which much study has been done and published. Likely candidates for additional research would be anyone named John or William who would be allied with surnames we are already familiar with. I have traced one group back to 1630 among arrivals to the Watertown Colony. It is probable to find our Clark line in that colony. Robert Charles Anderson published The Great Migration Study Project, pages of which are available online. Anderson briefly writes of one or more William Clark of whom he has no additional information. So, it is not possible to rule out one of these William Clarks as an ancestor. Likewise it is irresponsible to conclude, without evidence, that one of them IS our ancestor. Firstly, I would like to learn more about our family group in the early years of the Stamford colony to see if there are leads to an ancestor.

2017 End of Year

Two problems march forward into 2018: What happened to the Bedford/Poundridge families of Jabez, Jonathan and Abel after 1840; and what is John Clark's ancestry. No new information has been presented in recent years.

Searching for John Clark's (1740-1818) siblings

There is Lavina Clark who may have been born ca. 1750, she married Caleb Hill before Feb. 1773. Caleb is in the 1790 census for Bedford. I am looking for more information about them.

David Hays Account Book, Bedford, 1770-1775

I received photocopies of the daybook yesterday. I will be scanning the pages that list purchases and payments made by our Clark ancestors. There are a few names of Clarks unknown to us, and I hope to trace them out to see if one or more might be siblings of our elder John Clark. Many payments made to John Hays are in the form of trading wheat, wood, labor, butter, flaxseed, other farm products, and sometimes cash. Many purchases are documented as "Sundry", being too small to list individually. Specified purchases are: molasses, rum, sugar, cloth, handkercheifs, hats, tea, shoes, brandy, salt, other household items, and spelling books.