Christopher Clark

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: , Bedford, Virginia, USA

Notes:

Captain Christopher Clark was born 1681 in Virginia and died on 28 May 1754 in Louisa, Virginia.

Married:

Elizabeth
Penelope (surname unknown) Clark (1684 - 1760)
Capt Christopher did have a first wife named Elizabeth. They never had any surviving children. She must have died around 1708 since all mention of her disappears and Christopher Marries Penelope around 1708 or 1709. They then have their first son EDWARD, in 1710 ( off the top of my head ) followed by all sorts of children who lived.

Disputed Origins
Seen as son of Micajah Clark (1659 - 1706) and Sallie Ann Moorman Clark (1662 - 1710). However, an argument presenting Edward Clark is seen here: https://www.geni.com/discussions/196579?msg=1297453

Brief Biography
He was a Captain in the militia, a lawyer, and a merchant. He is mentioned in the will of his law partner, Nicholas Meriwether, who calls him "Captain". He was justice of the peace in Louisa County in 1742. He is stated to have joined the Quakers in "1742 or 1749". In 1749, he was appointed an "overseer" of a meeting of Quakers near Sugarloaf Mountain in Albemarle County. His will was written 14 Aug 1741, in which he gave to his son Bolling, "my trooping arms and my great Bible, and all my law books".

Christopher Clark was mentioned in the St Peters Parish New Kent county Vestry records in 1697 and again on 14 Jan 1698. ( the Church of England being the official govt authorized church ) The Vestry book talks about clearing land and building roads. Christopher, and Edward Clark were ordered to be involved along with others.

Edward Clark was mentioned in the church records for 1692 and 1693with him assigned to the duties of Sexton. {charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard.}

On Feb 28, 1700 Christopher Clark and his then Wife ELIZABETH, signed as witnesses to the marriage of their friends Thomas Lankford and Martha West. Edward Clark also signed as a single person. Nine other people signed as well.

Later he marries Penelope around 1708 or 1709

By wife Penelope (unknown surname) he had seven children born between 1710-1722. He was a Captain in the militia, a lawyer, and a merchant. He is mentioned in the will of his law partner, Nicholas Meriwether, who calls him "Captain". He was justice of the peace in Louisa County in 1742. He is stated to have joined the Quakers in "1742 or 1749". In 1749, he was appointed an "overseer" of a meeting of Quakers near Sugarloaf Mountain in Albemarle County. His will was written 14 Aug 1741, in which he gave to his son Bolling, "my trooping arms and my great Bible, and all my law books".

WILL
In the name of God, I Christopher Clark, being in sound mind and memory, thanks be to Almighty God for it, but calling to mind the uncertainties ye life, make my last Will and Testament as follows, etc. 1st I give to my son Edward, one gun and all my wearing clothes and all things else that he possessed of that was ever mine.

2nd I give to my loving daughter Agnes Johnson, one negro wench, her increase and whatever else she has or ever had in possession that was mine.

3rd I give my loving daughter Rachel Moorman, four hundred acres of land in Hanover County near Capt. Thoms. Darcy and one negro woman named Moll with her increase and all things else that she had in her possession whatever was mine.

4th I give to my loving daughter Sarah Lynch, one negro boy and all things else that she is or ever was possessed of that was mine.

5th I give my loving son Micajah Clark, five hundred acres of Land in Hanover County the same whereon I now live with all rights and attachments thereunto belonging and one negro boy named - - - working tools and whatever else he is or was possessed of that was mine.

6th I give my loving son Bolling Clark four hundred acres of Land in Hanover County lying on the northwest side joining on the land of Mr. Thomas Carr and on ye County - - - -, two young negroes named Nance and Robin and one horse named Spret, one gun, one feather bed, and furniture, two cows amd calves, my trooping arms, and my great Bible, and all my law books.

7th I give my loving daughter Elizabeth Anthony, four hundred acres of land in Goochland on Hooker Creek near South forks of James River, two young negroes Mat and Jenny, cows and calves, one feather bed and furniture.

All the rest of my estate be what nature or quality soever to my loving wife during her natural life, who I appoint my Executrix and further my will and desire is that my loving grand-daughter Penelope Lynch at the death of her grandmother, Penelope Clark, my wife, that then she the said Penelope Lynch be paid out of my estate if there be so much remaining forty pounds good and lawful money of Virginia and then, if any left to be equally divided among my said children but not to be appraised.

In witness to above premises I have hereunto set my hand and fixed my seal this fourteenth day of August, 1741.

Test. Christopher Clark (seal) Thomas Martin her Ann Martin mark his James Waring mark

At a Court held for Louisa County the 28th day of May 1754, this Will was proved this day in open Court by the oath of Thomas Martin and affirmation of Ann Martin and admitted to record and is recorded. Test. James Littlepage Cl. Ct.

[From - Some Families of Revolutionary War Patriots from VA, MD, PA, SC, and KY - Will Mac (Duncan) Coulter 1993] pg. 337-338: "Beginning with Virginia documentation fro Christopher and Penelope Clark, everyone is on safe and solid genealogical ground. The following is taken from page 126 of Helen Fairfax McNaught Geary's book JAMES CLARK, MANSFIELD AND CHRISTOPHER CLARK AND ALLIED FAMILIES: '.......Christopher Clark was Justice on the first Bench of Magistrates of Louisa Co. established Dec. 13 1742, formed of Col. Robert Lewis, Capt. Christopher Clark, Thomas Meriwether, and others (Records of Louisa Co., Va. Order Book I, page 1.) He was law partner of Nicholas Meriwether (ancestor of Meriwether Lewis). He (Christopher) was a wealthy man for that time. Land records show purchase of lands in Hanover Co. on Cedar Creek in 1705-6. in addition he bought large tracts in 1702-5 with Nicholas Meriwether. Hanover County records show patents of thousands of acres to him from 1722 to 1739, prior to the formation of Louisa County from Hanover in 1742. In 1730 he, with Nicholas Meriwether patented 17, 952 acres (Record in Land office at Richmond, Va. State Library, Archives division). The Executive Journals of Council of Va., Vol. III, p 243, shows patents of 3400 acres in New Kent Co. in Nov 1716; p502, same book shows patents of 15,000 acres in Hanover Co., Va., May 1719.

Christopher married Penelope Johnston on 8 Jun 1709 in Saint Peter and Paul Parish, New Kent, Virginia, USA. Penelope (daughter of Sir Edward Johnson and Elizabeth Sarah Walker) was born on 4 Aug 1684 in Saint Peter and Paul Parish, New Kent, Virginia, USA; died on 14 Aug 1760 in , New Kent, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rachel married Thomas Moorman on 12 Jan 1730 in , Louisa, Virginia, USA. Thomas (son of Charles Moorman and Elizabeth Reynolds) was born on 14 Sep 1705 in Green Springs, Louisa, Virginia, USA; died on 10 Nov 1767 in Lynchburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA; was buried in Lynchburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married Charles Lynch in 1733 in , Hanover, Virginia, USA. Charles (son of Thomas Lynch and Sabina VanDerHorst) was born in 1705 in , County Galway, Ireland; died on 10 May 1753 in Charlottesville, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married John Ward on 27 Dec 1766 in , , Virginia, USA. John was born in 1708 in , Amherst, Virginia, USA; died on 11 Nov 1816 in The Mansion, Campbell, Virginia, USA; was buried in Altavista, Campbell, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 15 Oct 1774, Lynchburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA
• Residence: 1782, , Campbell, Virginia, USA
• Residence: 1810, , Bedford, Virginia, USA
• Residence: 1820, , Bedford, Virginia, USA
• Residence: 1830, , Bedford, Virginia, USA

Rachel married Stephen Goggin, Jr on 21 Dec 1773 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. Stephen (son of Stephen Goggin, Sr and Lettice Boyd) was born in 1752 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA; died in 1802 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA; was buried in Chestnut Fork, Bedford, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Penelope Lynch

Penelope married Robert Adams on 15 Oct 1748 in St Anns, Albemarle, Virginia, USA. Robert (son of Robert Adams and Mourning Fountelroy "Mary" Lewis) was born on 20 Dec 1725 in , Goochland, Virginia, USA; died on 17 Jun 1785 in Lynchburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

As Charles Lynch Jr. grew up, it is reasonable to assume that his parent's activities afforded him an oprortunity to come in contact with law, business, politics, management of a plantation, military life, religion, and possibly a disregard for constituted authority, since the Quakers were not prone to pay homage to anyone as their superior. This last-named trait offers some interesting speculation which may help to show how Charles Lynch Jr. stepped so surely in with other American patriots of the Revolution. It is not known that Charles Jr. bad any formal education. Probably he was taught at home by his mother, and his father certainly could have provided his more technical instruction. 'l:hat few of his letters which have been preserved seem to indicate that he would belong to the planter aristocracy of Virginia, intellectually speaking. Of course, he would not rate with a Jefferson, but was above the average man. Little else is known about Charles Lynch Jr. in early life. The first time his name appears in print is in his father's will, dated October 9, 1752 and proved on May 10, 1753, in which Charles Jr. is designated one of his father's executors. Born in 1736, Charles Jr. was only seventeen at the time of his father's death. According to the terms of the will, Charles Jr. was to receive a good tract of land on the Staunton River, five slaves, and to divide the cattle and hogs at Staunton with his brother, John, in 1757 when the former reached his majority. The cultural background of his parents provided him with good intellectual potent1al and his physical needs and start in life were amply provided for in his father's will.

There is no doubt that Sarah Lynch governed the thinking and activities of her children altogether for several years after the early death of her husband. Certainly, they acquired her interest in religion and the Quaker Church, and Charles was no exception. Even though the South River congregation had been authorized to hold its own public meetings, there were sorr:e proceedings which had to be approved by the Cedar Creek Church until South River was granted an independent status. Accordingly, Charles Lynch and Anne Terrell published their intention of marriage the first time at Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting on December l4, 1754. Likewise, 1n good Quaker tradition, a committee was appointed to Enquire into the said Lynches Clearness and make a report to the next Monthly Meeting. The committee reported the following month that Charles was "clear in relation to marriage" and the marriage was approved. Charles and Anne Terrell were married on January 12, 1755 according to the prescribed form as reported by the committee appointed to attend their wedding.

Attendance at the Cedar Creek Meetings required some little traveling, for it was usually held in Caroline County. Nevertheless, Charles Lynch continued to attend various meetings throughout the next two years as evidenced by his appointment to investigating committees and for permission to sue for just debts.

By March, 1758, the South River community had begun to conduct its own Monthly Meetings, and Lynch had risen in importance enough to be appointed to attend the Quarterly Meetine, representing South River. In addition, he was appointed to take over the job of clerk of the Monthly Meeting, a duty which he performed for about six years and which involved writing the proceedings or each meeting in a journal provided for that purpose. Lynch's name appears frequently ln the records throughout 1758 in various committee assignments and as a rei:resentative to tr.e Quarterly Meeting. In one instance, he and several others were appointed to inquire into the failure of a previous committee to make a certain report about prospective members to the Society from Halifax. Lynch's committee was also a failure for several months, but eventually nade its report in December of that year and along with it, satisfactory reasons for the delay of their investigation. Such checking and double-checking on the assignrents of Quaker committees was not uncommon. Frequently there was delay in reporting. Always, in such cases, another group was appointed to investigate the failure of the first, but if satisfactory explanations were forthcoming, then nothine else was ever said about the failure. 27 The purpose of this illustration is to show further the lengths to which the orthodox Quakers went in governing the affairs of their members, as it rray shed so~ light later on the reasons which caused Charles Lynch to break with the church. During the years 1758 through 1763, Lynch was a veritable pillar of the church community in which he lived. Hardly a month passed without his name appearing in the records as a representative to the Quarterly Meeting, appointment to an investigating committee, appointment to prepare the Quarterly Meeting accounts, to attend regular Quaker meetings and assist them in correct procedure, to prepare testifications against other Quakers who were straying from the straight and narrow path, to prepare or deliver disownments to members who did not repent of sinful acts, to repair the meeting house and secure the title to same bylaw, or to perform miscellaneous duties of the clerk. This was the period of his greatest activity among the Quakers and one which it must be assumed that he entered into wholeheartedly or else he could have found ways to shun the various duties required of him. Several other men stand out as prominent members of this cornrr.unity, but in church affairs Charles Lynch played equally as important a part. It was not until the spring of 1?64 that the first clue appears that possibly Lynch was tiring of his church duties. The entry appears in South River records that Charles Lynch requested to be relieved from his duties as clerk, and one William Chandler was appointed to that station.29 After August, 1764 his name does not appear again to any assignment whatsoever. Possibly one of the greatest factors in Lynch's waning interest for the church was the affair in which his brother Chris torher was involved. No specific account of the charges brought against Christorher Lynch by his brethren is found in the Quaker records except that, "Christopher Lynch being in practices contrary to the principles of Truth" will be disowned unless he can give the meeting satisfaction for his actions, whatever they were. This entry was recorded on July 21, 1764, and although it, my be i::ere coincidence that Charles
Lynch took no active part in the work of the church after August, it is probable that he sympathized with his brother or else had been contemplating leaving the church for some time. The business with Christopher Lynch ended in October, 1?641 when the two Men appointed to treat with him reported that he no longer claimed any right or title among the Quakers. An interesting pursuit was begun in September, 1765 by the Quakers in their attempts to get back the meeting rapers and other business records belonging to the church which had been retained by Charles Lynch since he bad given up hie post as clerk. Boling Clark and VJilliam Candler were appointed to collect the papers and settle various other rratters
with Lynch. For reasons unknown, they were unsuccessful in their task. Several other men were appointed to the committee but each month the record shows them all to be unsuccessful. Almost a year later, on August 16, 1?66, 11The Friends appointed to settle the Meeting tusiness
with Charles Lynch report they could not get the accounts nor settle it any other way than it was. They are therefore discontinued till further direction. 11 32 Here the mltter ended, and it is not yet known if the records in question were ever collected.

October, 1766 brought on the final round with Lynch and the Quakers. The church entered a complaint against Charles Lynch for taking "solemn oaths" and justifying himself in the action. A committee was appointed to persuade him of his error and also to inform him that he would be testified against unless he rr.ade the rroper repentance to the congregatjon. In November the committee reported that Lynch had again justified himself for taking oaths, so several Quakers were designated to draw up a paper of denial against the accused. There are two events that may have led to the raper of denial against Lynch for takinr, oaths. The first occurred on September 23, 1766, when Lynch and two others were appointed by a Bedford County Court order to settle with the executors of William Boyd's est~te to see that a final settleirent of the will was made.34 Such an order rriay have necessitated taking an oath before Lynch could be approved for the assignment. The second event, although not recorded until Deceniber, 1766, by the House of Burgesses, could have occurred before the Quaker car.plaint and thereby have been its cause. The House of Burgesses resolved "That Captain Charles Lynch, ••• being ordered out on err~rgent Occasions, ~nd not havin~
Tirne to raise the full Complement of 1len to entitle him to Captain's pay, ••• ought to be allowed the Pay of a Captain for his said Services."

Lynch's commission as a captain being authorized ry the governrnent, may have involved an oath of alleginnce to England. Even though neither or the events cited are positive illustrations of Lynch's oath taking at this time, both ere plausible. It need scarcely be add~d, that hod Lynch not been disowned for tak1ng oaths, he certainly would have been for participating in the above n:ilitary campaign. Enlistirent in the army or other warlike activities were grounds for disownment by the
Quakers. The paper of disownment was drawn up and read to Lynch in January, 1767, by Eoling Clarke, one of Lynch's closest friends while in the church. Lynch was offered a chance to redeem hirnse1r37 but apr~rently never did, for the final statement in the records reads, 'ffllereas Charles Lynch having been a tr.ernber of the Soci~ty of the People Called Quakers & have Con~rary to our known principles been guilty of taking solemn oaths we do therefore testify against him all such practices and the acter thereof from being any longer a rember of our Society till it may please God to convince him of bis error and work repentanc~ in him by a Godly sorrow which is the Sincere desire of us. It is difficult to say precisely why Charles Lynch broke with his religion after spending about ten very active years among the Quakers
and having been reared a Quaker by his mother. Maybe his father's aloofness from the church had some bearing on his decisi.on. Certainly he was deeply concerned over the disown~ent of Chriotopher Lynch. It is also possible that Lynch develored some skepticism as to the value of Quaker passive resistance jn the face of Indian nnsaacrea about the countryside around 1?6o.39 He may even have turned the Quakers' own disregard of constituted authority against them, had it occurred to him that the church did a good deal of unwarranted meddling into the private affairs of its rrembers. Whatever his reasons, breaking
with the church caused him to radically alter his previous living pattern and enter a variety of activities which he could not have done otherwise.

Pamela married Samuel B Clemens on 23 Oct 1797 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. Samuel (son of Adam Clement and Agnes Louisa Johnson) was born in 1773 in Lynchburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA; died on 7 Aug 1805 in Mason, Fairfax, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pamela married Simon Hancock on 25 May 1809 in Columbia, Adair, Kentucky, USA. Simon (son of William Hancock and Ann Hill) was born on 10 Aug 1774 in , , Virginia, USA; died on 15 Jun 1856 in , Adair, Kentucky, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pleasant married Mary Otey "Polly" Leftwich on 31 Jul 1806 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. Mary was born on 21 Mar 1789 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA; died on 24 Feb 1854 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1830, North of Cumberland River, Cumberland, Kentucky, USA

Mary married Alexander Gill on 13 Nov 1801 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. Alexander was born on 13 Oct 1781 in , Charles, Maryland, USA; died on 3 Sep 1868 in Bedford, Bedford, Tennessee, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mildred married Capt William Ward in 1770 in , , Virginia, USA. Capt (son of John Ward and Anne Chiles) was born in 1745 in , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA; died on 11 Oct 1826 in , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]