Jonas Clark, Revolutionary War Veteran

GENEALOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM THE DEED BOOKS 10 THROUGH 19,
1845-1857, MADISON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
By Jonathan K. T. Smith
Copyright, Jonathan K. T. Smith, 1995

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JONAS CLARK, REVOLUTIONARY
WAR VETERAN



JONAS CLARK, SEN. Born May 16, 1759 Died Feb. 28, 1846	ANN, CONSORT OF JONAS CLARK, SEN. Born Nov. 18, 1787 Died June 13, 1859

Also:

JONAS N. CLARK
Born Nov. 9, 1829
Died Jan. 31, 1851

Each tombstone bears the name of the stone-cutter: Pledge Moore & Co., Gra. Junctn., Ten. /Grand Junction, Tennessee/. The three-grave burial ground of the Jonas Clark family, located several feet south of U.S. Highway 412-E (Tennessee Highway 20), about 7.4 miles from the present city limits of Jackson, Tennessee via U.S. highways 70 and 412-E.

National Archives, Washington, D.C.: Revolutionary War Pension File W1386 and BLW 26482-160-55: Jonas Clark was born about 20 miles from Philadelphia, Pa., May 16, 1759; moved with his father to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina when young and served in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War; in 1830 moved from there to Madison County, Tennessee where he died Feb. 28, 1846. He applied for a federal pension for his war service, August 7, 1832 which application was approved. His widow, Ann Alexander Clark, applied for a similar pension for her husband's service, July 17, 1853, which was approved. This application reveals that she and Clark were married March 20, 1818 and their children were: John F. Clark, born May 31, 1822; Robert A. Clark, born April 7, 1823; E. A. /Edwin Alexander/ Clark, born 28/29 Jan. 1826; Jonas Clark, Jr., born Nov. 9, 1829. Ann Alexander Clark died July 13, 1859 according to this documentation although her tombstone clearly states that she died June 13, 1859.

On April 24, 1827, Jonas Clark of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina deeded as a gift 480 acres to his sons, John Franklin Clark and Edwin Alexander Clark, being part of 750 acres granted to Jonas Clark by the State of Tennessee, Land Grant 22355, August 10, 1824. This deed was registered March 27, 1828. (Madison County Deed Boo 2, page 4) Jonas Clark was advanced in years, his most active years behind him, when he and his family settled on this tract where at his death he was buried. The family graveyard and evidently the residence nearby were located on the east side of the Cotton Grove Road, near the point this road now enters U.S. Highway 412-E, but in their day and up until about 1930 the Cotton Grove Road continued north where it joined what is now the Upper Brown's Church Road, then part of the Jackson-Lexington highway. The portion of the Cotton Grove Road between Upper Brown's Church Road and U.S. Highway 412-E has since about 1930 been abandoned.

After Jonas Clark's death, in 1846, his widow, Ann, went to live with their son, John F. Clark, who was living on the old Goodrich tract (now Claybrook), somewhat to the east of the Clark place which was then in Civil District 14. (Ann Clark. is listed with this son's family in the U.S. Census, Oct. 25, 1850, page 330; aged 59, born in North Carolina. Her age here is at variance with her tombstone birthdate which is probably the most likely correct source.) Jonas Clark sold some of his 750 acre tract to John Estes, while he was still a resident of Mecklenburg County, N.C., on April 23, 1827. Witnesses to this deed were other old settlers of Madison County, Abel Willis and Alexander Greer. (Madison County Deed Book 2, page 48) His family, his sons specifically, sold the greater portion of this land, the 480 acres their father had given them and on which the family had lived for years, John F. and Edwin A. Clark, to Joseph Fogg, for $3000 on March 4, 1850, beginning at the southeast corner of the 750 acre tract. (IBID., Book 13, page 582)

The widow of Joseph Fogg, Mary L. Fogg, held 302 acres of this tract as her dower from his estate and sold it to Robert W. Hall for $1000, October 17, 1883. Deed registered Jan. 27, 1886. (IBID., Book 42, page 87) Robert W. Hall conveyed this tract, given as 310 acres, to his son, R. W. Hall, Jr., specifying that it was the land he had purchased from Mary L. Fogg in 1883. (IBID., Book 43, page 88) The senior Hall made a clearer deed to this son for this tract, April 10, 1889, stating that it began at the southeast corner of a tract bought by Joseph Fogg from the Clarks; part of the Joe Fogg land and the dower of his widow. Deed filed April 11, 1889. (IBID., Book 46, page 337)

R. W. Hall, Jr. sold 158 acres of this tract to W. H. Meal, Nov. 16, 1889 for $2633.33. (IBID., Book 47, page 243) The heirs of W. H. Meal conveyed their interest in the 158 acres to his widow, Lou Meals, Dec. 12, 1896. (IBED., Book 57, page 189) She in turn sold it to Joseph F. McCallum, all 158 acres, November 8, 1909. (IBID., Book 75, page 525) Much of this land, including the area of the graveyard, is still owned by McCallum's descendants.

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Information from the Revolutionary War pension application of JONAS CLARK. National Archives, Washington, D.C.:W 1386; BLWt 26462-160-55.

In order to obtain the pension provided by Act of the U.S. Congress, June 7, 1832, allowing such benefit to, veterans of the Revolutionary war, JONAS CLARK made his "declaration" or application for such benefit on August 7, 1832 in Madison County, Tennessee before its county court.

That he /Clark/ entered the service of the United States under the following circumstances. He was living in the County of Mecklenburgh in the State of North Carolina and on the 20th of December 1779 he volunteered in a troop of Horse /cavalry/ raised and commanded by Captain Richard Simmons who lived in Rowan County. he immediately proceeded with his company to Charleston, which from intelligence received, it was expected would be besieged by the British. He arrived there early in the month of January following and in the month of February 1780 the British landed at Stono about 30 miles to the south of Charleston. About this time it was understood that Col. Creiger the commandant of the British horse at Savanna would attempt to effect a junction with the British forces at Charleston. The company to which he was attached together with some militia the commander of which he does not recolect /sic/ were ordered to meet Creiger which they did and had several slight engagements with his foraging parties and retreated before him to Charleston. He remained stationed at Browns bridge on Ashley river about 22 miles from Charleston near Dorchester until about the last of March. after the British forces had crossed Ashley River, when the time of service (three months) for which he had volunteered expired, when he returned home. Col. Lincoln commanded the American army at Charleston and Col. Hamwright of Lincoln County, North Carolina commanded the North Carolina Militia at the same place. . . . In May or June of 1780, two or three months after his return home he volunteered in a troop of horse raised and commanded by Captain Nathaniel Martin (who was Captain Simmons lieutenant in his first tour as above) and joined Genl. Sumpter on the day before the battle of the Hanging Rock and was in that battle of the 6th of August 1780. the night after the battle we retreated up to Cain Creek about 20 miles. Our company was sent to assist Genl. Gates and we joined him at Rudgelys Mill on the night of the 15th of August and on the next day was in the battle where Gates was defeated nine miles from Camden. On the evening after the battle, he was sent with two or three others as an express to Sumpter to inform him of the defeat and with directions from him to retreat, which he did all night and continued his retreat beyond Fishing Creek where he stopped on the 18th to refresh and were surprized by Tarltons horse and completed routed and scattered, every man shifting for himself. After this Lord Cornwallis came to Charlott_ in Mecklenburgh County and remained there about a month, where we annoyed him and killed many of his foraging parties not having sufficient numbers to give battle. The day after Cornwallis left Charlotte our company and others who joined us pursued after the British doging /sic/ and annoying their rear and scouting parties and kept up an irregular warfare until we came to Lansford on the Catawba river, from whence we returned home. The British marched up through Lincoln County and crossed over the river into Iredel County. He then (collected with?) Capt. Martin and others who joined our company and continued to harrass the British on their march and at Mrs. Torrens at the corss roads we had a smart skirmish where our Captain Martin had his horse killed and himself taken prisoner and Robert Walker the lieutenant took command of the company. From there we returned to Mecklenburgh County and in a few days joined Genl. Dickson the commander of the r'Jorth Carolina militia at Salisbury and marched with him to Guilford Court house where we joined Genl. Green who had superceded Genl. Gates in the command of the Southern Army and fought in the battle of Guilford on the 15th of March. He /Clark/ was in continual service from the time he volunteered under Captain Martin until after the battle of Guilford, a period of about ten

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months with the exception of a few days during the irregular warfare above described in North Carolina, he was on furlough and allowed to visit his friends and to provide himself with clothing.
After the battle of Guilford he returned home to Mecklenburgh County where he remained about two months, when his old Captain Martin (who had made his escape from the British) arrived in his neighbourhood, commissioned captain by Govr. Rutledge of South Carolina and authorized to raise by volunteers a company of horse and brough/t/ me a commission from Gov. Rutledge of lieutenant under him. We raised a company of horse for ten months service and were attached to Col. William Polks regiment. We reached and joined Genl. Sumpter at Browns old field near where Columbia, S.C. now stands. We had several skirmishes with Tories and British at Fridays fort on the Congaree river, at Orangeburgh Court hourse and at Shubrick's plantation about 12 miles from Biggin church (which the British had burned with their stores in it). We joined Genl. Green on the 7th of September 1781 and fought the battle of the Eautaw Springs on the 8th. the night after the battle we retreated about 2 or 3 miles to a branch where we lay the night before where he remained until the 11th when we returned to the battle ground and buried our dead which we found striped of their clothes by the enemy. In this battle Lieutenant Thos. Polk, brother of Col. William Polk and Maj. James Rutherford were both killed near me, the first shot above the eye and the latter in the throat, both of whom I help bury. Col. William Washington was taken prisoner in my view. . . . We marched to Browns old field and was ordered with a detachment to join Genl. Wayne in Georgia and joined him at Ebenezer about 30 miles from Savanna and were in some slight engagements with tories and a party of Creek Indians who suddenly came upon us and returned and was discharged at Browns old field in March 1782. This concluded his Revolutionary services having been more than twenty three months in actual service. His commission of lieutenant, signed by Govr. Rutledge of S.C. and his discharges he /kept/ for several years and by time or axident /sic/ are destroyed. He viewed them of no value (except as matter or pride and took no means of preserving them, not supposing they would ever be of use to him. )"

Charles Robertson and John Darnall, living in Madison County, affirmed that they had known Jonas Clark in Mecklenburg Co., N. C. where he was "always reported by the old soldiers of the Revolution to have been an efficient soldier of the Revolution. " So sworn before the court, August 7, 1832.

Jonas Clark, who signed the application as Jonas Clark, Sr., also deposed that

I was born on the 16th of May 1759 about twenty miles from Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania. . . . I have a record of my age. My birth was recorded in a large ledger book kept by my father which was destroyed by the British when the/y/ overun the county of Mecklenburgh where my father lived. they destroyed almost every thing my father had. . . . My father left Pensalvania /sic/ and settled in Mecklenburgh County, North Carolina in July 1771, where he lived at the breaking out of the war and where he /Jonas/ joined the service as stated in his declaration and continued to live there until May 1830, when he left there and settled in the county where he now resides in July 1830.

Jonas Clark, Sr. was allowed a pension of $220.82 per annum, on a certificate issued June 22, 1833. Pay, retroactive to date of act passed to the sum of $552.05.

Applying for "commutation pay" as the widow of Jonas Clark, ANN CLARK, on July 17, 1853 in Madison County, Tennessee, deposed that she was the widow of Jonas Clark; that she was 65 years old on the 18th of Nov. 1852; that her husband and she were married "about May 1820" in Mecklenburg Co., N.C. and that he died Feb. 28, 1846 in Madison County; that her proof of his Revolutionary War service would be in his application/pension file.

Ann Clark's application for a pension (1853) was approved Oct. 10, 1853, at $282.82 per annum.

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On April 14, 1855 ANN CLARK applied to the federal government, once again, this time "for the purpose of obtaining the bounty land to which she may be entitled under the act approved March 3rd 1855." In this application she stated that she was "the widow of Jonas Clark, Senior, deceased, who was a lieutenant in the war of the Revolution and that she is the identical Ann Clark who is inscribed on the Pension Roll at the rate of two hundred and twenty dollars and eighty-two cents, payable at the Nashville Agency." She further stated "that she was married to the said Jonas Clark, Senior, in Mecklenburgh county in the State of North Carolina on the 20th day of March A.D. 1818 by one George Hampton Esq. and that her name before her said marriage was Ann Alexander. That her said husband died in Madison county, in the State of Tennessee, on the 28th day of February A.D. 1846 and that she is now a widow."

In her application of 1853, Ann Clark listed the children (and their birth dates) that she had with Jonas Clark: John F. Clark, born May 31, 1822, who was living in Madison Co. in 1853; Robert A. Clark, born April 7, 1823; E. A. Clark, born January 29, 1826; Jonas Clark, born November 9, 1829.

From the final payment voucher records for Ann Clark, it is recorded that she died June 13, 1859.

(The marriage bonds of Mecklenburg Co., N.C. show that Jonas Clark took out a bond to marry Ann Alexander, March 30, 1818, so that the date she gave for their marriage in her 1855 application must come closest to the actual date, or around March 30, 1818.)

In her 1853 application was a deposition made by Jonas Clark, Jr., July 19, 1853, in Madison Co., Tennessee in which he stated "that he was acquainted with Jonas Clark deceased and Ann Clark his widow before their marriage in the State of North Carolina in Mecklenburg County." That, he knew Jonas Clark, Sr. and that his marriage to Ann took place "in about three or four miles of where /I/ lived at that time" and that "he knew Jonas Clark Sen. up to the day of his death."

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