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The Clarks: The First Family of the Frontier

9/1/2017

25 Comments

 
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8th Virginia Captain Jonathan Clark was the oldest of ten accomplished sisters and brothers. After the Revolution, he held the rank of Major General in the Virginia militia. (Author)
​8th Virginia captain and major Jonathan Clark was the oldest of ten siblings in a family that left a powerful impact on American history. No other family can claim a larger role in the history of the War for Independence, the conquest of the old frontier (the “Northwest Territory”), and the exploration of the post-Louisiana purchase frontier than the Clarks can.
 
Today, the most famous of them is William, who was twenty years younger than Jonathan. Each of them, however, contributed to the founding and expansion of the nation in his or her own way.
 
Jonathan (1750 – 1811) was the oldest. A Captain in the 8th Virginia, he was later promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel and held a post-war rank of major general in the Virginia militia. He was at Brandywine, Germantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Paulus Hook, and the siege of Charleston--where he was taken prisoner. He lived his later years near Louisville, Kentucky.
George Rogers (1752 – 1818) was, during his life, the most famous sibling, known as the “Conqueror of the Northwest.” He led successful western campaigns against the Shawnee, who were allied with the British. Control of that Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and a bit of Minnesota) was no small matter. Following the French and Indian War, the British Crown considered this territory to be part of Quebec. This territory would likely be part of Canada today were it not for George.
 
Ann Rogers (1755 – 1822) married Owen Gwathmey, an early settler of Louisville.
 
John (1757 – 1783) was, at the age of 19, awarded a commission in the 8th Virginia as a 2nd Lieutenant in Robert Higgins’ 1777 replacement company. He served only a short while. He was captured three weeks after his twentieth birthday at the Battle of Germantown. Held for much of the time in terrible conditions, he returned to his parents' home sick with "consumption" (pulmonary tuberculosis) in 1781. He was sent for a while to the Caribbean in the hope that the climate would help him. It didn't work. He returned home and continued to waste away until his death in 1784.
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Richard Henry (1760 – 1784) served under George Rogers in several western engagements, starting at the age of nineteen. He died while traveling alone on horseback from the falls of the Ohio (Louisville) to Vincennes or Kaskaskia (Illinois). He is presumed to have drowned, though the family hoped for many years that he would turn up alive.
 
Edmund (1762 – 1815) served in the 4th Virginia Regiment as a young sergeant. This was the regiment the 8th Virginia merged with (and took the number of) in 1778. He received an ensign's commission in the 6th Virginia shortly before the siege of Charleston. He was taken prisoner there along with Jonathan and promoted to lieutenant while in captivity and released after Yorktown. He was received a captain's commission during the Quasi-War with France. He moved to Kentucky with the rest of the family and died there as a lifelong bachelor in 1815.
 
Lucy (1765 – 1838) married 8th Virginia Captain William Croghan. The Croghans lived and prospered on their estate “Locust Grove” east of Louisville, Kentucky. Jonathan lived close by and George came to live with Lucy in his later years, struggling toward his eventual death with an amputated leg and the effects of a stroke.
 
Elizabeth (1768 – 1795) married Richard Clough Anderson, a well-regarded officer in the Virginia Line and surveyor of Kentucky military bounty lands. She died young. Her husband remarried. One of his children from that marriage was Colonel Robert Anderson, the Union commander of Fort Sumpter at the outbreak of the Civil War.
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George Rogers Clark was a key military figure on the western front during the Revolution. (C.D. Cooke, detail, NPG)
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Ann Rogers married Owen Gwathmey, an early settler of Louisville.
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Lucy Clark married former 8th Virginia Capt. William Croghan and was the mother of War of 1812 hero Maj. George Croghan. (Locust Grove)
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William Clark was the parter of Meriwether Lewis in the famous Corps of Discovery. (Charles Wilson Peale, Independence National Historic Park)
William (1770 – 1838) explored the new frontier with Meriwether Lewis at the head of the Corps of Discovery from 1804 to 1806, co-leading the first overland journey all the way to the Pacific Ocean. He is now, by far, the most famous of the Clark siblings. He was later made governor of Missouri.
 
Frances Eleanor (1773 – 1825) married three times, the second time to Charles Mynn Thruston, Jr. Thruston’s father had been the rector of Berkeley Parish (Berkeley County), Virginia, and a colonel in the Continental Army. Berkeley County played an important role in the life of the 8th Virginia. The life of the elder Thruston holds strong parallels to the life of 8th Virginia Colonel Peter Muhlenberg—they were both “fighting parsons” from the Shenandoah Valley. Frances died in 1825 in St. Louis, Mo., at the home of her son, Col. John O'Fallon.
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Jonathan and his wife Sarah Hite Clark lie in the center of six Clark family graves fronting a family monument at Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. Flags adorn the graves of Jonathan, George, and Edmund, who fought in the Revolutionary War. Their famous younger brother, William, is buried in St. Louis, Missouri. (Author)
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The Clark family monument. (Author)
25 Comments
Janice Harshbarger link
5/23/2021 04:36:36 pm

There's a wonderful book about this whole family, From Sea to Shining Sea, by James Alexander Thom. It's historical fiction, but very heavy on the history.

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Wesley Prichard
5/23/2021 10:38:05 pm

97 Clark's in my Genaology. Ann Roger's Clark is my 9th Great Grandma.

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Melinda Anderson
2/27/2022 02:21:45 pm

Hi Wesley, Ann Rogers Clark is almost my great grandmother. I descend from Frances Eleanor, Ann’s youngest. It’s nice to meet more cousins!

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Jesse Baggett
10/7/2022 08:57:14 am

She is my 6th great grandma

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Julie Kendall
9/9/2021 12:50:49 pm

According to my research and family documents, I am a direct descendant of Captain Johnathan Clark. I've lived most of my life not knowing the Clark family history. Now I am overjoyed with this new found knowledge. I will continue my research and hope to travel to these historic sites. I reside right now in southern Oklahoma.

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Gabe Neville link
9/9/2021 10:16:14 pm

That's fantastic! One of the great families of American history! I'll add you to the descendants page and I hope you'll sign up for updates if you haven't already!

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JULIA (Clark) Kendall
9/9/2021 10:46:27 pm

Thank you so much. I plan to do some DNA testing as well. This is very exciting and surreal.

Teresa Clark
2/12/2023 12:59:59 pm

Hello, I am Teresa Clark, Jonathan Clark is my great x4 grandfather. I've, so far, been able to trace my Clark family back to Mary Elizabeth Lumpkin and a Jonathan Clark 1665 - unknown

Jesse Baggett
10/7/2022 08:55:09 am

He is my 5th great grandfather

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Michelle Shreve
11/12/2021 10:12:30 am

I am a descendant of John Clarke, Jr., born 27 Feb 1764 in Henrico Co., VA, died 25 Jan 1839 in Washington Co., KY. He fought in the Am. Revolution and is a proven Patriot with the Daughters of the American Revolution. I have a book excerpt that says he is the "son of Captain John Clark/Clarke of the Virginia line". I would love to know for sure if he is the son of John Clark described on this page. If anyone has solid evidence of this, please contact me at momcatx6@aol.com. Thank you!

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Michelle Shreve
11/12/2021 10:18:05 am

Okay, I just looked at the birth date for Jonathan Clark and it's obvious he could not be the father of my John Clarke, Jr. How disappointing!

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Melinda Anderson
2/27/2022 02:19:29 pm

Hi Michelle. John Clark (1729-1799) did have a son named John Clark. Son John died in 1783 not long after he was released from a British prison ship. He’s not yet a proven DAR Patriot as he never married and had no children that I am aware of.

I descend from John He’s sister, Frances Eleanor.

Robert Hill
1/31/2022 03:09:05 pm

Thank you for the great information. Jonathan is my fifth Great Grandfather.

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Clay Wahlgren
3/11/2022 07:00:53 pm

Johnathan Clark was my 5th great grandfather, making William Clark my 5th Great uncle. I discovered this several years ago as my great grandmother was Louisa Clark who is buried in the Colfax, Washington cemetery in 1940. I have a lot of information on my Clark lineage.

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Gary Clark
5/7/2022 12:06:16 am

I am a descendant of Drury Clark. He was born 1775 in North Carolina.
Paper proof is difficult to find. Ancestry DNA has confirmed the connection to Major General Jonathon Clark, as the Father of Drury Clark.
Do you know of any paper connection on this match? I have only one source.

Thank you

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Gabe Neville
5/7/2022 12:37:16 am

Afraid not. I'm pretty confident that General Clark never lived in NC.

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kim vidas
6/11/2022 12:31:10 am

my two brothers and i are all directly descended, through my mom, born marjorie geraldine greene, from john clark, through eight generations. i had no idea that one of his brothers was the clark in "lewis and clark." geez. i'm going to have to light a fire under MY brothers. they need to play catch up! meanwhile ... wow, look at all of you distantly related people! nice to sort of meet you. :) be well!

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Jennifer Jansen
7/13/2022 11:14:37 am

Ann (Rogers) Clark - not pictured- is the mother of Ann (Clark) Gwathmey, Lucy (Clark) Croghan, and George Rogers Clark, among others.

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Helen j clark link
7/19/2022 12:58:39 am

My father was a slave in Savannah Georgia and has a brother name George William Clark my father name is Martin Luther Clark his nephew is Ruby Clark we have family in Ohio Ethel Clark

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Cindy L. Clark
2/12/2023 07:18:31 pm

My Grandmother was Ethel (Penley) Clark, who became Ethel Arnold, when her husband James Elmer Clark passed. She lived most of her life in Ohio, and was born in Rose Hill, VA

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Jim Thunder
10/10/2022 10:21:40 am

I live a 3-minute walk from an historical marker at the junction of 250 and 20 just east of the Rivanna River. The river marks the easternmost boundary of Charlottesville. The marker is for George Rogers Clark who was born one mile north. (Presumably much of the family was born there. They lived there from at least 1750 to 1756.) Also, downtown Charlottesville had/has a large statue of William Clark and Lewis and Sacajawea. The statute was taken down recently on the basis that it showed the woman in a subordinate position. The statue is at least temporarily on the site of the Lewis & Clark Expedition building. The statue has her name, and only her name, on it. Historians say she is shown low to the ground in the posture of tracking for animals. I haven't driven by to see if the base of the statue remains in its original location.

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cj young link
11/3/2022 08:37:03 pm

I have been often told that Clark the explorer is my great-great-great uncle and my great (3x) grandmother birthed a son born to him, She is Cherokee and descendants live in VA (est virginia, sorry my doesnt ork) . Some of my descendants include Lucetta Clark. Any info is greatly appreciated!

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Margaret
12/23/2022 10:28:32 am

My moms, grandparents were Charles and Mary Cifer Clark, from what I understand he was the great grandson of William Clark, my moms maiden name is also Clark. Mom has always loved to hunt,fish,grow a garden and work outside, she is 90 now.

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William D Jonas
12/29/2022 11:44:24 pm

Richard Clough Anderson is my Great Grand Uncle 6x. The Clarks ended up near soldiers retreat in kentucky on the headwaters of Bear Grass Creek (Now Hurstbourne) after the Revolution. 3 of the Clark brothers were imprisoned with Richard during the War of the Revolution. Richard taught William how to survey and it was Richards equipment used on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Another neighbor while located in Virginia at Goldmines was Patrick Henry. There is so much more to tell but so little space.

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Robert Allen Clark II
1/4/2023 12:15:04 am

I am Robert Allen Clark II heir to the Louisiana territory and gulf of Mexico and owner of Indiana Ohio Washington state New York Maine.
My grandfather was Rupert Clark

Reply



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    Gabriel Neville

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