John Clark's family had resided in this geographical area for some
100 years before the group's trek north to albany ca 1792. Westchester was
their second phase of settlement. Before this, they had
been just a few miles to the south, in the Stamford area.
The Stamford phase of settlement
will be addressed in a work to be posted at a later date.
Bedford and Pound Ridge in 1756, would have been 75 years old and perhaps
teaming with the labors of development. By comparison, the settlement of Albany
would have been about 130 years into its development. Following, is a list of occupations
abstracted from the
1756 census list for Albany (this record was readily available). Perhaps this
list of occupations can give us a glimpse into what occupations our Bedford and Pound Ridge
townspeople, might be engaged in.
Baker, merchant, Indian trader, shoemaker, silversmith, sadler,
retailer of liquor, farmer, brewer, mason, carpenter, cooper,
waggoner, hatter, taylor, tobacconist, butcher, cooper, laborer,
dram shop, smith, weaver, tavernkeeper, shop keeper, glasier,
clergyman, barber, apothecary, britches maker,
wampum maker, watterman, cryer, carrman, blacksmith,
bricklayer, hoopmaker, gunsmith, Inn keeper, sawmaker, schoolmaster,
turner, doctor, lawyer, wigmaker, showmaker, brasier, saxton, mantuamaker.
A
1763 List of Freedholders in Westchester County, NY
gives us the following glipse into the communties of Bedford
and Pound Ridge, in which our
ancestors lived. I combined the listing from Bedford and Pound Ridge
to give the following account. -- Freeholders are men who own their own
land, free and clear of claim or mortgage.
Carpenters: Jacob Wood, Samuel Wood
Weavers: Nathaniel Warring, William Frost, Thomas Rustle, Abraham Cawfield.
Cordwainers: Joseph Holmes, Samuel Trowbridge, John Maynard, Jonathan Crawford,
Joseph Scribner, John Ferris
Miller: Thomas Butson (Bouton?).
Blacksmiths: John Forman, Zebulen Crane, Richard Ketchum.
Taylors: James Lord, John Elliot, Robert Andrews
Sadler: Samuel Lewis.
Schoolmaster: George McOnneal.
Mill Wright: James Wright.
Cooper: Jeremiah Miller.
Joiner: Silas Carpenter.
Merchant: Ebenezer Ward.
Mason: Thomas Bay.
There are many, many more men on this extensive list. All the others
are "Yeoman" (aka farmers).
Men on this list whose names are familiar in our family history: John Westcott,
Joseph Clark, David Clark, Nathaniel Clark, Stephen Clark, Johial Weed, Ebenezer
Scofield and Jeremiah Scofield.
Surnames of familiarity: Ingerson, Waring, Miller, Wood, Holmes, Fowler, Haight/Hoyt,
Robinson, Weed, Scofield, Green, Scribner, Ambler, Ferris.
-- Our direct ancestors, John (b 1740), and his father John
(b ca 1705), and the elder John's other sons, are not to be found on this list.
That fact only means that if our Clarks were landholders; then, that land was
encumbered by mortgage. It does not mean our ancestors were not in these communities.
In 1763 John Clark would have been a young man of 23. This may have been the year
that he married. We don't know if he held his own lands, or if he was still living
with his father's family at this time. We do know he had the company of his three
brothers, and at least one sister. If there were other siblings -- which is
quite likely -- they may have died in their younger years.
If John had not yet married, he must have been at least acquanted with, or courting,
his bride-to-be Martha Westcott; the daughter of John Westcott.
|