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 Deacon Tkodosiiis Clait 
 Hon. William J. Clark 
 
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 BIOGRAPHY 
 
 AND 
 
 GENEALOGY 
 
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 DEACON THEODOSIUS CLARK 
 HON. WILLIAM J. CLARK t 
 
 BIOGRAPHY 
 
 AND 
 
 GENEALOGY 
 
 a reprint from 
 
 The "Commemorative Biographical Record 
 OF New Haven County" 
 
 1902 
 
 

 / 
 
HON. WILLIAM JUDSON CLARK 
 
 HON. WILLIAM JUDSON CLARK was born 
 in the town of Southington, Hartford Co., Conn., 
 Aug. 19, 1825, of a parentage descended from three 
 separate Hnes of Clarks, who were among the 
 "Founders'' of the Connecticut and New Haven 
 Colonies, 1635-1639, as will appear later on in this 
 sketch. He was the third child of Theodosius and 
 Chloe Clark, and was reared on his father's farm. 
 
 Mr. Clark's primary education was received at 
 the district school of his native town — the tradi- 
 tional "'little red school house," with long, heavy, 
 slab benches for seats ; and a row of six or eight pu- 
 pils occupying each bench. As soon as old enough, 
 he was employed on his father's farm, in the sum- 
 mer, studying only in the winter and spring terms, 
 but he kept up with his classes, few of those who 
 enjoyed the full year's course surpassing him in 
 recitations. At the age of fifteen he began attend- 
 ance at the Southington Academy, three miles from 
 his home, walking daily six miles ; and by studying 
 evenings, easily kept up with the students who had 
 
the advantage of the full year's tuition. In this way 
 he was nearly prepared for college when, in the 
 spring of 1845, a severe attack of ophthalmia cut 
 short his educational career, changing, no doubt, 
 the whole tenor of his life. 
 
 The autumn of 1846, however, found him suffi- 
 ciently recovered to take charge of the high school 
 at West Avon, Conn. His success as an instructor 
 did not prevent him, however, from seizing an op- 
 portunity which presented itself in the spring of 
 1847, ^or engaging in commercial pursuits, by en- 
 tering into a partnership with his brother-in-law, 
 Hezekiah C. Cummings. The new firm — Cum- 
 mings & Clark — leased a country store at Hitch- 
 cock's Basin, located on the Farmington Canal, in 
 the southern part of the town of Southington, where 
 the Waterbury & Meriden turnpike crosses the 
 canal. At that time all the heavy freight for this 
 and the other Southington stores was brought by 
 boats from New Haven, and a large part of the 
 Waterbury freight was also brought to the "Ba- 
 sin ;" the firm running a boat, for general trans- 
 portation, between New Haven and the home port. 
 They also discharged much Waterbury freight, at 
 Beach Port (now West Cheshire). 
 
 The enterprise of the firm led them to branch out 
 from the ordinary country store goods and add a 
 coal and lumber yard, the first in the town. The 
 following year, 1848, the railroad succeeded the 
 canal, and the name of the place was changed to 
 Hitchcock's Station, but the business was continued 
 successfully until the end of the three years' lease, 
 
 _i 
 
and then, as it could not be renewed, the copartner- 
 ship was dissolved. 
 
 The California gold fever broke out in the win- 
 ter of 1848-49, and young Mr. Clark thought it a 
 favorable opportunity to see the world and prove 
 the truth — or the untruth — of the marvelous stories 
 that floated eastward from the far-away country on 
 the Pacific coast. He was one of the company of 
 fifty-six members who bought the schooner "G. H. 
 Montague," of 200 tons capacity, and stocked it, at 
 New Haven, m January, 1849, ^'^'ith provisions for 
 the long voyage around Cape Horn, and the ma- 
 terials deemed best by an old and experienced 
 North Carolina miner, W. S. Porter, to carry to an 
 almost unknown land. On the 23d of that month 
 the vessel's lines were cast off, and the white sails 
 spread for the twenty-thousand-mile trip, and amid 
 much enthusiasm the "forty-niners" started off, like 
 their forefathers of 1638, to found a new common- 
 wealth. Five months from that time the vovasre — 
 successful, except that a sailor was washed away in 
 a gale off Cape Horn — was ended ; and on June 26th 
 the little schooner, witli all sails bellying to the 
 breeze, entered the gateway to the beautiful bay, 
 proudly ploughing her way up to the anchorage in 
 front of the new El Dorado — the canvas-built city 
 of San Francisco. No ship leaving the eastern 
 States that year had beaten her into ]~)ort, though 
 she had battled with adverse gales aiul rough seas 
 for twenty-one days off Cape Horn. She had led 
 the procession to her destination without loss of 
 a spar, or a damaged sail, and the old mariners at 
 
'Frisco looked upon the history of the successful 
 voyage as a fairy tale until their own eyes verified 
 it from the log-book of the brave little ship. 
 
 A three days' tarry at San Francisco sufficed, 
 and the "Montague"' was headed up the river to 
 Sacramento, another city of white cotton, nailed to 
 scantling framework. This place being nearer the 
 seat of the gold discoveries, the rush of people 
 they had witnessed at San Francisco was intensi- 
 fied, and almost immediately the excitement of the 
 older gold-seekers was communicated to the newly 
 arrived. After spending the 4th of July at this 
 place they ran the vessel twenty miles farther up 
 the Sacramento, moored it to the bank, and, as soon 
 as teams could be bought, made up and equipped a 
 party for mining on the Yuba river. Mr. Clark was 
 a member of the party that sallied forth upon the 
 pathless prairie in search of the golden nuggets, fol- 
 lowing the general course of the Feather river until 
 they approached the Yuba, a branch or feeder of 
 the former, and in three days found themselves at 
 the diggings. Sufficient space on the river bottom, 
 above "Corduay's Bar," was pre-empted for the 
 company, a camp established, and gold-digging suc- 
 cessfully begun. An ounce of gold to the man per 
 day was not unusual, and sometimes two or three 
 ounces would be the yield from a lucky pay streak. 
 The confinement and diet on shipboard and the 
 radical change occasioned by roughing it in the 
 mountains, however, brought on illness that baffled 
 the ship's doctor, and thirteen of the party were 
 buried in three months, while many more became 
 
chronic invalids. It was thought best to give the 
 invalids a chance to return to the States if they 
 wished to do so. As Mr. Clark had been ill for 
 three months, and .was so emaciated that he weig'hed 
 only ninety pounds, he decided, in October, to start 
 for the coast. He was conveyed the fifty miles to 
 the schooner on a mattress laid on the wagon bot- 
 tom, as he was too weak to sit up; the two days' 
 trip was successful beyond expectation, and he 
 reached the vessel in a slightly improved condition. 
 After remaining there two weeks he had gained 
 sufficient strength to attempt the trip down the 
 river, and the twenty miles to Sacramento, as pas- 
 senger on a row boat, were safely accomplished. Re- 
 maining there a few days to recuperate, he took the 
 steamer "Senator" (an old Hudson river side-wheel 
 steamer that had been brought around through the 
 Straits of Magellan) for San Francisco, the fare 
 for the 150 miles being twenty-five dollars. 
 
 Mr. Clark had contemplated returning home, 
 but at San Francisco he met a physician who gave 
 him hopes of recovery, and as business opportunities 
 were at hand for those qualified to take them he 
 decided to spend the winter there and test results. 
 He found that good coffee was hard to obtain in 
 the ground condition, all that had been thus brought 
 from the States being tasteless. There was but one 
 primitive hand-mill working in California and that 
 turned out low-grade goods by using damaged 
 coffee-berries. Finding another hand-mill for sale 
 in the city, and three young men anxious to do the 
 work, but with no means to start the business, Mr. 
 
Clark made a contract with them for the winter, 
 bought the coffee-mill outfit, with tents adequate, 
 hired a vacant lot on Pacific street and launched 
 into business. His factory had a capacity of three 
 hundred pounds per day, finished by hand power, 
 and as he bought only the best quality of raw cof- 
 fee and turned out a delicious product, he easily 
 got two or three cents more on a pound than the 
 only competitor there, and his trade soon grew to 
 the capacity of his mill. No steam engine suitable 
 could be found, so he worked the three hand power 
 by changes of one hour each, until spring. The 
 coffee venture was successful; but the contract 
 made with the doctor, at seven'ty-five dollars per 
 month, sick or well, was not quite so good in re- 
 sults, for, while Mr. Clark's health had improved, 
 it had not reached its normal condition ; and in 
 March it was apparent to both parties that it 
 would be a dangerous experiment for him to 
 spend another summer in California. Conse- 
 quently a purchaser for the plant w^as found, 
 and, with regret at leaving a profitable business 
 and his newly-made friends, INIr. Clark took 
 steamer for Panama and New York, reaching 
 home in April, 1850, having been fifteen months 
 absent. During the homeward voyage, with the 
 many stops and unusual experiences, there were 
 numerous opportunities for a wide-awake young 
 man to see, as in a panoramic view, a great deal 
 of men and things in tropical and semi-tropical 
 countries. 
 
The homeward voyage proved so beneficial to 
 Mr. Clark's health that within a month after his re- 
 turn he felt all the energy of his manhood restored, 
 and realizing the broadening of his business per- 
 spective, due to his observations of people and 
 countries during his fifteen months' journeyings, he 
 began to look about for some business in which he 
 could utilize this new capital. As a starter he un- 
 dertook a contract with a local manufacturer of car- 
 riage-bolts, to make a trip "out West" (which 
 then meant as far as Buffalo, the western limit of 
 wholesale trade), to sell their goods. Lest Mr. 
 Clark should make improper credits, owing to his 
 inexperience, he was required to guarantee his sales, 
 for which a special commission was agreed upon. 
 Early in June he started ofif on the new enterprise, 
 with samples of goods and high hopes of success. 
 Three weeks were spent in "drumming trade," two 
 weeks more in visiting western relatives. The 
 orders obtained were sent in to be filled, and when 
 the young "drummer" returned, the settlement 
 showed that the guarantee had brought him over 
 two hundred and fifty dollars to the profit side. 
 The firm, seeing their mistake, were willing then 
 to accept the risk and save the $250, but Mr. Clark 
 had no idea of gCing back on a bargain, and in due 
 time the business was settled without the loss of one 
 dollar by bad credits. In the early fall another trip 
 of three weeks was made over the same route with 
 a fair, but not so large a result, owing to the short 
 interval between the trips. This seemed to be the 
 
10 • 
 
 opening for him, and as he had guaranteed the 
 sales, and the customers were his own by agree- 
 ment, he decided to "set up business for himself." 
 On the Quinnipiac river, near Mr. Clark's home, 
 was a dilapidated building with a small water-power 
 known as Morse's Mill. In the early days of the 
 century it had been a satinet mill, weaving into 
 cloth the yarn which was the product of the farm- 
 ers' sheep and the housewives' spinning-wheels. 
 This work was given up in 1834-35, and one of the 
 primitive "bolt-shops" soon thereafter started in its 
 place. This had a short life there, and then for a 
 short time a horse-nail machine was operated in the 
 old mill. This was followed by a clock manu- 
 facturer, who filled the old shop with business for 
 two or three years, when he, too, failed, and the 
 premises were rented to a party making cold pressed 
 nuts for the bolt-makers, who had become estab- 
 lished with improved machinery in other parts of 
 the town. It required much courage for a young 
 man just starting business to take a mill with so 
 unlucky a history, but Mr. Clark's brave spirit was 
 equal to facing the "hoodoo," and in November, 
 1850, he bought the premises, subject to the lease 
 that expired that year, so that he made prepara- 
 tions to occupy, with a small amount of machinery, 
 early in '51, tearing away the old building and 
 erecting a new one more suitable for his require- 
 ments. He got a favorable start in the first year, 
 making the cold pressed nuts for other bolt-makers, 
 selling bolts for them to his own trade in exchange, 
 and was able to add two more power presses to the 
 
11 
 
 one with which he began the work. The ill for- 
 tune which had followed the old mill for so many 
 years now swooped down upon him, and the fac- 
 tory was burned down in May, insured for only 
 about half its value. 
 
 The indomitable courage of the man came again 
 to the fore, and as soon as the ruins were cool 
 enough to work in, the debris was cleared away, 
 and the machines were shipped to the manufac- 
 turer, with orders to repair those available, and 
 replace the others with new ones, and have them 
 ready in one month. The insurance adjusters 
 gave no trouble, saying that it was a clean loss 
 for a much larger amount than they carried, and 
 promising a prompt settlement. Mr. Clark then 
 went to New Haven, bought the timber for a 
 new building and hired a force of carpenters 
 there to frame all the timbers in the lumber yard, 
 and while that was being done the foundations 
 of the factory were rebuilt. When the timber 
 and lumber were shipped to Hitchcock's station, 
 a force of carpenters followed the next day, and 
 the carting, raising and covering of the new 
 building were hustled in a manner never before 
 witnessed in that vicinity. At the end of thirty 
 days from the fire, Mr. Clark was ready to re- 
 ceive the new and repaired machinery, and in 
 sixty days was producing newly made goods 
 from the rebuilt factory. Though ^h. Clark had 
 nearly or quite lost his original slender capital by 
 the fire, his credit, though perhaps slender also, had 
 not faded under the ordeal, and at the opening of the 
 
12 
 
 new factory his principal creditor, the ironmaster, 
 told him to "take all the time he wanted" as to 
 invoices soon to be due from importations, on or- 
 ders out at the time of the fire, that could not be 
 cancelled. The business prospered, naturally, under 
 such a persistent manager, who coupled courage 
 with sound judgment. 
 
 Increased facilities and more operatives were 
 required as time went on, and the business in- 
 creased, and in 1854 i\Ir. Clark associated with him- 
 self his two younger brothers, Henry H. and 
 Charles H. Clark, the style of the new firm being 
 William J. Clark & Co. The early business of 
 making nuts and washers by heavy machinery, 
 and pressing them from cold iron w^as supple- 
 mented with machinery for making carriage, tire 
 and stove bolts, machine bolts, coach screws, and 
 later other articles of hardware. A steam engine, 
 as auxiliary power, was installed, and more 
 buildings constructed, as more productive ma- 
 chinery was required. Some of this had to be in- 
 vented, in order to improve- or to increase the out- 
 put of the works, and in ithis connection Mr. 
 Clark made and patented several inventions in 
 the line of bolt machinery, which revolutionized 
 the methods previously employed. 
 
 About this time the Civil war broke out, and a 
 large demand arose for implements beyond the ca- 
 pacities of the armories, so Mr. Clark added to his 
 works, machinery for making gun screws of the 
 government patterns, and of its gauge and stand- 
 ard quality. With his ready adaptability and by the 
 
13 
 
 aid of skilled help he soon mastered this most deli- 
 cate mechanical task, and his gun screws, passed in- 
 spection at the Springfield armory, with a loss of 
 not over one per cent., while other competitors lost 
 from five to ten per cent. This is referred to 
 chiefly, to show that his aim as a manufacturer 
 was to make his goods the best of their kind, and 
 it was to this principle that he owed largely, for 
 the success of the business. 
 
 In 1 87 1 the senior member of the firm retired 
 from the active part of the work, though he retained 
 business relations with his brothers until 1880, when 
 his patents, under which a majority of the carriage 
 bolt-makers of the country were manufacturing 
 on a royalty, expired. Upon his retirement, Will- 
 iam H. Cummings, a nephew, and Robert W. 
 Bemis, a long-time confidential bookkeeper, were 
 received into the firm, which took the name of 
 Clark Brothers & Co. About this time, as the 
 quondam agricultural hamlet had much increased 
 in population, owing to the growth of this estab- 
 lishment, and the home building, near it increased 
 also, and as the nearest post offices were one or 
 more miles distan't, in either direction, Mr. Clark 
 prepared a petition asking the Post Master Gen- 
 eral to establish a post office at Hitchcock's Sta- 
 tion, to be called Milldale. Some objection being 
 sent to the Department (presumably by an office 
 that desired to keep the mailing business of the 
 firm), Mr. Clark went to Washington and so ex- 
 plained the situation', that the petition was grant- 
 ed, and the office of Milldale, which has sustained 
 
14 
 
 itself handsomely from the beg-inning, estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Mr. Clark was not at that time, moreover, a 
 novice in Washington. He w^as a stanch Repub- 
 lican in politics, had been chairman of the South- 
 ington town committee for ten or twelve years (be- 
 ginning in the 'fifties, and continuing until he de- 
 clined re-election) and was an active force as a 
 Union man during the Civil war, aiding his State 
 and the government in meeting the unfortunate 
 conditions of the time. He was a trusted friend of 
 the war governor, Buckingham, having been a mem- 
 ber of the State convention that nominated him the 
 first time. 1858, the wisdom of that act being proven 
 by Buckingham being kept in the office for eight 
 successive terms by annual re-elections by the peo- 
 ple, his service covering the entire period of the 
 war. Mr. Clark was instrumental in organizing 
 the Union League in his town, was its first presi- 
 dent, and was annually re-elected during the war. 
 He also took the first steps in the movement which 
 resulted in the "Furlough Act," 1863, whereby in- 
 valided soldiers obtained a thirty-days furlough, to 
 visit their homes. 
 
 Mr. Clark's youngest brother and partner in the 
 business enlisted in the 20th Connnecticut Regi- 
 ment in 1862. He served until 1865, having risen 
 to the rank of lieutenant, and then returned to his 
 home and resumed his place in the business. This 
 seemed an opportune time for the senior partner 
 to take a vacation, so he planned a trip to Montana, 
 where he had a friend in the government employ 
 
15 
 
 who had urged him to come out and examine the 
 gold diggings there and the gold quartz lodes re- 
 cently discovered and reported to be rich. Mr. 
 Clark's business friends in Hartford, hearing that 
 he was planning this trip, and having also heard of 
 the rich gold and silver quartz lodes of Montana, 
 prevailed upon him to head a company which would 
 furnish funds and machinery to be used in working 
 there, he to decide upon location and superintend 
 operations for one year. The fund was made up 
 in one afternoon, the company formed and me- 
 chanical skill supplied to assist in selecting the ma- 
 chinery, which with the necessary supplies, making 
 a fifty-ton cargo, was shipped to St. Louis to be 
 sent from there by steamer to sail May i, 1865, to 
 Fort Benton, on the Upper Missouri river. The 
 "spring rise" in the river, caused by the melting 
 snow in the Rocky mountains, was not as great as 
 usual, and when well up in the Indian country the 
 boat grounded several times, and finally, at 
 Dophans Rapids, it was found impossible to pull 
 over, so the steamer was backed a few miles in 
 order to find a place favorable for landing pas- 
 sengers and cargo. This was found, 150 miles 
 below Fort Benton, and about four hundred miles 
 from the place where the cargo was wanted. In 
 the Indian country, and three hundred miles be- 
 low Helena, Momt., Mr. Clark and the other pas- 
 sengers had to leave the boat and make their w^ay 
 to Helena as well as they could. lea\ing the 
 freight to be brought up from the river by ox- 
 teams. It was November before it arri\-cd. hut in 
 
16 
 
 the meantime Mr. Clark had not been idle, hav- 
 ing- manas^ed to construct a mill. Mines were 
 opened and work pushed for a winter and summer. 
 Then, in common with many others in that 
 section, he found that beyond a few feet 
 below the surface the mines were practically 
 worthless, and so the project was suspended. As 
 the second winter came on, and he found his 
 labors unsuccessful, Mr. Clark fell ill from over 
 work and exposure, and in the early spring of 
 1867 he returned home, leaving the work in the 
 mountains ito be managed by others. The home- 
 ward journey included one thousand miles of 
 stage riding, day and night, and with his disease — 
 ulceration of the intestines — from which he was 
 scarcely convalescent, it is wonderful that he sur- 
 vived it. At North Platte he met the Union Pacific 
 railroad, building westward at the rate of three 
 miles a day, and the rest of the journey was easily 
 performed. 
 
 Returning to his business in Southington, Mr. 
 Clark at once set to work to improve and enlarge 
 it. He enlarged the factory buildings and con- 
 structed one-fourth of a mile of race-way of suf- 
 ficient size to carry the average volume of the Quin- 
 nipiac river at that place, thus doubling the water 
 power of the company. This done, he attempted to 
 restrain infringements upon his patents on dies and 
 the process of forging carriage bolts, by other 
 manufacturers. Three years of expensive litiga- 
 tion followed, but resulted in establishing incon- 
 testably his rights to the inventions, and ten or 
 
17 
 
 twelve infringing firms were compelled to pay 
 royalty for the use thereof. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Clark was nominated by the Re- 
 publicans as a candidate for the State Senate, and 
 elected by a handsome majority over a strong 
 Democratic candidate. In the session of 1883 the 
 Senate appointed him chairman of the committee 
 on Military Affairs, which office he filled with 
 patriotic and intelligent ability. In the session of 
 1884 he was chairman of the committees on 
 Claims, and Temperance, and Constitutional 
 Amendments, the latter reporting favorably the 
 bill to establish biennial sessions of the General 
 Assembly, which was adopted. In the hearings 
 of the committee on Claims he had occasion to 
 manifest his hatred of shams. Eminently kind 
 to just claimants, he was untiring in opposing 
 the fictitious or padded claims that lobbyists 
 would seek to draw from the public treasury, 
 and was esteemed, or disliked, accordingly. His 
 most notable official action was, probably, his 
 taking the opposition to the bill in the General 
 Assembly of 1883 whereby the Aetna Life Insur- 
 ance Co., "Stock Department," sought to cap- 
 italize a large sum of money claimed to belong to 
 it, but thought by some to have been improperly 
 drawn from the "Mutual Department" in the manip- 
 ulation of policies. The bill was pushed through, 
 regardless of a demand for investigation, but Mr. 
 Clark had marked it as deserving one, and he quietly 
 employed an expert at his own expense before the 
 next yearly session, and discovered the source of 
 
18 
 
 the wonderful wealth of the Stock Department. In 
 the session of 1884 he addressed the Senate on the 
 subject, with an overflow of listeners on the floor 
 and in the galleries, and with documentary,proof in 
 abundance, begged for an investigation, but the 
 influence against him was too powerful and his 
 measure was rejected. He kept the matter alive, 
 however, and had a bill presented to the Legisla- 
 ture of 1887 for the same purpose. It was by this 
 time so well understood, that seventy-five repre- 
 sentatives were willing to stand up and be count- 
 ed as in favor of an investigation. So the leaven 
 worked, and to head it ofiF a "Substitute bill" was 
 reported, empowering the Insurance Commis- 
 sioner, under a general law, to investigate the 
 methods of any insurance company, etc. That 
 passed, and then it required eight or nine years 
 more to discover an insurance commissioner witft 
 the stamina requisite to call this great company, 
 with forty millions of dollars of assets, to the bar 
 of the court, for the mismanagement of its pol- 
 icies and funds. Truly, as Mr. Clark then quoted, 
 ** Though the mills of God grind slowly^ yet they 
 grind exceeding smaliy In 1896 proceedings 
 were commenced in the courts which verified all 
 of the misdoings claimed by Mr. Clark, and the 
 specified charges may be seen in the public rec- 
 ords of the insurance department of that year, as 
 published in "Part 2, Life Insurance Report, 
 1897." The court ordered a restoration of part of 
 the diverted funds and enjoined any continuance 
 of the irregular transactions complained of. 
 
19 • 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Clark was one of the charter mem- 
 bers of Eureka Lodge, I. O. O. F., in his native 
 town ; was chosen its first Vice Grand on May 16, 
 of that year, and is in good standing in the order, 
 having repeatedly been through the chairs. He has 
 also been a delegate several times to the Grand 
 Lodge of the State. 
 
 In i88i,Mr. Clark with six other business men 
 of Southington, organized The Southington Lum- 
 ber & Feed Co.; to deal in builders' materials — 
 also grain and feed ; it also conducted the largest 
 coal-yard in the tow^n. "Sir. Clark has continued 
 a director in the company to this time. The ven- 
 ture under conservative but energetic manage- 
 ment has been a success from the start. 
 
 Mr. Clark also followed closely in his father's 
 footsteps, in regard to the temperance movement ; 
 so much so that no saloons could be run success- 
 fully in the neighborhood of the factory. 
 
 Since his retirement from active business life Mr. 
 Clark has spent most of his time at his beautiful 
 country seat, at Stony Creek, which overlooks Long 
 Island Sound and the picturesque Thimble Islands. 
 He is one of the Trustees of the Stony Creek Con- 
 gregational Church, which he and his family attend. 
 
 On Nov. 15, 1855, Mr. Clark married Sarah 
 Jane Bradley, who, through her grandmother, Lydia 
 Carey Montague, wife of Capt. Anson Matthews, 
 traces descent from Drogo de Montagu, who came 
 over to England with William the Conqueror, and, 
 as we learn from the Roll of Battle Abbey, was one 
 of the Norman knights who bore shields, or coats 
 
20 
 
 armor, at the battle of Hastings, Oct. 14, 1066. 
 A picture of Mrs, Clark, taken about the time 
 of her marriage, shows her to have been a strik- 
 ingly beautiful woman, with a distinguished car- 
 riage. To this union came three children : Rosa- 
 lind, born Dec. 16, 1857; Eugenie, born March 21, 
 1859, a specially bright, attractive child, who died 
 March 26, 1861 ; and Marian, born July 26, i860, 
 who died Oct. 7, i860. The only surviving child, 
 Rosalind, married. May 20, 1882, the late Emerson 
 Pratt. Mrs. Pratt has inherited from both sides of 
 the house a strong personality, and is not altogether 
 unknown in the world of art and public interests. 
 Her daughter, Olive L. Pratt, born June 21, 1883, 
 has inherited the genius of both father and mother, 
 and shows decided musical and artistic ability. 
 
C^^ A^-e^O^r-r^-tyvi^^ ~C^^cc^7^ 
 
DEACON THEODOSIUS CLARK 
 
 DEACON THEODOSIUS CLARK, the father 
 of William J. Clark, was born in Cheshire, Conn., 
 Oct. 22, 1/88, and reared on his father's farm, ob- 
 taining his education by adding private study to 
 the winter's work in the district school. On reach- 
 ing maturity he showed a remarkably well dis- 
 ciplined mind, and was ready to impart to others the 
 knowledge that he had gained. At the age of 
 eighteen he began teaching a district school in his 
 native town, and, being successful, went across the 
 town line in 1810 and took the "Southington Cor- 
 ners" or Fourth District school, now known as 
 Plantsville. Later he taught the schools in Plain- 
 ville and Farmington, and also for many years those 
 in the southern part of Southington. 
 
 It was while thus employed that he met the 
 youthful Miss Chloe Clark, of Southington, daugh- 
 ter of Seth and Chloe (Bailey) Clark. A younger 
 sister has related how, after Miss Clark's intro- 
 duction to the young school teacher, and he had de- 
 parted, she shook her finger at her sister, exclaim- 
 
9.0 
 
 ing, as her dark eyes sparkled, "Isn't he handsome? 
 I'm going to set my cap for him." That she did so 
 with success, the sequel proves, and on Oct. 28, 
 1816. the young couple were joined together in 
 matrimony. The combination of the two Clark 
 lines was felicitous, and the children of the union 
 were endowed, beyond the average, with marked 
 intellectual and business ability and with long 
 lives. About the time of his marriage Mr. Clark 
 purchased a farm in the southern part of South- 
 ington, having decided to make his home there, 
 paying for it in part from his earnings as a 
 teacher. His reputation for trustworthiness was 
 such that he was trusted for the remainder of the 
 amount, without bond or mortgage security, al- 
 though having the title to the estate in his pos- 
 session. 
 
 On Aug. I, 1819, Mr. Clark transferred his 
 membership from the Congregational Church at 
 Cheshire, to that in Southington, the home of his 
 adoption. He was appointed deacon, Feb. 16, 
 1834, and honored the office. His pastor, writing 
 of him, says: "He at once put himself forward 
 as a worker in the vineyard. No man in his part 
 of the town more intelligently and acceptably 
 conducted local religious meetings. In t^hat ca- 
 pacity he was one of the chief leaders of the even- 
 ing school house services that were held weekly 
 in the various districts of the town, until he was 
 incapacitated by age and disease. Often after a 
 hard day's work on the farm he would ride three 
 or four miles in the evening to attend those ser- 
 
23 
 
 vices. So regular was he in his attendance, that 
 his pastor, when too much wearied, or otherwise 
 incapacitated to attend himself, relied upon Dea- 
 con Clark, whom he felt sure would be there, to 
 lead the people." 
 
 "He was reluctant to accept the office of dea- 
 con, and only took it as a matter of duty ; having 
 assumed it, however, he at once planted himself at 
 his pastor's side, ready with words of cheer and 
 by zealous work to uphold his hands. He was 
 among the first to advocate the establishment of the 
 Sunday-school in his church, which was the first 
 one in the town. For many years he was super- 
 intendent, and while holding this office, as ever 
 after, he was a teacher." 
 
 Any want or woe of humanity enlisted his at- 
 tention and help, and time and again would he turn 
 out in stormy or inclement weather, to render as 
 sistance to poor families, of whose needs he had 
 heard. One of Mr. Clark's lifelong friends (who 
 was also a cousin) was Andrew Hull Foote, of 
 Cheshire, afterward Rear Admiral of the United 
 States Navy and a frequent visitor at the Clark 
 home, when on shore leave. Subsequent to organiz- 
 ing the Sunday-school, Mr. Clark became inter- 
 ested in other efforts for promoting the welfare of 
 the community. Among them was theitemperance 
 movement. The first step was an effort to induce 
 every one to abandon the use of distilled liquors 
 (there were several distilleries in the town produc- 
 ing cider-brandy), but this did not accomplish the 
 degree of sobriety desired, while the cellars were 
 
24 
 
 annually filled with barrels of cider to be used as 
 a beverage, through graduating degrees of 
 hardness until consumed ; and the American 
 Temperance Society, at a meeting held at Sara- 
 toga in 1836 adopted the pledge of "total ab- 
 stinence from all intoxicating liquors." This 
 measure met Air. Clark's approval, and he at 
 once co-operated with it, by banishing the cider- 
 barrels from his own cellar, and shocked the 
 employes on his farm by drawing their daily 
 beverage from "the old oaken bucket." The shock 
 was great, but the reaction was beneficial to all 
 concerned, and later, when the Martha Washington 
 Temperance Society was started in Connecticut, 
 about 1 84 1, Mr. Clark was ready to welcome it, and 
 work with it, to the extent of his ability. He was 
 the chosen leader and first president of the first 
 local branch in his town, and did much to further 
 the cause by inviting reformed men of ability to 
 come to the meetings and relate their experiences 
 while under the "drink habit." Their vivid pictures 
 of the suffering, degradation and poverty of those 
 days, in contrast with the restored respect and com- 
 fort of the present, led many other broken-down 
 men back to the right path, and were the means 
 of binding together again many broken-up homes. 
 One of these lecturers was John B. Gough, who 
 has left a name and history which the world will 
 not soon forget. Mr. Clark was as ready to serve 
 his country as his friends, and as a member of the 
 Cavalry Company commanded by Col. Hoadly 
 served in the war of 1812, receiving for this service 
 
25 
 
 bounty land in Kansas and a pension, which is yet 
 enjoyed by his widow. 
 
 Mr. Clark had five children: (i) Harriet mar- 
 ried Hezekiah C. Cuimmings, of Watertown, (2) 
 Francis Judson, killed when two years of age 
 by being run over by a cart. (3) William Judson, 
 whose biographical sketch is given above. (4) 
 Henry H. and (5) Charles H., both referred to 
 in the Commemorative Biographical Record of 
 Hartford County. 
 
 On April 5, 1848, Mrs. Chloe Clark died sud- 
 denly, of "putrid sore throat," undoubtedly the 
 diphtheria of the present day. She had been to her 
 husband a true helpmate, standing by his side in 
 every good work, and to her children a mother 
 whose memory will be precious as long as life lasts. 
 On March 20, 1850, Mr. Clark married a second 
 wife, Miss Sarah Morse, of Cheshire, who proved 
 a pleasant companion during his decHning years, 
 and who now, ninety-two years of age, survives 
 him. 
 
 Deacon Clark died July 27, 1865, and was burled 
 in Quinnipiac Cemetery, Southington. In closing, 
 we may quote the words spoken by his pastor at his 
 funeral: "He has left us an example which we 
 may follow with safety and advantage. * * * 
 Whosoever liveth as he lived, may hope to die as he 
 died — in favor with God and man, * * * 
 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." 
 
CLARK GENEALOGY 
 
 CLARK. Hon. William Judson Clark is a de- 
 scendant of James Clark, who, with Gov. Eaton, 
 Davenport and others, founded the Colony of New 
 Haven, 1638-39, his name appearing as a signer of 
 the Civil Compact, June 4, 1639. The name of his 
 first wife, the mother of his children, is unknown; 
 but he married, second, Oct. 17, 1661, Ann, widow 
 of John Wakefield. James Clark died in January 
 or February, 1688-89, ^"^ ^is body probably lies 
 with those of the other fathers of the Colony, under 
 the green sward of the beautiful "Green," of which 
 the Elm City is so justly proud; for that was the 
 "God's Acre" of the early colonists. Of the five 
 children whom he left, 
 
 (H) Ebenezer Clark, baptized at New Haven 
 Nov. 29, 1 65 1, removed early to Wallingford, and 
 died there April 30, 1721. His first wife was Mary 
 Peck, whom he married May 6, 1678. Among his 
 children was 
 
 (HI) Stephen Clark, born Dec. 18, 1686, who 
 lived in that part of Wallingford now called Che- 
 
27 
 
 shire, and died there Nov. 25, 1750. He married 
 (first) Lydia Hotchkiss, who was the mother of 
 his son, 
 
 (IV) Stephen Clark, born in 172 1, who died 
 at Cheshire Nov. 4, 1800. His wife was Ruth Burr, 
 who, through her mother, Mabel Clark, was a de- 
 scendant, in the fifth generation, of Nicholas Clark, 
 of Hartford, 1635, its first white settler. He was 
 numbered among the "original proprietors," and for 
 his service in the Pequot war, 1636-37, received 
 an allotment in the "Soldiers' Field." Through her 
 father, Lieut. Baze Burr, she descended from Ben- 
 jamin Burr, who probably came over in Winthrop's 
 fleet in 1630, and was an "original proprietor" and 
 large land owner of Hartford ; and from John 
 Baisey, another "original proprietor" of Connecti- 
 cut's capital city. The names of these three early 
 settlers, with that of Elder John White, another 
 ancestor, are inscribed on the "Founders' Monu- 
 ment," the tall, brownstone shaft which stands in 
 the historic graveyard just back of Center Church, 
 on Main street. 
 
 (V) Amasa Clark, son of Stephen and Ruth 
 Clark, born at Cheshire Nov. 25, 1753, died there 
 Dec. 30, 1833. He married Lydia (Hull) Judson, 
 widow of Joseph Judson, of Bethlehem, Conn., and 
 among their children was 
 
 (VI) Theodosius Clark, born Oct. 22. 1788, of 
 Cheshire and Southington, VN^here he died July 
 27, 1865. Through his wife, Chloe Clark, comes 
 in another line of Clark ancestry, beginning with 
 
 (I) William Clark, of Hartford, 1639; and in 
 
28 
 
 1 662 one of the twenty-eight young men who went 
 from that place to make homes in the unopened 
 lands of the Connecticut Valley. In 1668 the name 
 of the "Plantation at Thirty Mile Island" was 
 changed to Haddam, doubtless from a tender recol- 
 lection of Haddam, Hertfordshire, England, the 
 English home of most of its early settlers. William 
 Clark died there in 1681. His son, 
 
 (II) Sergt. John Clark, of Middletown, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel White, 
 of Middletown, whose naime is held in high honor, 
 not only in the town whose interests he served so 
 well, but all over the country, wherever his de- 
 scendants have carried the name. For over fifty 
 years he represented Middletown in the Legisla- 
 ture, the last time when he was an old, white- 
 haired man of eighty-one. He filled, also, the of- 
 fices of magistrate and commissioner for Middle- 
 town, Haddam and Meriden. Nor, though serving 
 his country well in her peaceful legislative halls, 
 did he shrink when sterner duties called, as witness 
 his title of "captain." 
 
 (III) Daniel Clark, son of Sergt. John and 
 Elizabeth, of Middletown, 1680-1725, married Eliz- 
 abeth W^hittemore, daughter of Lieut. Francis 
 Whittemore, 1650-1700, another of Middletown's 
 early settlers whose name she delights to honor. 
 Their son, 
 
 (IV) Deacon Joseph Clark, 1720- 1778, town 
 clerk of Middletown from 1765 to 1777, also deacon 
 of the church there, married Joanna Fairchild, of 
 Stratford, who brought into the Clark family the 
 
29 
 
 goodly heritage of a long line of distinguished Strat- 
 ford ancestors, of whom, later. Their son, 
 
 (V) Seth Clark, of Aliddletown and Southing- 
 ton, 1 768- 1 85 1, married in 1793 Chloe Bailey, and 
 their daughter, 
 
 (VI) Chloe Clark, of Southington, by marry- 
 ing Theodosius Clark, of Cheshire, merged her 
 Clark line into that of another. 
 
 Joanna Fairchild, 1727-1793, wife of (IV) Dea- 
 con Joseph Clark, of Middletown, was descended 
 from Thomas Fairchild, an early settler of Strat- 
 ford, who died there in 1670, and his second wife, 
 Katherine Craig; also from William Wilcoxen and 
 Deacon John Birdseye. Through her mother, Kath- 
 erine Coe, she descended from Robert Coe, born in 
 Suffolkshire, England, in 1596, who, with wife and 
 children, emigrated to New England in 1634; and 
 from^ Matthew Mitchell, of Southouram Parish of 
 Halifax, England, and his wife, Susan Butterfield, 
 whom he married at Ovenden, in the same parish, 
 in 1616. Emigrating to this country- in 1635, and 
 suffering severely from sickness, fire and savage 
 warfare, in the various places where he settled, he 
 bore it all with Christian patience. He died in 
 1645, at Stamford, Conn., of which place he was 
 one of the founders, and had served it as magistrate, 
 representative and associate judge of the Plantation 
 Court. Mrs. Joanna (Fairchild) Clark also de- 
 scended from Joseph Hawley, born in Derbyshire, 
 England, in 1603, who died at Stratford, Conn., 
 May 20, 1690. He was town clerk at Stratford six- 
 teen years, town treasurer several years, and also 
 
30 
 
 surveyor. In 1687 he was chosen one of the com- 
 mittee for considering and drafting a patent for 
 the town. He was deputy to the General Court 
 nineteen years, and commissioner eight years. 
 
 Lydia Hull, wife of (V) Amasa Clark, born 
 in Cheshire July 23, 1753, belonged to the noted 
 Hull family, being a descendant of the sixth gen- 
 eration from (I) Richard Hull, of Derbyshire, Eng- 
 land, who settled at New Haven in 1639. His son, 
 
 (H) Dr. John Hull, of Stratford, Derby and 
 Wallingford, was a prominent man in each of these 
 places, serving as selectman and representative. In 
 1687 the General Assembly granted him 700 acres 
 of land for services in King Philip's war. His son, 
 
 (III) Dr. Benjamin Hull, 1672-1741, married 
 Elizabeth Andrews, daughter of William Andrews, 
 an early settler of New Haven. Dr. Hull was a 
 prominent physician in Wallingford. His son, 
 
 (IV) Dr. John Hull, 1702-1762, married Sarah 
 Ives, a great-granddaughter of William Ives, a set- 
 tler of New Haven in 1639; also of Capt. Nathaniel 
 Merriman, an early and prominent settler of New 
 Haven and Wallingford, and a soldier in both the 
 Pequot and King Philip's wars. His son, 
 
 (V) Dr. Zephaniah Hull, 1728^1760, of Che- 
 shire and Bethlehem, Conn., married Hannah Doo- 
 little, daughter of Lieut. Moses Doolittle, a promi- 
 nent man in Cheshire, and a grandson of Abraham 
 Doolittle, an early settler of New Haven and Wal- 
 lingford, and chief officer or sheriff of New Ha- 
 ven Colony in 1644. He was sergeant of the train- 
 band, and a member of the vigilance committee in 
 
 
31 
 
 King Philip's war; also deputy froaii Wallingford 
 eight times. Through his mother, (III) Hannah 
 Hall, wife of Ebenezer DooHttle, Lieut. Moses was 
 a grandson of (H) Capt. Samuel Hall, 1648-1725, 
 who took an active part in the French and Indian 
 wars, and served as deputy from Wallingford to 
 the General Court four years. He was a son of 
 (I) John Hall, an early settler of New Haven, and 
 a soldier in the Pequot war, 1637. He married, at 
 New Haven, in 1641, Jeanne Wolen, of Huguenot 
 ancestry. Both the Hall and Wolen families bear 
 coats of arms, as do also the Coe, Mitchell and 
 Hawley families, mentioned above. 
 
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