Family Reunion: Clark

A Quick Overview of my work under this surname

Russell Hudson Clark (1920-2002) was my maternal grandfather. Most of the Clark families I work with are related to Grandpa Russ - but the surname does show up in my Callin Family History, too.

Maternal side:

Grandpa Russ was the youngest of a large family. He was born in Clermont County, Ohio, but all of his older siblings were born in Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky. His grandfather was Joel Clark (1828 - 1915), who was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, just across the river from Ashland. Joel Clark’s nine children were all born in either Ashland or neighboring Greenup County, Kentucky.

Those three generations of Clarks married people from the local area - so the same surnames keep popping up. As far as I can tell, it was rare that anyone closer than 3rd cousins married each other, but sometimes two siblings from one family would marry two siblings from another family, which can make the records harder to figure out.

The Big Four surnames that keep showing up are Clark, Reynolds, May, and West.

We also have several cousins living in the Ashland area who are descendants of Grandpa’s aunt, Jennie (Clark) Smith (1878 - 1975). If you’re a cousin of mine through David Ulysses Clark, you might be interested in the Facebook group Peggy's Clippings, in which several of her great-grandchildren have shared the local newspaper clippings collected by Jennie’s granddaughter, Peggy Adams.

Grandpa Russ used to tell us stories about growing up in Arkansas, and a number of his aunts and uncles relocated there around the time of the Great Depression.

I have done my best to document everyone from Joel Clark down in WikiTree - and I am still looking for information about Joel’s father, Amos Clark. There were at least three men from that area called Amos Clark at the same time, which does present some challenges. Hopefully, as more folks get their DNA into the system, we’ll be able to figure out who’s who.

My paternal connections:

I wrote about these folks in 2015 in “Those Darned Clarks” - here’s a shorter version:

Charles Lincoln Clark (1866 - 1937) married my 2nd cousin, 3x removed, Lydia Minerva (Callin) Clark (1869 - 1943). Howard George Clark (1888 - 1923) married my 4th cousin, 2x removed, Madeline L (Callin) Clark (1896 - 1942). Lydia and Madeline were 3rd cousins, once removed, and were separated by a 27-year age gap. It’s possible they did not know each other.

Charles and Howard do not appear to be related to each other. However, Howard was born in Ashland, Kentucky, so there is a solid chance I will find a connection between him and my maternal Clark family someday.

If you’re a descendant of any of these Clark families, drop a comment and say hello or ask questions. If you want me to write more about them, asking me questions is the best way to inspire me!

And be sure to invite your cousins to subscribe - so when I do get around to writing something new, they won’t miss out.