(5.) "Captain" Oliver Clark born 28 May 1767 in Sharon to Sylvanus Clark (limits on his birth year, from his death record, are 1765-70) - died 1831 married Hannah Davis 1777-(>1830)
Census records suggest that our Oliver Clark was close kin to the Walpole Oliver Clark, but could not have been his son. Town Vital Records indicate that this is not so. The Walpole Oliver Clark's son Oliver Clark died young {VR Walpole}. Our Oliver Clark died in Medfield (VR Medfield) in 1831 at age 64, yielding a birth year of c1767, right in the middle of the census estimate, and in precise agreement with the son of Sylvanus Clark. There seems to be no question of this assignment.
Oliver may have served in the Revolution (but probably was too young).
Volume 3 page 563 Clark, Oliver. Private, Capt. Oliver Clark Clap's co., Col. Benjamin Haws's regt.; enlisted Oct. 8, 1777; discharged Oct. 28, 1777; service, 26 days, travel included, on a secret expedition to Rhode Island; also, Capt. Moses Adams's co., Col. Eleazer Brooks's regt. of guards; service from Feb. 20, 1778, to April 3, 1778, 1 mo. 13 days, at Cambridge; also, order dated Walpole, April 7, 1778, for wages for service at No. 2, Cambridge.
Alphabetical List of Officers of the Continental Army: Fifteenth Virginia page 157 Clark, Oliver (R. I.). 1st Lieutenant of 1st Rhode Island, 3d May to December, 1775; Captain 9th. Continental Infantry, 1st January to 31st December, 1776; Captain 1st Rhode Island, 11th February, 1777; taken prisoner at Fort Mercer, 22d October, 1777. Abijah Bangs's co., Maj. Zenas Winslow's (2d Barnstable Co.) regt.; service, 5 days, on alarms at Bedford and Falmouth in Sept., 1778. Roll sworn to in Barnstable Co.
Oliver Clark, married Hannah Davis in Medfield on 27 January 1794 (Hannah was listed as residing in Medway). They were married by the Reverend Thomas Prentice of Medfield (according to FEC), and the Medway marriage intention record (Medway Vital Records, p169) indicates that the marriage was objected to, as indicated by the statement: "The Bans of Marriage Forbidden". The nature of the objection probably may be deciphered from the birth record of Hannah Davis (Medway Vital Records, p51), who was born of Patty METCALF (!) 28 Dec. 1777 (Hmmm, British or Patriot?). For the logic challenged, Hannah was illegitimate. Hannah Davis's father may never be known! Shame for not putting it in the public record.
After this inauspicious beginning, daughter, Hannah, was legitimately born 14 February 1797, a comfortable 3 years plus after the marriage of Oliver and Hannah "Davis". Oliver is referred to in the birth record as "Captain" Oliver Clark. Oliver was but 14 in 1781, when the war was winding to a close, and I doubt he could have served in the Revolutionary War. I do not know why he is referred to as "Captain" in the 1797 record, perhaps in a local militia. I found no record of any revolutionary service in the National Archives Records, which is not definitive. A little rooting around in Massachusetts records would likely show of what he was a Captain.
The 1800 census shows them residing in Medway, E. Parish, with 1 male <10, 1 m 26-45 (born 1765-1794), 1 f <10, and 1 f 16-26 (Hannah was 23). The Walpole Oliver Clark is now less one son (from the 1790 census), and the Medway Oliver is the only other one shown. Sanford was born 30 October 1800, but is most likely not the male shown in the census, as the census was generally taken in the summer.
18 June 1806 daughter, Lydia, was born to Oliver and Hannah in Medway (record does not refer to Oliver as "Captain", as previously).
The Older Woman (born before 1765) in the 1810 Census
The 1810 census shows Oliver residing in Walpole with: 1 m <10 (Sanford, whose tenth birthday was several months after the census), 1 m 10-16 (the older brother of Sanford, in the 1800 census), 1 m 26-45 (born 1765-1794), 1 f <10 (Lydia was 4), 1 f 10-16 (Hannah was 16), 1 f 26-45 (Hannah was 33), and one female over 45. This record strongly suggests that the older woman is either the mother of Oliver or Hannah, or an Aunt to one of them.
This older woman was in all probability Oliver's mother: Sharon Deaths: Silvanus Clark Apr 27, 1807 in his 64th yr. Rachel Clark widow of Sylvanus, Dec 31, 1822 age 79 yr. Therefore Rachel Starns Clark should have appeared someplace in the 1810 and 1820 census at age 67 and 77 respectively.
Since Jonathan Metcalf lived until 1821, unless he separated from Patty, the older woman was not Patty (Dwight) Metcalf (mother of Hannah Davis).
The older Walpole Oliver Clark is now missing and presumably dead (between 1800-1810), but his wife was already deceased: Kezia Clark, wife of Oliver Clark, died 10 June 1797 (VR Walpole). (Walpole town records indicate that "our" Oliver was not the son of the Walpole Oliver, as his son Oliver died young).
| Salle Clark bp 23 Aug. 1747, daughter of Icabod Clark, Bp. P.R.I. Baptismal date (Sharon record) |
| Sarah Clark bp. 6 Nov. 1748, daughter of Icabod Clark, Baptismal date (A Sarah Clark(e) (int. Clark) of Stoughtonham married John Reupeke 18 Nov. 1782 at Foxborough, VR Foxborough p127)) |
| Elisabeth Clark bp 30 Nov. 1756, dau. of Icabod Clark (Bp, P.R.I. Baptismal date)(VR Sharon p18) |
In 1820 the census shows Oliver back in Medfield with 1 m <10 (a new son), 2 m 16-26 (Sanford and older brother), 1 m >45 (born <1775), 2 f <10 (two new daughters), 1 f 10-16 (Lydia was 14), 2 f 16-26 (Hannah was 23, some new female here who has not appeared before), 1 f 26-45 (Hannah was 43).
Whoever the woman over 45 listed with him in Walpole in 1810 was, she is not present in the 1820 census. Perhaps she died between 1810 and 1820. There is no female death listed in the Walpole town records in this time frame. Potential candidates for this woman (her last name may not have been Clark):
She probably was Rachel Starns Clark, who is listed as dying in Sharon in 1822, so she may have returned to reside with a child there. She may have only been visiting Oliver in the summer of 1810 when the census was conducted, but most likely she lived with a child in her old age after Sylvanus Clark died.
In 1830 Oliver "Clarke" is listed in Medfield, one page from Sanford (i.e. very close). The "e" appears to have been a curlicue on the end of the k, from examination of the handwritten census records. Oliver is listed with 1 m 60-70 (born 1760-1770), 1 f 20-30 (this could be Lydia at 24, or one of the other 1820 females), 1 f 50-60 (Hannah was 53).
On 26 December 1831, an Oliver Clark died at age 64 (VR Medfield), presumably ours (i.e. born 1767). No more Oliver Clarks appear in the Norfolk County census until Oliver Anson Clark in 1850, living with the Wilsons. It is not known when Hannah died.
If we assume that these census ages were accurate (which is not generally true), then he was born: 1765-1794, 1765-1794, <1775, 1760-1770; or he was born between 1765 and 1770.
It seems unusual to me that the records of all of their children's birth do not appear in the Medfield, Medway, or Walpole town records. He may have moved more than we would think. Known Children of Oliver and Hannah:
Medway records list one Joanna Clark as having died on 14 Dec. 1854 @25 (therefore born c1829), daughter of Oliver and Nancy. Joanna may have been a daughter of one of the unnamed sons above, in which case one of them was an Oliver Clark. It is unlikely but possible that this is a child of Oliver at age c59, if he married a younger woman as a second wife.
| Sylvanus Clark of Sharon |
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Copyright ©1999, Dr. Frank Oliver Clark. These documents may be freely used for private purposes, and included in your own genealogy. However, this document is copyrighted and may not be sold, nor given to anyone who may attempt to derive profit from same. Please send any errors, corrections, conjectures, updates, etc. to Dr. Frank O. Clark.