William Clarke (General)

by mrsbruso , Thursday, November 04, 2010, 01:25 (5206 days ago) @ ChrisW

They may be the same group . . . but I haven't made it back that far yet.

William Clarke was born in 1781. In the 1841 census he is living in Blakeney, with two other people; Richard Clarke born in 1820 or 1821, and Henry Clarke, born in 1833. (I'm intrigued; no women in the house!) I have a great paper trail on Richard, but William and Henry both just sort of disappear.

I found a marriage about 1815 for a widower, William Clarke, to Elizabeth Griffith or Griffiths, but I haven't done enough research to determine if it's the correct William.

Richard goes to the Pontypool area (Trevethin? Abergavenny? I'd have to check my records.) He goes back to Box Tree Cottage with some frequency, and my grandfather Charles Lewis was born there in 1881, as was his older brother, Thomas (known to all and sundry as Jim.) Two other children were born elsewhere. Richard was living in the house at the time of his death (1882), his widow died there about 1913, and my great grandmother, their daughter Mary Ann Clarke Lewis James died there in 1918.

One of Mary Ann's sisters, Annie Maria married George Workman.

I have been focussing more on my Lewis ancestors because of an intriguing mystery in that line, but had been told that the Clarke side went way, way, way back in the Forest, but I don't know if it was always under the name Clarke, or if it was on the distaff side.