Looking for John Clark's Parents

John Clark


We know very little about Arizona (Clark) Barker's father. John Clark suddenly appears in Greene Co., MO, about 1856, but perhaps a few years earlier. He appears on the 1860 and 1870 censuses of Greene Co. and proceeds to die at an early age - about age 46. From the 1860 and 1870 census records we know that he was born 1831-35, presumably in IL. Also from the 1860 census we know that he probably had a sister Sarah who was born about 1838-39 in KY and who married Caleb Tyler on 3 Aug. 1856 in Greene Co. In order to find John and Sarah Clark's parents, we need to rely heavily on the fact that we have information on at least two children in the family.


Before we look for John and Sarah Clark in the 1850 census, we need to take a look at a John Clark who appears on the 1840 census of Greene Co., MO. He would appear to be a good candidate for John and Sarah's father.


1840 Census of Greene Co., MO, No Township Listed, page 284.
John Clark
1 male 5-10 (born 1830-40)
1 male 30-40 (born 1800-10) John
1 female under 5 (born 1835-40)
1 female 20-30 (born 1810-20)


This family would appear to account for a John, born about 1833, and a Sarah, born about 1839.


This same family appears on the 1850 census of Greene Co., MO, in Taylor Twp.
John C. Clark, 40, $300 Real Est., KY
Polly Clark, 38, TN
Manon T. Alderson, 21, MO
Olivia Alderson, 15, VA


People who have followed this family feel that these two entries are for the same family. And inasmuch as no John or Sarah are listed with the family of John and Polly Clark, we can feel certain that this is not the family we are looking for. In addition, Taylor Twp. is on the east side of Greene Co. and Boone Twp. is on the west side of the county.


Now we look at the 1850 census records for John Clark and Sarah Clark which might help us locate their parents. We are looking for a John Clark, who probably has no middle initial, who was born between 1831-35, probably in IL, and who has a sister, Sarah, who probably has no middle initial, and who was born 1838-40, probably in KY.


I have looked at all the John Clarks born 1831-35 in KY, IL and MO, and find about 15. It is critical that we assume that John and Sarah are brother and sister; otherwise we are looking for a needle in a haystack.


Of the 15 John Clarks I looked at in 1850, most have no sister Sarah. John Clark of Sagamon Co., IL, had a sister Sarah, but she died in 1852. John L. Clark of Hardin Co., IL, had a sister Sarah of the correct age, but John appears in the 1860 census of Hardin Co., and so could not be ours. A John Clark appears in St. Clair Co., IL, as a laborer and not listed with his parents, but I found no Sarah Clark anywhere in the county for that year.


I find only one Clark family in 1850 which looks like it might be the correct family. It is that of Robert and Delia Clark of Brown Co., IL, Twp. 1 North and Range 4 West, page 176.


Dwelling #1238, Family #1243
Willis Johnson, 30, farmer, $500 Real Est., SC
Martha Johnson, 25, AL (Martha Clark)
Martha Johnson, 1, IL
Dwelling #1239, Family #1244
Robert Clark, 51, Farmer, SC
Delia Clark, 40, SC
Moholda Clark, 22, F, SC
Preston Clark, 21, SC
John Clark, 16, SC
Anis Clark, 14, SC
Archabald Clark, 12, SC
Sarah Clark, 11, KY
Thomas Clark, 9, KY
James Clark, 5, IL
Robert Clark, 3, IL


No one has done much research on this family. The oldest dau., Martha, was born about 1825 in AL, and the census records consistently show her place of birth as AL. I have placed what information I have found about the family on Rootsweb and it can be found by going to http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=batqp4540&id=I1

I think that there are problems with the 1850 census. If the parents are from SC, and if Martha was born in AL, then it is difficult to see how her later siblings could have been born in SC. The two youngsest children were born in IL, and Thomas in KY about 1840-41. The family must have arrived in Brown Co., IL, after 1840 and before 1845. But however you look at it, it appears that this John was not born in IL.


The family of Robert and Delia Clark disintegrates in Brown Co., IL, between 1850 and 1860. Robert Clark's family does not appear on the 1855 census of Brown Co. The 1855 census lists only the head of the household and the rest of the family by age groups. Nor does it show a family headed by Delia Clark. Robert and Delia may have died between 1850 and 1855. It is important that John Clark and Sarah Clark do not appear on the 1860 census of Brown Co., IL, so they had to have gone elsewhere. In addition, Maholda, Preston, Anis, Archibald and Thomas cannot be traced. Perhaps disease (typhus, cholera, a fever, etc.) swept through the family. We know that Martha (Clark) Johnson remained in Brown Co. Sons James and Robert moved to MO and can be found there.


As far as the John Clark of Greene Co., MO, being born in IL, we know that census records are notoriously unreliable. The validity of the information depends on the informant who gave it. Sarah Clark was only about 12 or 13 when her parents died and she may have known little about where her brother was born. It is often the case that census takers speak to the women of the family because the men are absent at work. Similarly, John Clark's wife when visited by the census taker in 1870 may have had little idea where her husband was born. Both Sarah (Clark) Tyler and Emaline (Parker) Clark probably knew that the Clark family had moved to MO from IL, so it wouldn't be surprising that IL was provided as John Clark's state of birth.


Conclusion
Robert and Delia Clark are the most likely candidates for the parents of John and Sarah Clark. This is true because

- John and Sarah are of approximately the correct age.

- The Robert Clark family dispersed from Brown Co., IL, after 1850 and perhaps before 1855, and this fits the time period when John and Sarah Clark appeared in Greene Co., MO.

- The family was living in IL and there would seem to be a connection of John Clark of Greene Co., MO, and the State of IL, based on the 1860 and 1870 census records.

- Work needs to be done on the Robert Clark family of Brown Co., IL, to determine if either land or court records show that John and Sarah had moved to Greene Co., MO. The land records of Brown Co., IL, have not been microfilmed by the LDS Church. The estate records of Brown Co. have been microfilmed. (There is another and much larger Clark family in Brown Co.)