Clover Family Research Compendium
Fairfield County, Ohio Clovers
Copyright 2008 June Clover Byrne
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John Clover and Ann Kramer are thought to be the progenitors of the group of Clovers who married and lived in Perry and Fairfield County, Ohio. The exact date of John’s birth and death are unknown. I do not know if he died in Perry or Fairfield Counties. We believe that he was born between ca. 1780 and 1790 according to the 1830 census, and died between the 1830 census and 1840 when his wife was listed in the Fairfield County, Census. John, Elias, William, and George said that both their parents were born in New Jersey in the 1880 census. Only George, William, Hannah, and Catherine are proven to be their children at this time. Looking at the ages of their children, it is likely that John was born closer to 1780 than 1790. In any case, from the dates on all the available evidence, I do not see any reason to believe that he was born very much before 1780.
The censuses say he was born in New Jersey. However, I have no idea where in New Jersey he came from. I stongly suggest that some Clover male of this line be tested in the Clover DNA project to see if any connection can be found. See other research suggestions below.
I checked the Carol Wilsey Bell book, Ohio Wills to 1850: An Index, which includes all of the wills, administrations, estates in Ohio in all Ohio counties to 1850. There is no Clover in Perry or Fairfield County or any John Clover in any county. I also checked the book Fairfield County Petitions for Partition 1812-1851, and found no Clover records at all. Consequently, I do not think that he left any estate records. This is most likely due to his not owning land.
I do not know the exact date at which John Clover and family moved to Perry County. Catherine (Clover) Angle was born ca. 1814, New Jersey, according to the 1850 census. Hannah (Clover) Paseley was born ca. 1816 in Ohio. There is an article in the Perry County history which says that John Clover was a voter in March 1818 and there is one other piece of evidence.
E. H. Colburn, 1883 History of Perry County, Ohio, (Chicago, Illinois: W. H. Beers & Co, 1883), 203. Jackson Township: John Clover is among those listed as living in Jackson Township as early as March 1818. This is based on a list of voters.
Dorothy Hallern Mercay, Ohio Eagle, Lancaster, Ohio 1814-1840, Genealogical Abstracts, (Privately published, 1990), 5.
Ohio Eagle, Thursday 13 February 1817 issue; Whereas, John Clover, Somerset, on or near the 1st of January last gave 2 notes of hand for $25 each payable in boots and shoes to a certain John Crawford, now in Lancaster jail, the public are cautioned against receiving an assignment on same, 11 Feb 1817. [Somerset is in Perry County.]
Consequently, I believe he moved to Perry County between 1814 and 1816. The clipping suggests that he might have been a shoemaker. If he were a shoemaker, it would explain why he did not own land. He may have been a part time shoemaker and a tenant farmer. In the 1820 census, there is one person engaged in agriculture so we do know that he was at least a part time farmer.
The obituary of his grandson, David Clover, says that David was the grandson of John Clover, a pioneer of Berne Township. David was the son of George. This would certainly imply that John moved to Fairfield and died there. However, there are so many errors in this kind of thing that I am hesitant to rely on it.
Anna Clover was born ca. October 1779 as she died 2 August 1854, aged 74y 10m. She was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Berne Township, Fairfield County, Ohio. Her tombstone reads: wife of J. This date of birth does not agree exactly with the census records which would suggest that she was actually a couple of years younger. However, there is no way to tell which records are correct. In any case, in the 1850 census and the 1880 census of her sons, John, George, and Elias, she is listed as having been born in New Jersey.
I have seen no record of her maiden name except in her son’s death certificate. Luckily, her son, George Clover, lived to 21 September 1910, which was long enough to have a death certificate. In his Ohio death certificate, no. 49139 (1910), his parents were listed as John Clover and Ann Kramer, places of birth unknown. The informant was Mrs. J. K. Hengst.
The informant was his daughter with whom he was living in the 1900 census.
There is one oddity which I need to bring to everyone’s attention. In the 1820 census, there does not appear to be an adult female in the house. This could mean that the census taker made an error, it could mean that she was temporarily not there, it could also mean that John’s first wife had died and later remarried. However, there are absolutely no records in Perry County that he remarried. Men could not farm, work, take care of the children, take care of the house, all at the same time. Consequently, they tended to remarry quickly if they had small children. This is one reason I would love to find a death certificate for one of the older children. Note that William Clover of Shelby County was born in Perry County in 1820. It seems possible to me that she was having some difficulty with the pregnancy which caused her to be elsewhere in the census. I think it is much more likely, however, that the census taker just made an error. I really do not believe there was a second wife, but I have to point out the possibility.
1820 Perry County, Ohio Jackson Twp page 21: John Clover 100010-52000-0100
[one male under 10, one male 26-45, 5 fem under 10; 2 females 10-16]
1830 Perry County, Ohio Jackson Twp page 453: John Clover 2110001-0122001
[2 males under 5; 1 male 5-10; 1 male 10-15; 1 male 40-50; 1 female 5-10; 2 fem 10-15; 2 fem 15-20; 1 fem 40-50]
1840 Fairfield County, Ohio Berne Twp p. 398: Anney Clover 0011-00020001
[1 male 10-15, 1 male 15-20; 2 females 15-20; 1 fem 50-60. ]
1850 Fairfield County, Ohio Berne Twp, NARA M432 roll 677 page 441 line 30: Anna Clover 66 NJ; Elias 21 OH; John W. 6/12 OH
Suggestions
for further research on the origins of John Clover.
The major problem in this family to find out where in New Jersey they hailed from. Clearly they were in New Jersey prior to 1800 and their families should have left some trace in the tax records. At this time, I do not know where they came from. I can tell you that there is no sign of them in Somerset County and Salem County because I have been over those tax records very carefully At one time I was searching Peter Clover’s tax records in Somerset County because I wondered if he could have been the father or grandfather of Lewis Peter Clover of New York City or this John Clover. However, the evidence suggested that he had only one child, Catherine.
Hunterdon County is unlikely. See the page on Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Hunterdon County was inexplicable omitted from the massive collection of tax records indexed by Vern Jackson in New Jersey Tax Lists, 1772 to 1822. TLC Genealogy later indexed Hunterdon County from 1778 to 1798. The only Clover in that index is Philip in 1780. I am unsure of which counties and which townships Vern Jackson omitted. He was pretty famous for this. His company’s index of Indiana omitted two counties. They both started with a W which makes me think he would run out of time before publication and had to go with what he had. Ergo, I don’t think we can assume that these are the ONLY Clovers in New Jersey or the only entries within the county. Nor can we assume any degree of accuracy in the published tax lists. The problem may also be that the survival of the tax lists was problematical. They started in the 1770s and went until 1820ish. But not all lists survived for all counties or all townships within the counties.
Suggestions:
1) There are several Clover families out of New Jersey. DNA testing could prove a relationship with one of them. This will require a Clover male descended from John Clover, who is willing to run a swab around the inside of his cheek just like on CSI. It is no more trouble than that. There is a Clover DNA project. Let me know if you can find a descendant who is willing. The best bet is children of Elias Clover of Fairfield or William Clover of Shelby County, Indiana. I hope someone out there looks for a living descendant.
2) Since we know John came to Ohio ca. 1815, I suggest a careful perusal of the Perry County Histories looking for other New Jersey people who came at the same time. You can pick the New Jersey people out in the 1850 census and then see if there is an article about them in the county histories. The reason for this is that people traveled in a group. Usually some people out of the same neighborhood, church or some relatives would band together. Think of the travel conditions in 1815. It was not like hopping into your SUV.
3) Look at New Jersey tax records. Ronald Jackson did a massive index of New Jersey tax records but it is notoriously incomplete. I don't really know what years in what counties he did. Usually, I look for Smiths to tell what is covered. There are a couple of possible Clover tax records in New Jersey.
You can access the Ronald Jackson Tax List Index on Ancestry. Go to New Jersey Census 1643 to 1890. One of the items included in this database is the index. If you don't subscribe to ancestry, the tax records are also available at all Family History Centers on microfiche although the AIS Search one will include all of the country in those years.
Forget Somerset County, Hunterdon County, and Salem Counties. I have been all over these. I have NOT looked at the tax records of other counties. Nor do I know what years survived. Nor do I know what years are missing from the index. I know Hunterdon County was missing. For more on this subject see:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clover/us/usdatabases.html
The handwriting in some of the tax lists is incredible. Some lists are missing. They are misindexed, etc.
Joseph Clover 1793 tax list Roxbury, Morris County, New Jersey [Note that Lewis Peter Clover of New York City was supposed to have come from here.] [Note: There is a Joseph Glover in all other years so this is possibly a Joseph Glover.]
Henry Clover 1795 tax lists Gloucester County, New Jersey who is Henry Claver other years.
John Claver 1797 tax lists Deptford Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Hmmm.
I would also go through and see what counties have been indexed for 1810-1815 tax lists. We also need to look for misspellings, etc. See Claver, Cl~~, Gl~ for anything that could be Clover. If you get anywhere close to your immigrant ancestor, you are likely to find name changes and remember that correct spelling is a 20th Century concept. I have a Lilly family with a will in 1756. Whoever wrote the will spelled Lilly six ways in referring to brothers, sisters, father and mother. You need to think outside the box with 18th century spelling. How about Klauer?
What counties have Kramer, Cramer, Creamer, etc? Since both John and Ann were both born in New Jersey, their families had to be there somewhere.
The tax lists of New Jersey have all been microfilmed and are easily available to read. Contact me for help if you don't know how to get them.
4. All modern death certificates request the name and place of birth of parents. That is the reason I have searched so assiduously for the death certificates of children of Mary Ann Clover/Houts/Chambers, hoping someone would answer the question. No luck so far. But I don't know if a systematic effort has been made for the Elizabeth Petty's children in Illinois. Nor do I know about all the children of Sarah Clover Haines or Ruth Clover Griffith or even if she had any. Perhaps family members could be located who have done this.
5. Petty researchers believe that Elizabeth Clover was born in Sussex County, New Jersey. I am skeptical of this because there is no source.
The problem is that Joseph Petty's family was probably from there and I wonder if someone just transposed this. I don't know when the Pettys come to Ohio from New Jersey. If they came ca. 1815, then it would be very very logical to look there for Clovers.
6. If we ever find out which county he came from, we need to hit every surviving record in the county. For example, there are zillions of church records in NJ but you have to know which area you are searching.
If anyone has done the above or part of the above, let me know so that I can mark it done so others won't waste time on it. If anyone needs guidance, I will be happy to advise you.
Another major problem in this family is to prove all of John's children. George's death certificate proves him, William is listed as a brother in two newspaper articles. Catherine (Clover) Angle's will proves George is her brother. The application for administration mentions a sister Hannah Pasley living in Hamilton County. But the rest of the children have not actually been proven. The other thing that we need to do is trace the rest of these children. I have not traced all of them yet.
Fairfield County, Ohio Clover Census Records
Probable Children of John Clover and Ann Kramer
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Created,
edited and maintained by June Clover Byrne
For the Clover Family Historical Society
Copyright 2000 June Clover Byrne
For the Clover Family Historical Society
Copyright 2000 June Clover Byrne
This
page was last updated 21 November 2010.