Charles Clark(e) (1770-1804) -

of Paxton Twp., Lancaster Co.; White Deer Township, Northumberland Co.; and North Beaver Township, Beaver Co., Pennsylvania

Charles Clark(e) was born in 1770, likely in Paxton Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He died in North Beaver Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1804.[1] He was buried in the “west field;” in land he and his uncle, Walter Clarke, donated for a cemetery and Presbyterian Church.[2] His headstone, placed nearly 125 years after his death, gives the wrong year of his death.[3]

Charles was a son of Robert Clark, and presumably Robert’s wife, Jean [—?—].[4] Robert was taxed in Paxton Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1772.[5] This is likely where Charles was born and lived for his first few years.

Robert’s brother, Walter, purchased 1,150 acres in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1771.[6] Walter divided the tract between himself and his brothers, William and Robert, and associates William Gray and Robert Fruit.[7] Robert was living in White Deer Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, between 1778–1780.[8]

Robert and Walter were among those who called the first Presbyterian minister to Northumberland County in 1787, on behalf of the Buffalo Crossroads Presbyterian Church.[9] Helping to establish Presbyterian churches as new areas opened for settlement was apparently important to the Clarks. Robert and Walter’s parents reportedly helped to establish the Paxtang Presbyterian Church in Paxton Township, Lancaster [modern Dauphin] County, Pennsylvania.[10]

In 1790, Charles Clark was living on his own.[11] He first appeared on the tax rolls in 1791, adding credibility to the year of birth given on his headstone. He was taxed as a single free man until 1799, when his name was stricken from the “Single Free Men” list and moved to the general tax list.[12]

His father, Robert, died in 1798, providing for his family:

Wife, Jean
Daughter, Elenor Fruit: £50 “in addition [sic] to what she has already received”
Daughter, Margaret Clark
Daughter, Agnes Clark
Son, Robert (a minor): £200 “when he comes of age.”
Son, George (also named an executor): “one third the valuation of the remainder and residue of my estate Real and Personal deducting one hundred fifty pounds out of Sd. thrid part, which I allow he has already received.”
Sons, Charles and John: “all the remainder of my estate real &personal to be divided equally betwixt them their Heirs & Assigns forever.”

Last Will and Testament of Robert Clark, White Deer Twp., Northumberland County, Pennsylvania[13]

Perhaps his father’s death was the impetus for Charles to marry Catherine Sherer sometime between the tax assessments of 1798–1799.[14] No marriage record has been located to provide a precise date or location of marriage.[15]

In 1800, Charles’s household presumably included Catherine, and a young female, aged 10-16.[16] His brother John’s household [recorded alphabetically, though both households were likely living on Robert’s land that had yet to be divided] included a male, aged 10-16 [brother Robert]; a female aged 16-25 [sister Agnes]; and a female over 45 [mother, Jean].

An unsourced church history states that Charles and Catharine arrived in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1802 with an eight-year-old daughter, Nancy.[17] However, Nancy was not named among Charles’s children in 1810. She was not identified as Charles’s heir. Nor is there a record of her death or burial at Westfield between 1802 and 1810.[18] The 10-16-year-old female in Charles’s 1800 household was likely his sister, Margaret.

Charles Clark purchased 200 acres in the First District of Donation Lands, in the “County of Beaver late Allegheny County,” [and modern Lawrence County], Pennsylvania, in January of 1802.[20] The tract was further identified as Lot 1771, and adjacent to his uncle, Walter Clark’s, land.[21]

Figure B. Samuel Dale Jr., survey for Charles Clarke, Lot 1771, Beaver County, Pennsylvania (1803); original privately held by Megan Clark Young, New Castle, Pa.

In December of 1802, Charles and Catherine granted Charles’s brother, John, power of attorney. They instructed John to sell Charles’s portion of the land inherited from their father.[22]

Neither Walter Clark nor Charles Clark lived for long in Beaver County. Walter died on 17 December 1803 and was buried in the Westfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery.[23] Charles was killed in an accident raising a building [some sources say a still] at a John Hunter’s home.[24] John Hunter was one of the first three Ruling Elders of Westfield Presbyterian Church. Whisky was a common currency in western Pennsylvania and was part of the income for the first minister at Westfield.[25]

Charles’s death may be further narrowed to November of 1804. His son, Charles, was born on 4 February 1805, reportedly four months after his father died.[26]

Charles Clarke died intestate.[27] Property and guardianship records identified his children/heirs.[28] His brother, John, also named the children of his deceased brother, Charles: Polly [Mary], Jane, and Charles.[29]

Mary Clark – born 1801; married James Sherer between 22 February 1828 and 3 January 1829; died 16 Nov. 1883.[30]
Jane Clark – born about 1803; married Robert Sherer on 10 May 1821; died 30 January 1850.[31]
Charles Clark – born on 4 February 1805; married Sarah McCreary on 15 April 1830; died 13 May 1886.[32]

The land in North Beaver Township ultimately passed to Robert and Jane (Clark) Sherer’s grandson. The statement in the church history regarding a daughter, Nancy, was likely an assumption based on the knowledge that Charles and Catherine Clark’s daughters married men with the surname Sherer and the proximity of their final resting places and that of Nancy, wife of Joseph Sherer. The final resting place of Nancy, whose calculated year of birth was 1794, lies next to Charles and Catherine Clark.[19] However, No evidence supports she was their daughter.

Notes:

All URLs accessed 21 May 2023.

† Clarke and Clark were used interchangeably in historic documents. Herein, the surname is spelled as it was on the document or standardized to Clark in the narrative.

[1]. Westfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery (New Castle, Pennsylvania), Charles Clark (1770–1805) and Catherine, his wife (1773–1811), headstone; photographed 12 August 2012 by Megan Clark Young. Also, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007901608), digital film 007901608, image 169, Beaver County, Deed Record H:313–314, James Sherer et ux [wife Mary] to James McCreary, deed, 3 January 1829, recorded 25 August 1830.

[2]. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007842319), digital film 007842319, image 10–11, Beaver County, Deed Record G: 7–8, John Lecky [administrator of Charles Clarke’s estate] to James Fulerton [sic] et al [on behalf of the Westfield Congregation], 13 May 1823, recorded 31 October 1823. For Walter Clarke’s donation, Ibid., image 11, Deed Record G: 8–9, John Clarke [executor of Walter Clarke’s estate] to James Fulerton [sic] et al [on behalf of the Westfield Congregation], 13 June 1823, recorded 31 October 1823.

[3]. R.S. Clark [Robert Sherer Clark] (Enon Valley, Pennsylvania) to “The Whits [sic] in Iowa” [grandchildren of the second-generation Charles Clark], letter about 1928; original privately held by Megan Clark Young, New Castle, Pa.

4. “Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683–1994,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org), Northumberland > Wills 1772–1845, vol 1–3 > image 119, will of Robert Clark, written 23 December 1797, proved 1 May 1798.

[5]. “Pennsylvania, U.S., Tax and Exoneration, 1768–1801,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2497/images/33020_254650-00987) > Lancaster > Paxton > image 2, Robert Clark (1772); “Tax & Exoneration Lists, 1762–1794,” Records of the Office of the Comptroller General, RG–4, Series No. 4.61; microfilm roll 327; Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Harrisburg.

[6]. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008036680), digital film 008036680, image 407–408, Northumberland County, Deed Book B: 277–278, Rev. John Ewing and wife, Hannah to Walter Clarke, deed, 21 November 1771, rec. 2 June 1781.

[7]. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008036681), digital film 008036681, images 48–49, Northumberland County, Deed Book C:77–78, Walter Clark et ux [wife Eunice] to William Clark, written 2 Aug. 1774, rec. 10 Jun. 1785; Ibid., images 163–164, Deed Book C:293–294, Walter Clark et ux to Robert Clark, written 2 Aug. 1774, rec. 8 Jun. 1786. Also FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008036680), digital film 008036680, images 433–434, Deed Book B:411–412, Walter Clark et ux to William Gray, written 2 Aug. 1774, rec. 3 Sept. 1782; Ibid., images 441–442, Deed Book B:426–428, Walter Clark et ux & Others to Robert Fruit, written 9 Sept. 1772, rec. 28 Mar. 1783; Also, John Blair Linn, Annals of Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania 1755-1855 (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Lane S. Hart, 1877), 39–40; digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books).

[8]. “Pennsylvania, U.S., Tax and Exoneration, 1768–1801,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2497/images/33020_254654-01029) > Northumberland > White Deer > image 3, Clark Robert (1778–1780); “Tax & Exoneration Lists, 1762–1794,” Records of the Office of the Comptroller General, RG-4, Series No. 4.61; microfilm roll 331; Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Harrisburg.

[9]. John Blair Linn, Annals of Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania 1755-1855 (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Lane S. Hart, 1877), 249–251; digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books).

[10]. Joseph Henderson Bausman, History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania and its Centennial Celebration (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1904), 167; digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyofbeaverc01baus).

[11]. 1790 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, p. 27 (penned), line 7, Charles Clarke; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5058/images/4440871_00271); from National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M637, roll 9.

[12]. Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, White Deer Township, Tax Rolls, 1782–1813, unpaginated entries, arranged chronologically; all years read for entries relating to Charles Clark(e); microfilm, Union County, Pa., Board of County Commissioners, “Northumberland Co. Tax Records,” LR 113.1; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.

[13]. “Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org), Northumberland > Wills 1772-1845, vol 1-3 > image 119, will of Robert Clark, written 23 December 1797, proved 1 May 1798.

[14]. Megan Clark Young, “Parents of Catherine Clark,” research report, 20 September 2022; MACY’s Genealogical Research (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ei23qZU7TkgeqRye1z0w0dT3R6W1Gn7D/view?usp=sharing).

[15]. Craig Harley (Archivist, First Presbyterian Church, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania), “Re: Old Buffalo Presbyterian Church Records,” email to author, 13 April 2021; authors’ files. Craig writes, “we don’t have an abundance of records from the early BC [Buffalo Crossroads] church,” but they would check the archives and let the author know if a record was found. To date, no record has been located. Also, Union County Historical Society, “Re: Old Buffalo Presbyterian Church Records,” email to author, 13 April 2021; author’s files. The Historical Society writes that they have no early church or minister records at the Historical Society. Also, a broad search of *Cath no surname; and Charles Clark 1790-1800 in Northumberland and Dauphin Counties of “Pennsylvania and New Jersey, U.S., Church and Town Records,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) and page by page search of the same database > PA–Dauphin > Harrisburg > Presbyterian > Rev. Nathaniel R. Snowden Record, images; from “Marriages and Baptismal records 1793–1828, of Rev. Nathaniel R. Snowden [Minister of Paxton and Derry Presbyterian Churches for the years in question], Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Item #616.

[16]. 1800 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, White Deer Township, p. 859 (penned at bottom right), line 18, Charles Clarke; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7590/images/4440864_00208); NARA microfilm publication M32, roll 37.

[17]. Donald W. Fox, We Have Come This Far by Faith: A Bicentennial History of Westfield Presbyterian Church 1803–2003 (New Castle, Pennsylvania: Self Published, 2003), 8.

[18]. “Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683–1993,” Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), digital image, image 291, will, John Clark, White Deer Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 21 June 1810; Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Will Book 2:130-1. Also, FamilySearch, Beaver County, Deed Record H:313-314, Sherer et ux to McCreary. For burials, [including headstones that are no longer extant], Nell Young Herchenroether, “Westfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery Record,” (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: No Publisher, 1984).

[19]. Herchenroether, “Westfield Cemetery,” 13.

[20]. FamilySearch (https:www.familysearch.org/search/film/008091667), digital film 008091667, image 621, Allegheny County, Deed Book 10K:496–497, Joseph Pollock et ux [wife Margaret] to Charles Clark, deed, 16 January 1802, recorded 17 July 1802.

[21]. Samuel Dale Jr., survey for Charles Clarke, Lot 1771, Beaver County, Pennsylvania (1803); original privately held by Megan Clark Young, New Castle, Pa. Also, FamilySearch (https:www.familysearch.org/search/film/007895279), digital film 007895279, image 24–25, Beaver County, Deed Book A:38–40, Andrew Johnston et ux [wife Barbara] to Walter Clark, deed, 7 May 1803, no date of recording.

[22]. FamilySearch (https:www.familysearch.org/search/film/008036684), digital film 008036684, image 57–8, Northumberland County, Deed Record G:7–8, Charles Clark to John Clark, Power of Attorney, 18 December 1802, recorded 14 May 1812.

[23]. “Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683–1994,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1999196) > Beaver > Wills 1803–1846, vol A–B > images 29–30, will of Walter Clark, written 11 December 1803, registered 31 December 1803; Beaver County Will Book Vol. 1:2–3. Also, Westfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery (New Castle, Pennsylvania), Walter Clark (1803), headstone; photographed 12 August 2012 by Megan Clark Young.

[24]. Samuel W. Durant and Pliny A. Durant, History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks and Important Manufactories (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts and Co., 1877), 64; Google Books (https://www.google.com/books). The county history gives the year of death as 1805, which was likely the source of the year given on the headstone. Walter Clark, not Charles, was likely the second person buried in the Westfield Presbyterian Church, as he died a year before Charles.

[25]. Donald W. Fox, We Have Come This Far by Faith: A Bicentennial History of Westfield Presbyterian Church 1803-2003 (New Castle, Pennsylvania: Self Published, 2003), 8.

[26]. R.S. Clark to “The Whits [sic] in Iowa,” letter.

[27]. FamilySearch, John Lecky to James Fulerton, deed. Also, Tracey Antoline-Patton, Register Clerk Orphans Court, Beaver County, Pa., letter to author, 12 April 2021; author’s files. No Letters of Administration were found for the estate of Charles Clarke in Beaver County, Pa.

[28]. Beaver County Clerk of Orphans’ Court, Orphans’ Court Docket 1–2, Feb. 1804–Jun. 1839, March Term 1813, 4. Richard Sherer, petition for guardianship, p. 32; “Beaver County, PA Clerk of Orphans’ Court,” microfilm no. 7295; Pennsylvania Archives, Harrisburg. Also, FamilySearch (https:www.familysearch.org/search/film/007842319 : accessed 7 April 2021), digital film 007842319, image 392, Beaver County, Deed Record H: 222, Mary Clark and Charles Clarke to Robert Sherer, deed, 30 March 1826, recorded 16 April 1828.

[29]. “Traditional Nicknames in Old Documents – A Wiki List,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Traditional_Nicknames_in_Old_Documents_-_A_Wiki_List#P), > P. Polly = Mary.

[30]. Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111495524/mary-sherer), memorial ID 111495524, Mary Sherer (1863). For her marriage, FamilySearch, Beaver County, Deed Record H: 222, Mary Clark and Charles Clarke to Robert Sherer, 1826 and FamilySearch, Beaver County, Deed Record H:313-314, Sherer et ux to McCreary.

[31]. 1850 U.S. census, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, mortality schedules, p. 427 (penned), line 11, Jane Shearer [sic]; images, FamilySearch (https:www.familysearch.org/search/film/102889824), digital film 102889824, image 939; from NARA microfilm publication M138, roll 1. For her marriage and death, see Robert Sherer obituary, “Sherer,” United Presbyterian, 13 November 1879, p. 734; Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pa.

[32]. Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10987754/charles-clark) memorial ID 10987754, Charles Clark. For his birth after his father’s death, see FamilySearch, James Sherer et ux to James McCreary. Also R.S. Clark to “The Whits [sic] in Iowa,” letter. For his marriage, “Mrs. Sarah McCleary [sic] Clark,” obituary, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 24 April 1905, p. 9, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/56786132/obituary-for-sarah-mc-cleary-mcciear/).