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Evidence needed to support as child of Michael Clark, of Barbados
John Clark appears to have come to Carolina from VA about 1683/84, about the same time as Thomas Clark of Yeopim was first reported in Carolina. John Clark married Mary PALIN, daughter of Thomas Palin of Pasquotank about 1685. They had a daughter, Mary, before John Clark died from complications growing out of a boating accident in the Pasquotank River in 1689. His will, written in May 1689,mentions his wife and daughter and implies that his wife was pregnant at the time of his death. The will mentions property transfer arrangements should his wife prove to be with child and give birth to a son.
Conventional genealogical wisdom has long held that Mary PALIN was the daughter of Henry Palin Sr. who, in 1663, settled along Newbegun Creek, becoming one of the earliest settlers of the Carolina Colony. However, the 1737 will of Chief Judge John Palin of Pasquotank Precinct stated that Mary Palin (who was twice married and was referred to as Mary Glaister in Judge Palin's will) was the daughter of Thomas Palin, Judge Palin's older brother and one of three surviving sons of Henry Palin Sr.
Pasquotank Quaker records tell us that Mary (Palin) Clark Glaister was 74 when she died in 1740. That places her birth date back to 1666 and seems to confirm that Mary was Henry Palin's granddaughter rather than his daughter.
We don't know when Mary Palin married John Clark Sr., but it was probably between 1683 and 1687. My guess is that Mary and John were married about 1684. Mary was widowed by 1689 and left to raise two children. In 1694 she received a land grant for 550 acres on the mouth of Flatty Creek near where it empties into Albemarle Sound. The order to survey this land had been placed by John Clark Sr. before his death in 1689. The grant was based on
the "transportation" of 11 persons including eight Negroes. Unlike some land grants where "rights" were bought and sold on the open market, the persons listed as transported appear to have been brought to Carolina by John Clark.
Mrs. Mary Clark, widow, has proven 11 rights including
John Clark, Sarah Hatton, Thomas White and eight Negroes.
Granted 550 acres, Pasquotank Precinct. 20 April 1694.
In December 1694, there is mention of "Mrs. Clark's now dwelling house on Newbegun Creek" which suggests that the widow Mary Palin Clark resided near her grandfather's property rather than on the Flatty Creek property which was probably undeveloped. In an Albemarle Co. Higher Court affidavit dated 13 FEB 1696, a gentleman named Patrick Henry states to Richard Plator, the AttorneyGeneral of Albemarle Co. NC, that the "widow Clark was the
sweetheart of Henderson Walker and was living at Walker's house in Chowan Precinct." He also stated that Henry Palin Jr. (apparently called "Harry" by his friends) had served as"procurer" for the arrangement between his sister and Walker.(Social behavior was a _very_ public concern in those days and Plator was charged with enforcing laws against cohabitation outside of marriage.)
In December 1719 the following notice was filed with the
Pasquotank General Court:
Mary Glaister, widow spinster formerly called Mary Clark,gentlewoman, legatee and executor of the Last Will & Testament of Arthur Workman, late of Jamaica, Mert., deceased...
This was Mary's last act as the Workman executor, a task that covered 23 years. The court document pretty well capsulizes Mary Clark's social status -- Glaister -- Clark -- widow -- spinster-- gentlewoman.
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lksstarr/reports/jnclkpqt.txt
1666 |
1666
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Pasquotank Precinct, Albemarle County, North Carolina
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1686 |
1686
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1689 |
1689
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Anson County, North Carolina, United States
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1712 |
1712
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1740 |
1740
Age 74
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Pasquotank Precinct, Albemarle County, North Carolina
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