JAMES DATON CLARK AND FAMILY

With regard to the parentage and relatives of Mr. J. D.  Clark, it may be remarked that Mrs. Lois Clark, his father's mother, became a resident of Bradford early in the present century. Her husband was a wool dealer in Boston, where he died in 1802. She was left with an interesting family of four sons and three daughters, worthy of individual notice in this connection.

1 Calvin Clark, became a merchant in Boston, of the firm of May & Clark. Retired from business, he is at this time residing at Boston Highlands.

2 William Clark, removed to Alabama, and died there.  His daughter, Sybil, remained in Bradford, and became the wife of Mr. J. A. Hardy. See account of the Hardy family.

3 Thomas Clark, Esq., settled in Paris, Maine, and was for some time Clerk of Oxford County Court.

4 Abigail Clark, married William Strattoh, a farmer in Winslow, Me. They have an interesting family of five sons and five daughters. She at this writing is still living.

5 Lois Clark, married David Hartwell, a respectable merchant and hotel keeper in Bradford, removed to Alabama, and died there. She was a member of the Congregational church in Bradford, and a very estimable lady. 

6 Miss Elizabeth Clark, married Jesse Merrill, Esq., for many years a practicing attorney-at-law in Bradford, and for seven years, not consecutive, a Representative of this town in the State Legislature. Mrs. Merrill, after the decease of her husband, and in view of her own departure, bequeathed in trust to the trustees of Bradford Academy two thousand dollars, and something over, to be safely invested, and the interest annually applied to the purchase of books and apparatus for the benefit of that institution.   Hence the " Merrill Library," which, already valuable, is yearly increasing. May it long continue, an honor to its worthy founder, and a blessing to successive generations of the young people who may be favored with its advantages. She died January 5, 1859, aged sixty-four.

Charles Clark, a brother of the above named, was for some years a merchant in Bradford, of the firm of Clark & Moore. He married Harriet Dayton, daughter of James Daton, Esq., of Orford, N. H. They had one son, James D. Clark, and one daughter, Jane, who became the first wife of Mr. George L. Butler, of Bradford. Mr.  Clark, being unsuccessful in mercantile business here,.  went to Alabama, and after a short residence there, in declining health set out on a journey to his home in the North; but died at Petersburg, Virginia, in or near the year 1819. His widow subsequently married Mr. Elisha Corliss, of Orford, N. H., both now deceased. They had four children. Harriet Dayton;  Elisha M., who is now married and living in California; Charles, who died at the age of seven, and John, now living in Fairlee, Vt.  His very estimable and pious sister, Miss Harriet Corliss, died at his house some years since.  Mr. James Daton Clark, son of Charles, the merchant, was born at Bradford, May 22, 1817. After his father's decease, he lived with his mother and her relatives for several years, when he went to an apprenticeship at the book binder's occupation in Concord, N. H. Thence he returned to Bradford, and successfully prosecuted that business here for a longtime. During the great anti-slavery conflict Mr. Clark was firm and zealous for the right, and so continued until, by means unexpected, the great object was secured, and liberty proclaimed through all the land to all the inhabitants thereof. In 1861 Mr. Clark removed to St. Albans, Vt., and from there, in 1864, to Montpelier, where for the ten years past he has continued to reside, engaged still in his accustomed occupation.  Mr. J. D. Clark married Miss Mary Sexton, of Bradford.  Her father, Major Sexton, was an officer in the troops called out for the defense of our Northern Frontier in the war of 1812. He came to Bradford in 1830, and built an iron foundry in this village, which in the course of a few years passed into the hands of Horace Strickland, Esq., and has since been successfully occupied under his management, Mr. Sexton died in Bradford in 1836, leaving five children: Emeline, Philo, John, Mary, and Hiram.  Mr. and Mrs. Clark were both members of the Congregational church in Bradford. They had four sons, all natives of this town.

1 Dwight Sexton Clark, born April 10, 1841, a printer in Boston, Mass.

2 Charles Edgar Clark, born August 10,1843, through the influence of Hon. Justin S. Morrill, Member of Congress from this district, was appointed a Cadet Midshipman to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1860, and in 1863 was ordered into active service. From that time until the close of the war he was attached to the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron, under Admiral Farragut, participating in the battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1863, in the attack upon and capture of Fort Morgan, on the 23d of the same month, and in several minor affairs on the Mississippi River and the coast of Texas.

Since the war Lieutenant Commander Clark has been employed mainly on the Pacific and West India stations, and has made several short cruises on the coasts, not only of our own country, but of Europe., He has also been on duty at the Navy Yards of Brooklyn, N. Y. and Portsmouth, N. H., and during the years 1870-1-2 and 3, was Instructor in the Naval Academy, and assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen. He was attached to the flagship of Admiral Thatcher when Queen Emma was carried home to the Sandwich Islands, and to the flagship of Commodore Rodgers when that officer urged in vain the English Admiral to unite with him and prevent the bombardment of Valparaiso. He witnessed also the severe engagement between the Spanish fleet and Peruvian batteries at Callao. He was on board the United States ship Suwanee. when that vessel was lost near the coast of British Columbia, July 7, 1868, and when the larger portion of the officers and crew were taken by Her British Magesty's ship Sparrow-Hawk from Hope Island, on which they had landed, he remained in command of the party which was left to protect from the Indians what had been saved from the wreck, until relieved by a steamer sent for that purpose by Admiral Thatcher.  Mr. Clark was promoted, October, 1863, to the grade of Ensign; May, 1866, to that of Master; February, 1867, to that of Lieutenant; and March, 1868, to that of Lieutenant Commander; which position, after the lapse of six years, he still holds. He seems to have acquitted himself with honor in the various positions which he has been called to occupy, and is believed to be the only young man from Bradford who has been duly educated for office in the United States Navy. He was married April 8, 1869, to Miss Maria Louisa Davis, daughter of W. T. Davis, Esq., of Greenfield, Mass. They have two daughters, Mary Louisa, born March 10, 1870, and Carrie Russell, born January 7, 1872.

3 'The third son of J. D. Clark and wife, named George Butler, died in his infancy.

4 Grenville Loyd Clark, born October 20, 1850, has remained with his parents, and at this date is actively engaged, in company with his father, in the useful business of book binding, paper ruling, and blank book manufacturing, at Montpelier, Vt.  Biographie Index

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