One of our publicity fliers for The Fairest Portion of the Globe (due out in five weeks!) is headlined “Some men are born to be heroes.” If so, the nursery at John and Ann Clark’s home was mighty crowded with heroic babies. All six of their sons grew up to be heroes, and two of them, George Rogers and William, became legends. And the girls were no slouches either.
John Clark, the father of William Clark, was born in 1725 in King and Queen County, Virginia. As discussed in last week’s post about Lewis’s parents, John grew up in a world in which the unit of family was not the nuclear family of today, but a vast and strongly interwoven cousin network so loyal and powerful that in the Clarks’ case, their detractors called it a clan, something the Clarks seldom bothered to deny. By the time John came along, the family’s roots in American soil were already deep; John’s ancestors had arrived in the James River area sometime in the 1500s, in the earliest days of British settlement.
Over the generations, the Clark family had earned a reputation for being honest, sincere, hardworking small planters. But they were no fancy aristocrats. John Clark’s dad, Jonathan, couldn’t even write his own name, and John himself had only a few years of primary education (often called “blab school” for its emphasis on recitation) under his belt. But old Jonathan had done well enough that when he died, he could leave land to each of his two sons.
John got a 400-acre farm in the frontier county of Albemarle. In fact, John’s near neighbor was a man named Peter Jefferson, who was developing a 1400-acre farm named Shadwell. Unlike Jefferson, John wasn’t too interested in public affairs, and he wasn’t yet of the social stature to give his farm a name. He was more interested in starting a family. Now age 24, he married 15-year-old Ann Rogers. The two were closely related through their cousin network; they had probably known each other all their lives. Within a year, they welcomed their first child, a big healthy boy, named Jonathan to honor John’s father. The Clarks’ brood grew fast: by the time Ann was 21, she had added a son George Rogers, named after her brother, a daughter named Ann, and another son named John (originality in naming was not something the Clarks put a lot of stock in).
John and Ann Clark were more fortunate than most frontier families. Eventually their family would grow to ten children (William, born in 1770, was the next-to-last). All of the kids lived to healthy adulthood, and Ann retained glorious good health. A grandson would recall her as “a tall stout woman with red hair,” while another contemporary said simply, “She was a majestic woman.” Ann was never accused of being a shrinking violet. George Rogers would recall that as a teenager, he once swindled a neighbor boy out of a good knife, and was foolish enough to boast about it. He learned to his sorrow that Ann did not consider a sixteen-year-old too big to thrash.
In 1757, John inherited another farm, this time from a bachelor uncle in Caroline County, near Spotsylvania. The unexpected windfall prompted the Clarks to do something that Clarks hardly ever did: move east, away from the frontier. John was a successful farmer, but he knew that with such a large family, his boys would have to make their own wealth, not inherit it. For that, they would need a good education. A relation of Ann’s ran a respected boy’s school just six miles from the new farm: that settled the matter. The farm in Caroline County would become the Clark’s true “homeplace.” There John and Ann raised wheat, oats, corn, tobacco, and children.
By all accounts, John Clark was a friendly, methodical, salt-of-the-earth kind of a guy. As a nephew wrote, he was “a man of amiable excellent character, of sedate thoughtful appearance and not apt to say much in company.” He and Ann seem to have been amazing parents, working in turn to set each son up with a profession and each daughter with a good marriage. They had high standards, but there was also plenty of time for food, fun, and laughter. William Clark would recall a boyhood of hunting and fishing, climbing the beautiful big trees on the Clark farm, uproarious Christmases and May Days, singing and dancing at the parties his parents hosted, and the social whirl of fox hunts, election barbeques, and church suppers that wove the Clarks tightly to their neighbors and relatives.
Revolution and war would change John and Ann’s world forever. Their ties with England had faded long ago; they were Americans and patriots. All their sons except for little William, and all their sons-in-law, enlisted in the patriot cause. The elder Clarks could only wait and worry as word reached them of battles in places like Brandywine, Monmouth, Paulus Hook, and Germantown. Three of the boys–Jonathan, John, and Edmund–were taken prisoner of war and held under hellish conditions. (See our earlier post The Clark Brothers as Prisoners of War.)
George Rogers, their wild son, had left home at age 19 to go adventuring on the raw frontier of Kentucky. Once, John Clark had even gone out to visit him, returning amazed by the vast tracts of rich land there for the taking but terrified of the anger and violence of the Indians who were not about to give it up without a fight. Now that war had begun, 24-year-old George Rogers emerged as one of the most charismatic and daring leaders of the American cause. Commissioned as a colonel in the Virginia militia but usually acting on his own authority, he assumed responsibility for nothing less than the salvation of Kentucky. John and Ann could only marvel along with everyone else at what George could do with fewer than 200 men–including another son, Richard–against the might of the British frontier forces and their Indian allies.
Abraham Lincoln famously wrote to a woman who lost five sons in the Civil War of “the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.” Similarly, John and Ann must have emerged from the searing trial of the Revolution stunned with pride and grief. Jonathan and George were known to George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Because of George’s derring-do, the United States had ended the war in possession of not only Kentucky, but 260,000 square miles of frontier, the territory that would one day become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
But the price was high. Their son, young John, one of the few survivors of the British hell ship Jersey, made it home to Virginia only to die of tuberculosis contracted as a prisoner. Dick’s death, if possible, was even more painful. He disappeared on a scouting run for George along the Wabash river. Not a trace of him was ever found. And then there was George. The hero had not been paid in four years. The state of Virginia refused to honor the $20,000 in expenses he had incurred on his own credit to feed and clothe his army in the west. It appeared that unless the new national government agreed to pay George, their son might be in very deep trouble indeed.
But what George did have was land–huge holdings of that amazing Ohio Valley land–and in 1784, with the ink barely dry on the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War, John and Ann Clark turned their backs on Virginia forever, packed up their belongings and their four youngest children, and headed west. John was 59; Ann was 50. They were something more than the proud but ordinary parents they had been a few years earlier: sadder but stronger, and ennobled in the eyes of the settlers pouring into Kentucky by their own sacrifices and their exploits of their son.
Their new farm had a name–Mulberry Hill–and John and Ann had the help of all their children and a growing brood of grandchildren to make it work. They grew corn, tobacco, hemp, oats, rye, and vegetables. Before long, the farm was ringing with the same loud activity and laughter as the old place in Caroline County. And now the Clarks had a unique social status–their son was “the sword of Kentucky.” They had vaulted from respected small planters to frontier elite.
One thing that set the Clarks apart in early Kentucky was their holdings in human property. The success of the Clarks’ farm and lifestyle had always depended not only on their own hard work but that of their slaves. In Virginia, the Clarks were relatively small-time, never owning more than two dozen slaves, a fair percentage of whom were children or elderly at any given time. The Clarks did not believe in breaking up families, and virtually never sold their slaves (nor did they ever free any of them). By Kentucky standards, they were large slaveholders.
The Clarks knew many joys in their later years. Jonathan, Ann, Elizabeth, and Lucy were all married to steady spouses whom the Clarks loved, and grandchildren began to arrive in astounding numbers. Edmund never married but endeared himself to everyone with his business savvy and dedication to the family.
They also knew many sorrows. Elizabeth was not as fortunate as her mother had been: she died in childbirth in 1795 at age 26. Youngest daughter Fanny, who got all the beauty in a family of tall rangy redheads, married James O’Fallon, a flamboyant land promoter who was a close friend of George’s. The abuse Fanny suffered at O’Fallon’s hands and her wrenching struggle to break free of him form a major storyline in The Fairest Portion of the Globe.
As for George, his parents’s fears had been realized. George was never paid for his services in the Revolutionary War. In those days before bankruptcy laws, that made him personally liable for all the debts incurred in fighting the war in the west. George’s inability to pay his creditors wiped out patriots across the frontier who had extended credit in the cause. George himself was financially ruined. No woman of his station would consent to marry him, and he could not sell his land or accumulate any property, for any proceeds would be seized by the courts to pay his debts.
Being a soldier was all he knew how to do. George lived with John and Ann, an increasingly desperate and troubled man who swung wildly between epic drunken binges and audacious, breathtaking schemes to recoup all his losses by taking up arms again. At the same time, the frontier was being destabilized by foreign governments–France, Spain, and England–who sensed the weakness of the new nation and sought to tear away the frontier from the United States. It was the perfect recipe for international intrigue and forms the main storyline of The Fairest Portion of the Globe.
Eventually, George’s brothers and sisters realized that his problems had become too severe for their now-elderly parents to cope with. George’s brothers mounted a rescue plan. Jonathan, a lawyer, would lobby the Virginia legislature and the federal government for fair payment for George’s claims. Edmund would bolster George’s cause with cash from his own mercantile and gristmill businesses. And William–now 25 years old–would resign his commission as a junior officer in the frontier army and come home to settle the lawsuits, a job that required traveling hundreds of miles through the wilderness to survey George’s claims and sell off land in exchange for extinguishment of debt. William later estimated that he traveled 3000 miles in the course of three years on George’s behalf.
William also personally took on the task of taking the Clarks’ tobacco crop to New Orleans for sale, wrangling canoes and flatboats and riotous hired hands down the roiling current, driving rains, and unmapped sandbars and snags of the lower Mississippi, then making a return journey that took him through adventures such as playing billards in a low groggery in Natchez, deep sea fishing in the Caribbean, theater going in Baltimore, and visiting his relatives on Virginia.
When William arrived home at Mulberry Hill on Christmas Eve, 1798, he must have been in anticipation of a joyful reunion with his parents and one of the Clark family’s trademark Christmas revels. Instead he found only unspeakable grief. His unconquerable, majestic mother was on her death bed. Ann Rogers Clark died that day of the sudden onset of erysipelas, a strep infection of the skin. She was 64 years old.
At age 74, John Clark must have thought back to those simple beginnings on the farm in Albemarle County. Back then, there was no problem he and Ann couldn’t solve if they put their heads together. Now it was all so overwhelming. William helped him make a will that would ensure that George Rogers’ creditors couldn’t sweep in and seize the farm, the house, the mill, and everything else John and Ann had ever worked for. It meant he had to disinherit George.
Just six months after Ann’s death, John Clark died of a lung infection. In the summer of 1799, he was laid to rest next to Ann at Mulberry Hill, where you can still visit their graves today at Louisville’s George Rogers Clark Park. They didn’t live to see William become a hero to the whole country. But I suspect they wouldn’t have been too surprised. To them, he already was.
Fascinating reading, particularly the plight of George. I had never heard of his financial troubles…just that he served with distinction in the Revolution. Frankly, I’m not sure that I ever knew he and William were related, much less brothers. Could you recommend a good book on George Rogers…or maybe one on the Clark family? I’ve got a lot to learn and I’d love to catch up a bit.
Regards,
Joel
I recommend From Sea to Shining Sea by James Alexander Thom.
LOVED “From Sea to Shining Sea.” Excellent historical fiction about the Clarks.
Hi, Joel,
George is a fascinating, heroic, and ultimately tragic figure. It is one of my passions to make people more aware of his contributions and also the way that he was kicked aside after the Revolution. It’s really one of the great injustices in American history.
As far as reading, first run don’t walk to order your copy of
THE FAIREST PORTION OF THE GLOBE by Frances Hunter (first I have to tout my own book, right?). This book is a fictionalized account that focuses on the frontier unrest of the 1790s in which GR Clark played such a major role, and he is one of the main characters in the book.
The definitive biography of George Rogers Clark has yet to be written, and the best books on him are out of print. I would start with the well-written and still easily obtainable Background to Glory by John Bakeless (1957). If you run across The Life of George Rogers Clark, by James Alton James (1928), and George Rogers Clark: His Life and Public Services, by Temple Bodley (1927), these are also good.
There are two excellent and well-researched historical novels by James Alexander Thom that I also highly recommend. Long Knife is an insightful account of GR Clark’s exploits in the Revolution. From Sea to Shining Sea is a powerful saga about the Clark family that is one of my favorite books in my Lewis and Clark library.
Hi Frances Hunter,
I can’t tell how excited I was to find your website and blog and learn you have a new book coming out! I will order it since it features my ancestress, Fanny Clark (through Charles M. Thruston). Over the years I have found very little about her and have always wanted to know more. Have you by chance found any portraits of her?
When I was in St. Louis abour 18 months ago I discovered she is buried in the William Clark monument area but I think her name plate has either disappeared or has been ‘buried’. From the gravesite maps it appeared she should be buried close to William’s monument.
Thank you for researching and writing about her and my other family members. This is real treat for me!
Melinda, I was very excited to read your message. Learning and writing about your family has been one of the great experiences of my life. As a historical novelist, it is rare to be presented with such a great “cast of characters.”
I have not found any portraits of Fanny. The “beauty” portrait that appears on our book video (which you can watch in the “Our Books” session) is from the period, but it is not Fanny. I was interested to learn that she is buried at Fort Bellefontaine Cemetery near William. Like so many women of her day, she faced so many losses and difficulties. I believe she showed a great deal of courage and perserverance in how she dealt with them.
I hope you like the book and the way that Fanny is portrayed. I’m glad you are descended from Mr. Thruston. James O’Fallon is not portrayed in a very flattering light. It was sometimes difficult writing about the spousal abuse Fanny suffered but of course it is something that so many women face every day.
I will certainly get your book when it comes out! In your book do you share how you discovered the abuse Fanny suffered? Family legend is that she married Dr. O’Fallon when Charles was away for a time as he was apparently her first beau. Family legend and some historical accounts also say Charles was killed by his slave.
Fanny had been buried at her son, John O’Fallon’s, family cemetery at his home called Athlone. But her remains were dug up and reburied at Bellefontaine when the land was sold. I’m not sure of the date.
Hi, Melinda,
The nice thing about being a historical novelist is that you can take the evidence and accounts that make the best drama, rather than having to obtain absolute proof the way that a historian has to do.
I first learned of the story of Fanny’s difficulties in the book A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America, by Jon Kukla. It’s only a small part of the book (which is excellent) but Kukla told the story of the partnership between George Rogers Clark and O’Fallon, the marriage between O’Fallon and Fanny, the fact that Fanny seems to have had a breakdown and alleged domestic abuse, a subsequent brawl between George and O’Fallon, and then O’Fallon’s rather sudden and unmourned demise.
The notes in “Wilderness” cite a number of letters between various Clarks and the O’Fallons that are in the Draper Manuscripts. There is also at least one letter with details of the brawl that was written by the Spanish Governor, Manuel Gayoso. I am very curious as to how he found out.
Do you suppose Fanny was reburied at Bellefontaine in the 1850s? That was when William was moved there, and he had also been buried at Col. O’Fallon’s farm.
Hi Frances Hunter. so excited to find your blog page. I am a descendant of John B Clark 1790’s in Madison Co.Ky. Believe him to be the son of John Clark from Va who was married to Mary “Polly Hall” Am trying to establish a connection to John and Ann Rogers Clark. Believe this couple was John B clark’s Uncle and Aunt. John B clark came to weakley Co Tn. and was back and forth from there to Fulton Co, Ky. I live not far from his original purchase on Hwy 125 out of Hickman, Ky and in face live on part of the acreage he sold to Andrew shuck and Cynthia Shuck,(John B Clark’s Daughter) Anyway, I have read all of Alexander Thom’s historical novels and met him in Paducah where he spoke several years ago at the library there. I told him there was another novel here in Fulton Co waiting to be written. Would love to read your book. Is it available ? would order it if you tell me where to get it.
the name John appears in all the Clark lines so it is difficult to pinpoint. However , I have a lot of evidence that needs to be put together.
Sorry I didn’t give you my name: Mary Bacon Harris , Fulton co, Ky. kitager@ken-tennwireless.com
Hi, Mary! Yes, you can get our books from our site here (Just go to the top of the page and click on the Buy Now tab). You can save over 40% from Amazon’s prices by doing so. If you prefer though, you can buy from Amazon, including a Kindle edition. Glad you found your way here. I love James Alexander Thom’s work!
Hi Frances Hunter,
Right now I can’t put my finger on the burial dates but the folks at Bellefontaine know. It is certainly likely that Fanny and William were reburied at the same time.
Thanks for the tips on your information sources. I’ll take a look at Kukla’s book and attempt to view the Draper manuscripts.
My husband is decended from Ann Roger’s brother John.. I believe she was born at sea… their father was Giles..
HI McKowen
We are the Rogers and the McGowens from Colerain Mass. I know we are related to the Rogers of the George Rogers Clark fame. I grew up with stories about him from my Grandpa who was born in the 1880’s.
I believe she was born at sea.. She was a twin. One of the twins died at sea from my understanding.
I am a Clark decendant.
John & Ann Rogers Clark
Dr. James Raleigh Clark 1847-1916.
Dr. Francis Marion Clark 1870-1966.
Roderick Clark Miller
roderickcmiller@yahoo.com
roderickcmiller@yahoo.com
To Francis Hunter:
In “From Sea to Shining Sea” by James Alexander Thom it mentions that General Jonathan Clark, first born son of John Clark and Ann Rogers Clark was born on 1 August 1750. Information from several enclyclopedia’s concur with Mr. Thom’s information.
It further mentions in Mr. Thom’s book that Jonathan’s mother at the time of her son’s birth was 15. You also mention that this son was born within the year of Ann’s marriage to John Clark at age 15. This would have made her born in 1735.
Therefore if she died in 1798 she would have been only been 63 when she died, not the 68 you have reported her to be.
Judith, thanks for checking my math. I have the birthday of October 20, 1734 for Mrs. Clark, making her 15 at the time of her marriage and 64 at the time of her death on December 24, 1798. I’ll fix it!
You might also want to fix John Clark’s age at death as he was (I believe) 9 years older than Ann which would have made him 73 at the time of her death not 77 as you have reported.
question ????????
what family members did William Clark take to Missouri with him when he moved there? cousins, brothers, nephews///////I am curious to know about who else might have gone there.
Naomi, the best source I know of on the Clark family is “Dear Brother,” edited by James Holmberg. The notes in this book tell quite a bit about Clark’s early years in St. Louis and his relationships with various family members. I know that the O’Fallon brothers moved there and became movers and shakers, and there were a number of others.
It occurs to me that Bellefontaine Cemetery might be a great source of information on this topic. I know a lot of the family members who moved to St. Louis, including William Clark, were first buried on the O’Fallon family farm, then later moved to Bellefontaine. The e-mail is rlay@bellefontainecemetery.org.
I am a descendent of Jonathan Clark. I grew up in Louisville Kentucky and presently reside in Paducah Kentucky. Both cities have a rich history and relationship to the Clark family. I have gone back to Locust Grove for many of the family renunions that Locust Grove has sponsored for the family. My mother was a Bullock and was born in Shelbyville Kentucky. I am interested in finding out whether there is any connection to John Bullock Clark who was a Confederate General. My grandfather’s name was John Bullock so there has to be a connection somewhere. How do I find this out? By the way I have met Holmberg on several occasions here in Paducah.
Thank you so much for your good and interesting comments about Jonathan. What I wouldn’t give for the replies Jonathan wrote back to William during the years of their correspondence, not to mention a portrait. What comes across even in reflected light is a man who was the rock of his family.
I was interested to hear about the Bullock connection. This thread gets a lot of traffic from Clark family genealogists. Can anybody shed some light?
What was there character Traits??
Er, I think the blog post pretty well addresses this question … if there is a more specific question that isn’t addressed, feel free to ask.
I’m reading “From Sea To Shinning Sea” for the second time ! The Clark Family truely helped our country be what it is today .We would have no country without them!
Great comment, Regina! I totally agree!
Billy Ivas Bonds.
I am a Clark decendent, My mother was Gladys Eva (Clark) Bonds. My grandfather was Dr. Francis Marion Clark 1870-1966. My G Grand Father was Dr. James Raleigh Clark 1847-1916 (was a Union Civil War Veteran). In fact, I am a decendent of four (4) Union Civil War Veterans. They are: Andrew Jackson Bonds, Roan Harness, Dr.James Raleigh Clark, and John Wesley Privitt.
Cousin Bill Bonds,
Hope your well. Nice to see you posted on this informative website by Mrs Hunter.
In my research on the Clark’s I am searching for more information about the Rogers, Johnson & Clark Families. Last year I met a relative of ours. She was a decendent of Robert Clark – (killed in the civil war), Brother of Our Grandfather Dr. James Raleigh Clark (1847-1916).
Robert Clark’s Daughter Nancy Caroline Clark (known as Sis) was age 2 at the time of his death. Her mother was Amanda Shore.
She is Nancy Clark’s G-grandaughter..
Nancy Caroline Clark was married 3 times to a Jenner, Bailey and a Rexcoat.
Charlotte Bailey Reirson is her name. She lives in Arkansas!
Take care Cousin Bill!
Best Regards,
Roderick Clark Miller
roderickcmiller@yahoo.com
Thank you for this site! I am a Clark as well, although I am not sure from which son of Ann Rogers Clark & John Clark our family descended. I am trying to do research on my own. My family, going back from me, is Mary Clark (Horn) daughter of (Dorothy Caroline Hislop- Scottish- &) Neal Francis Clark, son of Paul Clark – Scottish (& Daisy Mae Kelso – Native American Indian – Choctaw Tribe). What I do know is that Daisy Mae was a daughter of a Native American Indian mother & her Scotitsh father and Paul was a Scotsman of the famous Clark clan listed herein (one of the sons of John Clark & Ann Rogers Clark). I believe Daisy Mae’s parents met while her dad came from central IL down to KY for a visit relatives in KY where Daisy’s mom lived, met and courted her, married her, then he brought his new wife back to central IL and started their family together. When Daisy Mae grew up she & Paul met, married and started making a family of their own in central IL as well. I would love to find out more if anyone could help. My sister hired a geneologist several years ago, which is when all of our Native American Indian and Scottish heritage came to light and it was very exciting discovery for our family! However, she can’t find the documentation so we are back at square one.
maryhorn33@hotmail.com
I am also a descendent of the Clark Clan via John/Jonathon/Benjamin/John/Richard Barkley Clark/George Washington Clark/John Sollamon Clark/Otto/Paul/Neal Frances Clark, my dad. A little fact about William Clark is that during the Expedition west, he noted in his reports vast mineral deposits and when he returned home and gave his report to Jefferson, he and his clan bought mineral rights to many of the lands he’d explored. The Clarks eventually owned most of the copper and one Clark (probably Edwin Clark, William’s grandson) founded Kennecut Copper Company. Bud Clark, who lives in Minnesota owns & collects Clark memorabilia. I met him in 2001 when he gave a talk at the LBJ museum in Austin. The Clarks in my side of the family (Illinois/Indiana/St. Louis) are mostly brunettes with the occasional blonds and redheads, tend to be a little stocky, all have blue eyes and with higher than average intelligence/sometimes genius, as in my dad’s case. Growing up we were not informed of our historic past/family.. Those characteristics mentioned in the article above are right on target. My dad’s family was frank, honest, compassionate, adventurous, and loyal.
Also, there is information on the Clarks at the Daniel Boone Home/Museum in Defiance, Missouri. Wm Clark adopted Sacajawaya’s son Pompeii and he was baptized, too, I believe. Frances, Thank YOU! for writing such a great article. Names and dates are useful, but weaving it together into a story is an art, making these people “come alive”. Bravo!
Curt Bailey
My grandma says she was related to William Clark (explorer), her name was Huldah Clark Bailey. Her father was Daniel Isaiah Clark (1866-1938) son of William Henry Clark (1840 – 1871) but I can find no connection. I don’t think it is the right family. I searched Ancestry, but no real help, can anyone help me?
I am at a dead end if no one can help me.