Trying to Confirm the Mother of Adam Clark b 1791

Adam Clark, MD was probably born in Albany County, NY about 1791. He trained as a medical doctor and was admitted to practice in 1819 in Rensselaerville.  By the time of the 1820 census he was recorded as married in neighboring Berne; his wife was Harriet Watson, oldest daughter of Wheeler and Sarah Taylor Peckham.

Several documents had been discovered referring to Adam as "Junior", but I wasn't certain his father shared his name until I found a manuscript at the New York State Library written in 1830 in which the elder Adam of Westerlo, NY granted all his property to his son Adam Junior of Berne in lieu of care in later age.

In 1800 and 1810 census in Coeymans, NY Adam Senior was listed with a son aligning with Adam Junior's age. By 1820 and 1830, Adam Senior was in Westerlo and it was that property he passed to his son. Matching records have been found in Albany NY land deeds whereby Adam Jr and his wife Harriet sold those same parcels of land prior to 1840.

It was learned that Adam Senior was minister in the Seventh Day Baptist (SDB) church, born in Rhode Island to Joseph Clark(e) and Deborah Pendleton. It is assumed that he married Olive Burdick in RI or perhaps in NY about 1790. Adam was not found as head of household in that first census in either state.

Adam Senior died in 1837 and was found listed on a transcript of the Tan Hollow Cemetery in Westerlo along with this accompanying entry:

·       CLARK, Olive, wife of Rev. Adam Clark, died Jan. 21, 1838, age 68 yrs.

·       CLARK, Rev. Adam, died Apr. 18, 1837, age 73 yrs.

Interestingly, the Burdick family was also part the small community of SDB followers in Rhode Island; however, I can find no record of Olive Burdick. So, was she Adam's mother?  If so, was Burdick her maiden name or might she have been a widow when she married Adam? Was she Adam's first/only wife?

At this point, the only mention of Olive Burdick that I have found is her cemetery listing as Adam's wife.

Tracing the elusive Louisa Watson of Rensselaerville

Louisa was born in 1808 to Josiah and Bridget Watson of Albany County, NY, their only daughter. Her marriage to widower James D Fisher, a blacksmith from the city of Albany, on September 10, 1842 was announced in the Albany Argus newspaper. Unfortunately James died 5 months later and I was unsure of what happened to Louisa. I found many newspaper items regarding the settlement of his estate but could not find Louisa in subsequent census records. James’ first wife Elizabeth had died in 1839 and it seemed that they had no children, but I was uncertain.

Louisa’s father died in 1844 and her mother in 1849. I was not certain if she had returned to live with them or not as she was identified in those estate notices as “of Rensselaerville”, but did that mean “lives there now” or “had come from”? I looked for Louisa with her brothers – not found.

Then I discovered a fantastic source of Albany County records on the American Ancestors website of the NEHGS. They have a county land deeds index – WOW ! In searching there for Fisher I found that James owned land in the city of Albany (on Hamilton) and in Guilderland, west of the city.  Louisa W Fisher was listed as executrix on the transfer of his deeds in 1846. I also noticed some entries for James W Fisher, but passed them by as I did not recognize the name.  Looking beyond the initial listings for Louisa I noticed two transactions dated 1848 listing her as Louisa W Fisher (now Thompson). Bingo ! Looks like she remarried.

I searched census records for 1850, 1855 (a favorite NY state census which asks for county of birth which can be most helpful for individuals with common surnames – like Fisher and Thompson). Not found. NO 1860, no 1870. No marriage record found for Watson/Fisher and Thompson. Maybe it was a false lead.

Grand Rapids, Michigan 1880: Everett twins

In the 1880 census, Willis and Watson Everett were documented in the 12 person household of New York born Joshua Everett, age 65. The brothers were both listed as age 21 and were working as grocery clerks. I would come to confirm that they were twins born in Hurley, Ulster County, NY.  However, it took some digging to identify their relationship to "Uncle Joshua".

Joshua Morse (1809-1898) had a younger sister, Betsey, who married into the Everett family. Her husband Higby Everett (1808-1890) was the half brother of Willis and Watson's father, John S Everett (1827-1903). So, it seems Joshua considered the boys "nephews" and luckily so;  if he had listed them just as  "boarders" I would never have linked them together.

Children of Lyman Dwight and Rebecca Watson

Lyman Dwight 1797-1880 and Rebecca Watson 1802-1880 married in 1824 in Albany County, NY where she was born and he (a native of Vermont) had relocated as a wool manufacturer and leather tanner. They had 8 children and moved to Stillwater in Saratoga County about 1845. Three of their children did not live to adulthood, 2 daughters did not marry and three married producing 10 grandchildren.

Their children were:

1825 - 1893  Lucia married Congressman Rufus King, Catskill, no children

1828 - 1919  Sarah, Catskill, unmarried

1827 - 1899  Emeline married dentist Alfred Doty, Windham, 4 children

1830 - 1888  Harriet, Catskill, unmarried

1834 - 1908  Harvey, merchant, married Mary Isabel Burton, Albany, 6 children

1836 - 1836 infant

1840 - 1842  Mary

1845 - 1846  Wheeler

All of the sisters lived in Greene County, NY: Lucia, Sarah and Harriet in Catskill, Emeline in Windham. Harvey moved to the state capital of Albany.

Most of the family members are buried at the Hudson View Cemetery in Mechanicville, Saratoga County. The exceptions are:

            Lucia               Catskill Village Cemetery in Greene County

            Harvey            Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands

            Emeline          Windham Cemetery in Greene County

Overall, this family had robust longevity.  Lyman lived to be 83 and Rebecca was 78.

Of their children who did live into adulthood, all lived more than 55 years though none beat their parents' record with the exception of Sarah who died just short of her 91st birthday !

Children of George Williams Peckham and Mary Perry Watson

George (1796-1873), son of Peleg Peckham and Desire Watson

Mary (1808-1891), daughter of "Capt John Watson" and Mary A Watson
   <her parents were 1st cousins, he the son of "Judge" John and she the daughter of
    the Judge's younger brother Elisha>

They were both born in Rhode Island, married there in 1830 and relocated to Milwaukee in
the mid-1850s. He was a "territorial" judge.

8 known children  -- got off to a bad start, 4 grew to adulthood

1831    Henry, died at age 3
1832    George W, died as an infant
1835    Mary, died at age 5
1838-1864    Isabella m Benjamin Kurtz Miller in Milwaukee, 5 children
1841    Mary (again), died at age 2
1843-1871    Elizabeth "Lila", single, college education, suffragist, died at 28
1845-1914    George W Jr -- doctor, lawyer, spider expert, educator
                     m Elizabeth Gifford in Milwaukee, 3 known children (possibly had 5)
1847-1906    William Henry who left for Texas in 1870, there he married Palestine Timmons,
                      7 children

Charlotte Higbee's Cousins

Charlotte was born in 1872 to Eliza Watson Clark and her husband Henry Higbee, the third of their children and the only one to survive infancy. When her widowed mother died in 1897 Charlotte, deemed an "incompetent person", relocated from NYC to Binghamton, NY where her maternal uncle Henry Clark, his wife and daughter sheltered her for the remaining 16 years of her life. Charlotte had been bequeathed income as support and had a residual estate at the time of her death. She had been granted a generous inheritance by her wealthy paternal aunt Charlotte of Cincinnati who, with her husband Judge Ezekiel S Haines, had no children of their own.

Newspapers published legal notices to known cousins, listed as:

            Arthur W. Clark

            Sidney T. Clark

            Arthur W. Clark

            Egbert Clark

            children of the deceased George W. Clark

            children of the deceased Mrs Coursen, aunt of Charlotte, first name unknown

Yes, two of her first cousins were named Arthur W. Clark, one born to her maternal Uncle Wheeler and the other born to her maternal Uncle Henry. Interestingly, Charlotte had additional first cousins who were not named. At first I was unsure of who Mrs Coursen might be.