THE MARSHES OF WALSALL ENGLAND

On July 13, 1750 in St. Matthews Church in Walsall, England, in the county of Staffordshire, a young girl named Hannah Marlow married her boyfriend.  His name was John Twist.  Together Hannah and John Twist were to have two children.  The first, named John like his father, was born on May 29, 1751.  He was born in St. Matthews, Walsall like his parents.  He would live until September 23, 1798.  His sister was Ann Twist.  She was born in 1748 and would live for a long time.  She lived until January 18 of 1824!

John Twist, the son,  was born in Walsall and evidently lived in the same town all his life.  He married Ann Turner on Christmas Day of 1773 in St. Matthews Church, Walsall.  They had a big family.  Their first child was born the following year on November 5, 1774.  They named her Nancy.  As far as we can tell she was the first Nancy in our family story.  Nancy would live until November 29, 1818.  They had other children, too:  Elizabeth was born in 1776, John in 1779 although he only lived a few months, Hannah born in 1781 and dying in 1789, Thomas born in 1785 and Samuel born in 1786.

Nancy Twist frew up in Walsall and, evidently, she lived her entire life there just as her parents and grandparents had lived their lives in Walsall.  She married Edward Marsh on November 25, 1793 in St. Matthews.  He was from Walsall and was a snaffle and bit maker.  Walsall was famous for its leatherwork and saddlery.  Nancy and Edward also had a big family:

Richard Marsh born September 22, 1794
John Marsh born April 17, 1798
Hannah Marsh born April 9, 1798
Joseph Marsh born February 25, 1800
Mary Marsh born May 1, 1803
Joseph James Marsh born May 9, 1805
Sarah Marsh born April 14, 1806
Elizabeth Marsh born March 10, 1809
Nancy Marsh born September 15, 1811
Martha Marsh born March 20, 1814
Samuel Marsh born August 3, 1817

You'll notice that this generation of the family also had a Nancy!  We don't know much about this Nancy, unfortunately.  We do know about Samuel, the baby of the family.  We know that he worked in an ironfoundry in Walsall and that he married his sweetheart, whose name was Caroline.  We don't know her last name.  Together they would have the following children:

John Marsh born February 24, 1839
Nancy Marsh born April 19, 1840
Eliza Marsh born December 5, 1841
Edwin Marsh born July 9, 1843
Samuel Marsh Jr born April 25, 1847
Thomas Marsh born December 31, 1848
Jabez Marsh born January 12, 1851
Jane Marsh born November 28, 1852

They were all born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England.  For whatever reason - and we will probably never know - the Marshs decided to move to America.  We know that Nancy Marsh came to Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1859.  She married John Henry Clamer on September 5, 1866 in Binghamton, New York.  We don't know what they were doing in Binghamton, either!  John Henry Clamer was in the American Civil War.  He enlisted in the Union Navy on April 30, 1861 and served on the Wabash, the Princeton and the North Carolina.  During the Battle of Port Royal, South Carolina on November 7, 1862 he was deafened.  Later he would claim a government pension based on his deafness.  He was discharged in 1864.  He and Nancy Marsh lived on Court Street in Elizabeth at #327.  They had a family, also:

Grace Clamer
John C Clamer born May 1875
Joseph Byrd Clamer born October 11, 1880
Annie Salena Clamer born December 23,1882
Mary Louisa Clamer born June 2, 1885
Carrie Clamer, who died as an infant
David Clamer, who died as an infant
Samuel Marsh Clamer born December 18, 1871

Samuel Marsh Clamer was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and lived there his whole life.  He married Louise Seeger on November 26, 1901 in Elizabeth.  She was an Elizabeth girl, being the daughter of Germans William Seeger and Mary Falter Seeger.  They had a busy life together.  Samuel served in the merchant marine and sailed all over the world including the Holy Lands.  He sent interesting things home to his family, some of which are still in our collections. He and Louise built a life together in Elizabeth and even owned and ran Elizabeth Coal Company in the port section of the city.  They had several children.  Henry William Clamer, known to his family as Harry, was born October 7, 1903.  He was a brilliant chemist who attended university in New York City.  Mildred Louise Clamer was born on February 15, 1906.  She would grow up to be my mother-in-law and the grandmother and greatgrandmother of many devoted children.  She had a younger brother named Russell Clamer who was born too early and died the day he was supposed to have been born.