HON. JAMES MURRAY CLARK who has been a lifelong resident of Washington County was the only issue of David and Eliza J. Clark, and was born under the parental roof in Hopewell Township March 7, 1828. When he was but an infant his father died, and from about that time until 1841, he lived in Cross Creek village. Thereafter, until the fall of 1887, his domicile was at home side near the village of Candor. For five years his home has been in Canonsburg. On January 28, 1851, he was married to Miss Margaret A. Clark, and of their union there are four children: Kate E. Clark, wife of Rev. Samuel E Elliott, D.D.; Romaine Pauline Clark; Murray S. Clark; and William Baird Clark, M.D.
The first representative of the family in America was his paternal and maternal great grandfather, James Clark, a native of Ireland, who with a brother Thomas landed in the early part of the eighteenth century. Thomas settled in the South. James married Nancy Reed of Lancaster County, and settled on land near the site of Harrisburg; thence he moved to "Clark's Fancy" which embraced the ground whereon Upper Strasburg was built, near Clark's Gap, Cumberland County. Subsequently he acquired a farm near Mercersburg, whereon he died leaving issue: David, married to Hannah Baird; Thomas, to Jane Caldwell; John, to __ McDowell; Rebecca, to John Taggart; Mary, to Jeremiah Rankin; James, to Mary Murray; Nancy, to David Humphrey; a daughter, to Joseph Smith; and a daughter, to David Elder. The father of this family about the year 1789 bought two farms in Washington County, one in what is now Canton Township, owned by Samuel K. Weirich, and the other in Robinson Township, whereon his sons James and Thomas in turn settled.
David Clark was born February 4, 1755, in Cumberland (now Franklin) County. His wife Hannah Baird was of the vicinity of Carlisle. Their children were all born at the Clark homestead in Canton township, and were as follows: David, married to Eliza Johnston Clark; Esther, married to Rev Joseph Stockton; James, to Jane Henderson; Nancy, to David Larimer; Betsy, to Daniel Houston; Mary, to Paul Anderson; and Jane and William who died in tender years. The father of these died in Hopewell township June 2. 1821, and was interred in the cemetery of North Buffalo Associate Presbyterian Church, whereof he was a ruling elder.
His son David, father of the subject proper of this article, was born February 28, 1800. On April 1,1827, he married Eliza Johnston Clark, a daughter of James and Mary Murray Clark of Franklin County. David died in Hopewell Township November 30, 1828. His widow was married November 1, 1841, to William Clark of Robinson Township. She died November 7, 1842, and January 31, 1881, her husband was laid by her side in the cemetery of Raccoon Church.
Text taken from page 175 of:
Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).Transcribed November 1997 by Martha Burns of Anaheim, CA as part of the Beers Project.
Published November 1997 on the Washington County, PA pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.[ Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]