Clark, William

(submitted by Helen Clark and Marjorie Willoughby)

William Clark (1805–1850) was born in England. About 1831 he married Hannah Linnel (1813–1891). It is believed that, shortly after their marriage, they sailed for North America. They may even have come to an American port because their eldest son was born in the United States in 1835. The family lived for a time in Louth Twp., Welland County.

Sometime between 1844 and 1847 the family moved to Lambton County where they settled in Lot 28, Con. 3 SER, Warwick Twp. Land records do not indicate their ownership of this property. William's brother, John, and his wife, Fanny House, had apparently also been in Louth Twp. and later came to Warwick Twp. as well. Land records indicate that John owned the entire 200 acres on Lot 28.

Hannah Linnell, wife of Joseph Clark. Courtesy I Pecena.

William began the arduous task of clearing the land which was still dense forest. In the process he was thrown against a tree by his team of oxen and killed. He was buried on the farm.

William and Hannah were the parents of seven children: John W. (1835–1913), Sarah (Fuller, 1838–1925), Mary (Douglas, 1840–1915), Susannah (Kersey, 1842–1890), Ann (Parker, 1844–1925), Joseph (1846–1896) and Francis (1849–1929). All of these children and their spouses were pioneer farmers in Warwick Twp., except for Mary Douglas, who lived in Brooke Twp.

One of the earliest records for this family was the confirmation of Hannah Linnel Clark by Bishop Strachan at Warwick Village in 1848, the earliest place of worship in the township. Later, Hannah and her family were instrumental in the establishment of Zion Wesleyan Methodist Church. Hannah died at the home of her daughter, Ann Parker.

William and Hannah's oldest son, John W., married Naomi Tompkins (1846–1921). They settled on a farm on London Rd., later the Willoughby farm. They had twelve children, many of whom moved to western Canada. John and Naomi died in Sylvan.

William and Hannah's daughter Sarah married George Fuller (1832–1916). They farmed in Warwick Twp., then retired to Arkona. They had ten children.

Sarah Clark with husband George Fuller. Courtesy M Willoughby.

William and Hannah's daughter Mary married Oliver Douglas from Brooke Twp. Their daughter Susannah married James Kersey (1843–1882), who farmed in Warwick Twp. They had ten children. James died in 1882. Then in 1890, Susannah and two of her children died from typhoid fever. The rest of the Kersey family moved to Michigan, except for Toby, who lived with his Aunt Ann Parker.

Ann Clark, youngest daughter of William and Hannah, was born in St. Catherines. In 1870 when she married Benjamin Parker they took up residence on his newly purchased farm across the road from her home farm. They lived there for 40 years and had seven children. When they left the farm, they moved into Watford, where Benjamin operated a shoe repair business out of their home.

Joseph Clark was the second youngest son of William and Hannah Clark. He married Mary Valdora Smith (1854–1932) in 1875. Mary was the daughter of Levi and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Smith, also of Warwick. The Smith (Smyth) family was of German descent. After his father's death, Joseph worked on the Clark homestead on Lot 28, Con. 3 SER until he was 21 years old. Then he purchased 100 acres at Lot 3, Con. 2 SER in 1868. In 1887 he bought Lot 4, Con. 2 SER where they built their four bedroom brick home.

Joseph and Mary had ten children. Three died in their early years. Their surviving children were: William Levi (1876–1946); Elizabeth Hannah (1879–1954) who married James McMurray and moved to the Petrolia area; Laura Etta (1883–1983); George Roy (1886–1959) who moved to Vancouver; Russel Alexander (1889–1963); Lettie May (1892–1976); and Lulu Grace (1895–1980).

Joseph died very suddenly in 1896 following surgery for a burst appendix. Three months after his death, Mary gave birth to their youngest child, Mary Pearl Josephine, who died a month later.

Joseph and Mary Clark's son William Levi farmed the homestead for a time. However, it was eventually taken over by his brother Russel. William married Annie Greer (1874–1964) and they moved to northern Ontario.

Laura Etta worked as a maid in London before she was married to William Edward Stacey (1880–1950). The Staceys lived in Wyoming and London, Ont.

As well as being a carpenter, Russel Alexander Clark farmed the family homestead after William left it. He married Emma Anne Blain (1887–1946) in 1912. They had a family of three daughters: Muriel (Wilkinson), Jean (Douglas) and Mildred (Moon).

Lettie May Clark, the second youngest daughter of Joseph and Mary, married William Marwick (1883–1968) in 1914. William had come to Canada at age 19 and apprenticed with his uncle, William Marwick, a Watford building contractor. William and Lettie had a family of ten children. They later moved to Sarnia, where he worked at Imperial Oil.

Lulu Clark, the youngest daughter of Joseph and Mary, married Edward Lewis (divorced) and she raised their son Paul at Watford. Lulu worked at Androck. Her mother spent her last years with her.

Francis Clark (1849–1929), youngest son of William and Hannah Clark, married Ann Goodhill (1850–1941), the daughter of David Goodhill and Ann Green, of Warwick. They raised six children: Franklin David (1880–1963), Joseph Ernest (1882–1905), Ethel (1884–1979), Lily Ann May (1886–1978), William Lloyd (1888–1889), and Sadie (1890–1965). Shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Francis contacted typhoid fever. He never regained his health and faced severe mental and physical challenges. For the next 40 years, he was a patient at the Ontario Hospital in London. Ann was left to care for her family, all under the age of ten. Her 15 year old nephew Toby Kersey came to help his Aunt Ann with the farm work after the rest of his family moved to Michigan.

Ann Goodhill Clark died of a heart attack at the home of her daughter Sadie. She was born in Yorkshire, England, but came to Warwick Twp. as a child, with her parents, a sister and two brothers.

Francis and Ann Clark's eldest son, Franklin David, married Margaret Matilda Blain (1883–1953) in 1906. Margaret and Franklin farmed in Warwick Twp., on the Second Line SER (Zion Line). They had a family of 3 sons: Ernest Stanley of Warwick; Orval of Warwick and Leona (Anderson) of Forest.

On May 21, 1953, a tornado struck the home of Franklin and Margaret Clark. Margaret was sucked out of her kitchen window and later died in Sarnia General Hospital. Her husband, Franklin, was sitting on a wide veranda at the rear of the house and, although trapped against a brick wall, survived the tragedy. Orval Clark's house, about 40 feet to the west, was reduced to a pile of rubble. Orval (–1996) and Jean (Kerr, 1923–2006) Clark's two daughters, Frances, age 3 and Muriel, age 6, were playing in the yard next to their grandparents' house. Muriel was not injured by the flying bricks, but her sister suffered a collapsed lung. Jean was also caught in the wind, but not severely injured. The old farmhouse was now unsafe and it was demolished. The bricks were cleaned by Jim Sturgeon and reused to build a new house just east of where the old one had stood. By December, 1953 the family moved in and their third child Ken was born a month later.

Muriel married John Shepherd and lives on Brickyard Line, Warwick Twp. Frances married Boyd Fraser and moved to Petrolia. Ken and his wife Donna live in eastern Warwick Twp.

Joseph Ernest Clark, the second son of Francis and Ann, went to the Canadian west as a young man. On his return trip home by train in the fall of 1905, he contracted typhoid fever from drinking contaminated water. He died soon after his arrival back in Warwick Twp. He was 23 years old.

Francis and Ann Clark's oldest daughter Ethel married Charles Stewart (1881–1958), who farmed in Warwick and Plympton Twp. They had 3 children: Lloyd, who farmed on the homestead; Annie; and Clare, also of Warwick. At the time of her father Francis' death, Ethel and Charles Stewart lived in Warwick Village.

Lily Ann May Clark, the fourth child of Francis and Ann, married Hugh Austin Willer (1885–1973) in 1907. The Willers lived on Highway 7 west of Warwick Village. Their children were Roy, who lived in Warwick, and Sadie (Smith) of Watford.

Sadie Clark, youngest child of Francis and Ann, was a teacher in Bothwell before she married Charles Hick (1892–1957). They farmed in Brooke Township and had six children.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Clark, William

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