My Sixteen No. 9: Joel Clark

My Sixteen refers to my great-great grandparents. Or, to put it another way, the sixteen grandparents of my four grandparents.

Joel Clark was born on 13 December 1828 in Ohio and died in Oakview, Boyd County, Kentucky, on 8 May 1915 at the age of 86 years, 4 months, and 25 days. His parents were named on his death certificate in the Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1965 database as Amos Clark (place of birth unknown) and Sarah Stumbo (born in Virginia).

According to this record in Ohio, County Marriages, (1789-2013), Amos Clark and Sally (which is a common nickname for Sarah) Stumbough were married on 8 April 1824 in Lawrence County, Ohio. Amos appears as head of his household on the U.S. Census, recorded in Perry Township in 1830 and 1840.

This map shows modern day Perry Township—one of twenty-six townships of that name in Ohio!—which lies in the central point at the bottom of Ohio.





As you can see, Perry Township sits across the Ohio River from Ashland, Kentucky.

I have also found 1850 and 1860 Census records for an Amos Clark from Perry Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, but Montgomery and Lawrence Counties are about 160 miles apart, and this Amos's wife's name is given as "Mary," so I am reasonably sure these records do not match our Amos. (I've marked those Ancestry hints as "Maybe" for now.)

There is also evidence of more than one Amos Clark living in the Boyd County/Lawrence County area: the local newspaper in Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, ran several notices in the spring of 1853 advising potential heirs and creditors of the death of Amos Clark, and later had to run an additional notice reassuring everyone of the vitality of Amos B. Clark:

Amos Clark - still alive and kicking. Tue, May 31, 1853 – Page 2 · Spirit of the Times (Ironton, Ohio) · Newspapers.com

Unfortunately, I do not have enough definite information about Amos and Sally/Sarah to figure out where they were born or what happened to them after 1840. There is a Joel Clark listed in the 1850 Census; he and three others are listed as living in Upper Township, Lawrence County, Ohio. The head of the household is a Sarah Clark (age 28), and two other boys, Jackson (age 12) and George W. (age 4) are there--all born in Ohio. It's possible that this is our Joel and three of his siblings, but I don't say that with high confidence.

[Update: after a close examination of the image of the census record, and comparing notes with other researchers, I think that this 1850 record does show our Joel, two brothers, and his mother, Sarah; I think the first digit in her age was too faded for the transcriber to read correctly; she might have been "38" and not "28".]

Joel Clark married Penina E. Baywell on 14 April 1853 in Lawrence County, Ohio (see this record). Other than this marriage, I have not found any other records that name her. My assumption, for now, is that she died not long after their son (Jackson, named for his brother) was born.

Joel then married Sarah Jane Bellamy (1836–1920) on 17 October 1859 in Greenup County, Kentucky. Joel and Sarah appear in the 1860 Census living in Boyd County, Kentucky, near the Catlettsburg post office. The record includes two children, Jackson S. (age 6, born in Ohio) and Hannah E. (age 4/12, born in Kentucky).

On 14 July 1863 Joel enlisted for twelve months in the Union Army at Ashland. He served as a private in the 45th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry. First organized as a Battalion for service in the Eastern Counties of Kentucky and on the Virginia border, the 45th served until October 1863. They went to Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and covered the front from Cumberland Gap to Louisa until March 1864. They saw action at Salyersville, Kentucky. They moved to Flemmingsburg in March 1864, and then to Irvine, Kentucky, operating south of that point until July. Joel seems to have re-enlisted at some point, as he was discharged in December 1865, after 2 1/2 years.

The 1870 Census showed the Clark family living near the Bellefonte (written on the census as "Belle Fonte") Furnace post office in Greenup County. Joel's occupation was listed as teamster; he and Sarah had four more children: John (8), Julia (6), Joseph (4), and James (2). There is a big gap in our story where the 1880 Census should be; I don't know why the family doesn't show up in any of the searches I've done, but we don't see them in online records for thirty years. In 1890, Joel appears on the Census Veterans' schedules, listed in Cannonsburg, Princess Township, Boyd County, but that database only lists the head of household.

In 1900, Joel and Sarah were living in Oakview, and operating a grocery. Their eldest daughter, Hannah (Fraley), was living with them in 1910; Joel was working as a real estate broker. He died on 8 May 1915 in Ashland and was buried in Ashland Cemetery. In 1920, Sarah was living in the Ashland, Kentucky, home of her son, Amos, with his wife, Effie, and their children; she died on 22 May 1920.

According to the 1910 Census, Sarah had a total of 12 children, 11 of whom were still living in 1910. I've only identified nine of them in the records mentioned here. One of those 12 children was very likely David Ulysses Clark Sr (1873–1948). Because I haven't been able to find the Clark family in the 1880 Census, I don't have any direct evidence confirming that he was the son of Joel and Sarah; I do have some indirect clues, though.

David married Mary Ann Viceroy "Vicie" Reynolds (1879–1957) on 4 September 1898 in Boyd County. According to their marriage record, their wedding took place "at the home of John Clark in Oakview" and was witnessed by John and Joel Clark. This John Clark appeared in Oakview in the 1900 Census and has a Kentucky death record which names his parents as Joel Clark and Sarah Bellomy.

David, Vicie, and Opal (their eldest child) appeared in the 1900 Census living in Oakview—and on the same page as an Amos Clark (age 23; wife, Effie, and daughter) and James Clark (age 30; wife, Mary). Amos and Effie May were married in 1899 in Lawrence County, Ohio, and their marriage record names his parents: Joel Clark and Sarah Bellamy.

None of this is concrete proof, but that much evidence is very persuasive. Unless I find some reason not to, I will conclude that David is the son of Joel, and grandson of Amos. My grandfather, Russell Hudson Clark (1920-2002), was the youngest son of David and Vicie.