| State | Delaware |
|---|---|
| County (Primary) | Sussex |
| Other Counties | Kent |
| Family Name | Clark |
| Family History Notes | 1. Martha Clark, born say 1727, was sold by the Kent County court for seven years on 28 August 1746 for payment of fees and charges for murdering her illegitimate child [RG 3815.031, Common Pleas, Dockets 1744-1750, frame 234]. She was the servant of Robert Buchanan of Kent County, Delaware, in May 1761 when she was convicted of having an illegitimate "Molatto" male child and ordered to serve her master one year for the trouble of his house. The court sold her son, born 4 July 1759, to her master for 7 pounds [RG 3805.002, Quarter Sessions, 1734-79, frame 197]. She may have been the mother of 2 i. Thomas, born 4 July 1759. 2. Thomas Clark, born 4 July 1759, married Elizabeth Morris ("Mustees, free"), on 1 July 1773 in Sussex County, Delaware [Records of the United Presbyterian Churches of Lewes, Indian River and Cool Spring, Delaware 1756-1855, 286]. He was a soldier in the Revolution from Sussex County who died about 1819. On 13 August 1833 his children and legal heirs Whittington Clark, Nathaniel Clark, John Clark and Comfort Miller, Elizabeth Rigware and Levina Harmon applied for bounty land for his service. Comfort Miller testified on 22 June 1834 that Thomas died about 1819, leaving a widow who was deceased when his children made their application. Comfort named his surviving children listed above and grandchildren: Nelly Morris, daughter of Mary Morris, deceased, Nancy Cursey(?) and Robert Clark, children of Morris Clark, deceased; Major and Whittenton Johnson, children of Nancy Johnson, deceased; and Rebecca and Miers Miller children of Zepporah Miller, deceased [NARA, B.L.Wt. 2047-100, M804, roll 566, frames 463, 474 of 782]. Perhaps his widow was Comfort Clark who was head of "free colored" household of a woman over fifty-five in 1830. Thomas was the father of i. Whitington, born before 1776, head of an Indian River Hundred, Sussex County household of 9 free colored" in 1820 [DE:222]. ii. Mary Morris, mother of Nelly Morris. iii. Morris, born 1776-1794, head of an Indian River Hundred, Sussex County household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:222], father of Mary Morris, Nancy Cursey(?) and Robert Clark. iv. Nancy Johnson, mother of Major and Whittenton Johnson. v. Zepporah Miller, mother of Rebecca and Miers Miller. vi. Nathaniel, about 1794, head of an Indian River Hundred, Sussex County household of 3 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:206], a "Mulatto" listed in the 1850 Lewis and Rehobeth Hundred, Sussex County census with Unicey (56), children, 73-year-old John Ridgeway and Edward Morris. vii. John. viii. Comfort Miller. ix. Elizabeth Rigware, perhaps the wife of John Ridgeway/ Rigware. x. Levina Harmon, perhaps the Levina Harmon, born about 1804, a "Mulatto"in the 1850 census with Garretson Harmon (44) and children. Other members of the family were i. Miers, born 1776-1794, married Nancy Hanzor, "(Colour'd)" on 26 January 1815 in Sussex County, Delaware [Records of the United Presbyterian Churches of Lewes, Indian River and Cool Spring, Delaware 1756-1855, 325]. He was head of an Indian River, Sussex County household of 4 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:222]. |
| Additional Notes | – |
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[Author (if known)], Free Black Families of Colonial Delmarva (abstracted by Paul Heinegg), [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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