Clark Family Papers
General International Standard for Archival Description
Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Creation of Clark Family Papers
Time of Creation of Clark Family Papers
Clark Family.
Biographical History for: Clark Family Papers
Historical Note Survey of property purchased by Thomas and William Wallis The Clark family played a prominent role in the colonial and early national history of Newton, Massachusetts. Although there are some discrepancies in the early family history, John Clark (1641-1695) and his wife Elizabeth Norman (b. 1665) appear to have settled in Cambridge Village (now Newton), Massachusetts, in about 1681. When Clark died in 1695, most of his estate passed to his sons John and William (1686-1737), including a profitable sawmill and eight acres of land he had purchased from Indians near their fishing grounds on the Upper Falls of the Charles River. In 1725, William Clark acquired additional property in Newton that became the site of his family's farm. Active in the public life of his community, Clark and his wife Hannah (Kee) had seven children, including two sons who lived to their majority, Norman (1710-1787) and William (b. 1716). Norman's son, Norman Jr. (1751-1826), followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps in representing his community, serving as a town Selectman and, during and after the Revolutionary War, as Collector of Taxes. Although never exceptionally wealthy, by the 1790s the family were counted among the Newton elite as steady and prosperous citizens.
Gift of Judith Kelly, 2008-2009.
Scope and Contents of the Collection This small collection traces the early history of Newton, Mass., through the lives and activities of four generations of the family of John Clark. While the majority of the collection consists of deeds or related legal documents pertaining to properties in Newton (or in one case, Connecticut), a few items provide glimpses into other Clark family activities. As tax collector for Newton during and after the Revolution, Norman Clark, Jr., left an interesting documentary trail that touches on financial priorities in town, including the collection of taxes for support of the church, Revolutionary War soldiers, and road building. Among the more notable individual items are a deposition from Joseph Bartlett regarding his memory of the location of the Indian fishing grounds on the Charles River that were purchased by John Clark for his sawmill (1747); a receipt for issuance of bounty pay to Aaron Parker for service in the Massachusetts Line of the Continental Army; a deed for a plot in the Newton Burying Ground (1802); and receipts for the purchase of silverware, tinware, and furniture, including Grecian card tables, a Pembroke table, looking glass (1828). A document from Nicholas Bartlett in 1736 appears to be an early example of speculation in military lands: Bartlett assigns rights to William Clark to land Nathanael Mackey received in Killingly, Connecticut, in recognition of his service during King Philip's War. Also noteworthy are two deeds signed by Samuel Sewall (1689 and 1694), one of the judges during the Salem Witch Trials. The earlier of these deeds was docketed by Sewall on September 12, 1692, at the height of Witch Trials.
The collection is open for research.
Smith, Samuel F., History of Newton, Massachusetts, Town and City, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, 1630-1880 (Boston: American Logotype Co., 1880). Call no.: F74.N56 S6 (the UMass Amherst copy has been digitized and is available through the Open Content Alliance and Internet Archive
Processed by Dex Haven, February 2010.
Real property--Massachusetts--Newton.
lcsh
Taxation--Massachusetts.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Clark, John.
usmu
Clark, Norman.
Clark, William.
Clark family.
aat
file
Deed to Norman Clark for pews in Baptist Meeting, Newton, Mass.
Baptist Society (Newton, Mass.)
Testimony regarding location of Indian fishing place on the Charles River, Newton, Mass.
Bartlett, Joseph
Deed to William Clark, Groton, Mass.
Bartlett, Nicholas
Ceding rights to any lands granted to Nathanael Mackey of Killingly, Conn., for wartime service under Capt. Noah Wiswell
Deed to William Clark, Cambridge, Mass.
Brattle, William and Elizabeth
Deed to Daniel and Thomas Hastings and Timothy Jackson, Newton, Mass.
Clark, Daniel
Daniel Hastings is identified as a stonecutter
Power of attorney to Norman Clark, Newton, Mass.
Bond with William Clark for payment of loyalties to their sisters from the estate of their father, John, Newton, Mass.
Clark, John
Release of demands against Norman Clark on behalf of Atherton Clark, Hopkinton, Mass.
Will, Newton, Mass.
Deed to William Clark, Newton, Mass.
Clark, John (Jr.) and Ann
Lease of property in Lunenburg to John Hill, Newton, Mass.
Clark, Norman
Bond for L800 to Hannah Clark, Newton, Mass.
Estate documents for Hannah Clark, Newton, Mass.
Creation of Estate documents for Hannah Clark, Newton, Mass.
Time of Creation of Estate documents for Hannah Clark, Newton, Mass.
Judgment against Ephraim Bacon, Dedham, Mass.
Deed to Norman Clark, Jr., Newton, Mass.
Clark, Norman and Hannah
Deeds
Creation of Deeds
Time of Creation of Deeds
Clark, Norman, Jr.
Clark, Norman, Sr.
Deeds from William Clark (1741); Benjamin Parker, yeoman (1742); Ebenezer Parker and Enoch Parker, gentlemen 1744); Francis Blanden, yeoman, and Elizabeth Blanden (1752); Jeremiah Wiswall and Samuel Norcross, yeomen (1754); Abraham Jackson, blacksmith (1755); John Ireland, yeoman, and Lydia Ireland (1770).
Copy of deed of sale of property to Noah Parker, Newton, Mass.
Clark, William
Facts and Calculations Respecting the Population and Territory of the United States
Creation of Facts and Calculations Respecting the Population and Territory of the United States
Time of Creation of Facts and Calculations Respecting the Population and Territory of the United States
Deed to Norman Clark, Newton, Mass.
Gibbs, Hannah
Receipt for payment of damages to William Clark, Newton, Mass.
Hatfield, Joseph
Receipt of L300 from Norman and William Clark for inheritance from estate of William Clark, Newton, Mass.
Hillton, Samuel and Sarah
Mortgage to Norman Clark, Lunenburg, Mass.
Ireland, John
Warrant to Norman Clark to collect taxes due "to supply the Deficiency of the Massachusetts Line of the Army," Boston, Mass.
Ivers, Thomas
Plan of Norman Clark's farm, Newton, Mass.
Kingsbery, Jonathan
Deed to Nathanael Mackey, Newton, Mass.
Mackey, Daniel and Sarah
Warrant for Norman Clark to arrest Ephraim Hammond for non-payment of taxes, Newton, Mass.
Newton (Mass.). Assessors
Warrant to Norman Clark to collect taxes, Newton, Mass.
Creation of Warrant to Norman Clark to collect taxes, Newton, Mass.
Time of Creation of Warrant to Norman Clark to collect taxes, Newton, Mass.
Warrant for Norman Clark to arrest James Grant for non-payment of taxes, Newton, Mass.
Agreement and receipt for money paid by William Clark owed to Samuel Oliver, Cambridge, Mass.
Oliver, Thomas
Agreement with William Clark, Cambridge, Mass.
Receipt from Norman Clark for L900 bounty for enlisting in the Continental Army, Newton, Mass.
Parker, Aaron
Deed to Norman Clark for property of the late Thomas Parker, Newton, Mass.
Parker, Joseph and Jonathan Bixby
Bond to William Clark, Newton, Mass.
Parker, Nathaniel
Prentice, Thomas and Elizabeth
Deed (copy) to Daniel Macay, [Newton, Mass.]
Preston, Daniel and Abigail
Receipts and miscellaneous, Boston, Mass.
Creation of Receipts and miscellaneous, Boston, Mass.
Time of Creation of Receipts and miscellaneous, Boston, Mass.
Includes receipts for silverware, tinware, and furniture (Grecian card tables, a Pembroke table, looking glass).
Deed for tomb in burying yard to Norman and Alathina Clark, Newton, Mass.
Rogers, John
Boundary survey of property of Jared Elliot, Newton, Mass.
Creation of Boundary survey of property of Jared Elliot, Newton, Mass.
Time of Creation of Boundary survey of property of Jared Elliot, Newton, Mass.
Thaxter, Samuel and John Chandler
Fragmentary, missing lower sixth
Tucker, William and Elizabeth
Agreement with Norman Clark to pay minor children at their majority, Bethel, Mass.
Twitchell, Eli
Survey and plat map of property purchased from Timothy Woodbridge, late property of Capt. Thomas Prentice, Cambridge Village, Mass.
Creation of Survey and plat map of property purchased from Timothy Woodbridge, late property of Capt. Thomas Prentice, Cambridge Village, Mass.
Time of Creation of Survey and plat map of property purchased from Timothy Woodbridge, late property of Capt. Thomas Prentice, Cambridge Village, Mass.
Wallis, Thomas and William
Deed to property in New Cambridge, Mass.
Wallis, Thomas, Sarah, and William
Intact seals and docketed on verso by Samuel Sewall
Deed to Thomas and William Wallis, New Cambridge, Mass.
Woodbridge, Timothy and Mabell
Signed by Samuel Sewall
Deposition relative to boundaries of property of Norman Clark, Newton, Mass.
Woodward, Ebenezer and Nathaniel Beal