From the Notes of Jean (Clark) Naylor

James Clark is the immigrant ancestor and one of the first settlers of New Haven. He was part of the Company consisting of Governor Eaton and others who on June 4, 1639 met in Mr. Newman's barn to frame the civil contract. He married Anne Wakefield widow of John Wakefield on 10/17/1661. She was not his first wife or the mother of his children. LDS Ancestral files indicate that James was the son of William Cleke (Clark) and Mary Weston. This is not accurate. Their son James Clark died in London in 1649. He was a grocer and married to a woman named Sarah Harvey. His will has been published and due to his death date and the fact that he did not leave England, he is not our immigrant ancestor.

Source Genealogical & Family History of the State of Connecticut Volume III-pub 1911 New England Marriages Prior to 177 p 155 his marriage to Anne Wakefield

The following is the passenger list for the vessel Hector, which brought the passengers accompanying John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton to Connecticut in 1637. There is another ship called the Hector that brought the first Scottish Highlanders to Nova Scotia in the mid-1700's, but the Hector Heritage Foundation in Nova Scotia states that the ship that brought the Davenport/Eaton party is a different vessel.

The Hector that brought the Davenport party to Massachusetts was a new vessel of 250 tons, which already made a previous passage to Massachusetts Bay. The records indicate that the ship actually arrived in Massachusetts, but other references mention that Hector also took the party to Connecticut in late 1637 or 1638. A passenger ship list for the trip from Massachusetts Bay to New Haven, Connecticut has not been located.

Passengers on the Hector sold their belongings in preparation for the sailing, but then the English government impressed the ship for service of the crown. The owners petitioned for its release in January 1637, but the ship was not freed until May. According to the records of John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay, the ship arrived in Boston (from London England) on June 26, 1637.

John & Elizabeth Davenport, Theophilus Eaton, Old Mrs. Eaton, his mother, Anne Eaton, second wife of Theophilus Eaton and daughter of George Loyd Bishop of Chester and widow of Thomas Yale, The children of Anne Eaton by her former marriage, Edwards Hopkins, Richard Malbon, Nathaniel Rowe, William Andrews, Henry Browning, James Clark, Jasper Crane, Jeremy Dixon, Nicholas Elsey, Francis Hall, Robert Hill, William Ives, George Smith, George Ward, Lawrence Ward, Ezekiel Cheever, Edward Bannister, Old Jewry. Richard Beach, Richard Beckley, John Brockett, John Budd, John Cooper,Arthur Halbridge, Mathew Hitchcock, Andrew Hull, Andrew Low, Andrew Messenger, Mathew Moulthrop, Francis Newman, Robert Newman, Richard Osborn, Edward Patteson, John Reader, William Thorp, Samuel Whitehead.

Joel Clark⁽¹⁴³⁶⁾ 1763-1834

"Rev. Joel Clark entered lands in the east part of [Adams] township in 1821, where Philip Martin subsequently lived. He was a Baptist minister and quite an old man at the time. His son, Austin Clark, was a Methodist exhorter and, in connection with Jonathan Tindale, who came at the same time, established the first Methodist society in the township. Archibald Clark, a brother of Austin, settled on Little Flatrock, near the center of the township."

History of Decatur County, Indiana by Lewis A Harding, (Indianapolis: BF Bowen, 1915) pg 98

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Joseph Clark⁽¹³⁷¹⁾ 1785-1874

From the Notes of Jean (Clark) Naylor

Founded the town of Clarksford in Iowa now called Central City.

"A History of Central City and the surrounding Area 1839-1989" Compiled by The Central City Historical Society Published by Fourth Street Publishing

Page 193 and 194

CLARK, Joseph and Abigail (CLARK)

From the records of previous historians of Central City, this family deserves the honor of being the first permanent settlers in the town. But their son-in-law, JOHN JENKINS, probably built the first cabin. Apparently JOHN JENKINS did not stay very long even though his wife was a daughter of the CLARKs. JOSEPH CLARK was born August 2, 1785, at Southington, Connecticut, parents unknown. On September 27, 1813, at Westfield, Massachusetts, JOSEPH CLARK married ABIGAIL CLARK. She was born March 7, 1797, at Westfield, the daughter of Captain ROSWELL and Abigail (PARSONS) CLARK. The migration of this family can be traced to some extent by the birthplaces of their children from a family record. RUEL PARSONS CLARK was born November 3, 1814, at Westifield, Massachusetts, and died there on January 26, 1815. NELSON FOWLER CLARK was born January 27, 1816, at Lyons, New York. He died July 1, 1818, at Allenville. DELIA CLARK was born September 15, 1820, at Allenville. Her first marriage was to JOHN JENKINS (See F-162). ORMUS CLARK was born October 1, 1822, at Salisbury, Indiana. The family must have returned to New York again where EVOLINE CLARK was born December 4, 1824, at Lyons. SAREPTA ELVIRA CLARK was born February 10, 1829, at Arcada, New York. WARREN LAFAYETTE CLARK was born at Arcada on April 27, 1832. The youngest child, HOMER LEWIS CLARK, was born January 4, 1835, at Nankin, Michigan. It is from near Detroit, Michigan, that the family came to settle on the banks of the Wapsipinicon River where the town of Central City would soon be established. JOSEPH's son, SEYMOUR, and his son-in-law, JOHN JENKINS, are reported to have walked from near Detroit, Michigan, in March of 1839 to find a suitable place for their families to locate. After making their choice, they sent for their families. JOHN JENKINS staked out his claim and built his cabin. JOSEPH CLARK drove his family here by ox team and prairie schooner, the party arriving here on August 28, 1839. The group probably included his wife, ABIGAIL, their daughter DELIA JENKINS, with her two young sons, and their other children, ORMUS 17, EVOLINE 15, SAREPTA 10, WARREN 7 and HOMER 4. It is reported that JOSEPH HEATON came with the Clark family as far as Dubuque, Iowa. He settled there for about two years with his family. When he visited the Clarks at their location, he decided he liked it better, so he moved to live near the Clarks.  SEYMOUR CLARK married ORPHA HEATON, a daughter of JOSEPH HEATON. SEYMOUR and ORPHA had two sons, named CYRIL H. and JAMES CLARK. SEYMOUR died at the young age of 25 at Marion, Iowa, on August 29, 1843. ORPHA's second marriage was to RICHARD BARBER. Their children were SUSIE, ALVAH, ALICE, OSCAR, MARTIN and MARY ANN. ORMUS CLARK married Mrs. SABRA (CROSBY) JORDAN. She was the daughter of MANSON and SABRA CROSBY and was born February 24, 1821, in Plymouth, Maine. She came to Iowa with her family in 1846. She was married first to EBENEZER JORDAN, son of CHANDLER JORDAN. The children of EBENEZER and SABRA JORDAN were MANSON, CLARA, CROSBY, ADDIE and SUMNER. EBENEZER died in 1858. ORMUS CLARK and SABRA JORDAN were married December 23, 1859, and their two children were EDITH and PERLEY. EDITH married WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM. Both ORMUS and SABRA (known as "Aunt SABRA") were charter members of the Free Will Baptist Church of Central City. They became prosperous and prominent in the community. They built a large brick house on the south side of town now numbered 500 Marion Rd. S. EVOLINE CLARK married L. HARVEY POWELL. SAREPTA CLARK married SAMUEL YUEL. WARREN LAFAYETTE CLARK's first wife was MARY BALL. Their children were NELLIE MARY CLARK, who married WILLIAM H. WARD, and CHARLES HOMER CLARK, who married NETTIE FINLEY. WARREN's second marriage was to SARAH A. MELENDY. Their children were ABIGAIL LOIS CLARK, who married ARCHIBALD JOHN BROWN, OTTIS GRAND CLARK, who married ELIZABETH WHITE, and FRED WARREN CLARK, who married in Idaho. HOMER LEWIS CLARK, the youngest of the family, is reported to have died at Boise City, Idaho, in 1892 at the home of his sister DELIA. HOMER's wife's name is said to have been MELVENA. JOSEPH CLARK was a veteran of the War of 1812. His wife, ABIGAIL, died October 20, 1857. JOSEPH was 88 years old when he died January 24, 1874. They are buried at Mt. Clark Cemetery. The cemetery was originally called the McLeod Cemetery, but was renamed for the Clark family when they became owners of the land around it. Researched by MARY SOMERS

Page 247

JENKINS, JOHN and DELIA (CLARK)

Because JOHN JENKINS is believed to have been the first person to stake out a claim and build a cabin on land now within the corporate limits of Central City, it seems fitting to write a story about him and his family from available records. T here was some conjecture that he might have arrived here in 1838. Another version states that he and his brother-in-law, SEYMOUR CLARK, walked from the area of Detroit, Michigan, on a land-seeking trek into Iowa territory in March of 1839. They decided to locate near the Wapsipinicon River and sent for their families, who arrived in August of the same year. It seems to have been a fact that JOHN JENKINS had built a cabin on his claim before the others arrived. Before coming to Iowa, JOHN JENKINS had married DELIA CLARK. She was born September 15, 1820, at Allenville, Indiana, the daughter of JOSEPH and ABIGAIL (CLARK) CLARK. John and DELIA became the parents of six children: MARSHALL, WILLIAM H., FERRIS W., HELEN, JULIA and JONATHAN (JOHN). FERRIS W. JENKINS had been given the honor of being the first white child born at Central City.  His birth took place in November of 1841. The sons, MARSHALL and WILLIAM, were apparently born in Michigan before the family came to Iowa. HELEN was born in Iowa in 1844. The family must have returned to Michigan, where the two younger children were born in 1846 and 1848. In the 1850 census of Central City, DELIA was the wife of ALFRED WHEELER, a local blacksmith. They had become the parents of GEORGE WHEELER and later a son FRED was born to them. WILLIAM JENKINS died in the Civil War. FERRIS JENKINS served in the Civil War and died October 3, 1867, at New Orleans, Louisiana. HELEN's married name was BOWZIER. The WHEELERs left Central City, going to Whiteville and Racine in Missouri and then on to the states of Oregon and Idaho. DELIA is reported to have died at Boise City, Idaho Since JOHN JENKINS only lived in this area about six years, he was not considered a permanent settler. The honor of being the first permanent settlers went to DELIA's parents, the JOSEPH CLARK family. It is reported that the Clarks took over the claim and cabin that had belonged to JOHN JENKINS.