Mark Twain's Clemens Ancestry

Mark Twain's Clemens Ancestry Raymond Martin Bell, F.A.S.G., F.G.S.P. INTRODUCTION Now 150 years after the birth of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) (1835-1910), his Clemens ancestry is fully known. When Mark Twain wrote The Prince and Me Pauper, a story of early England, he did not know that his ancestor, Richard Clements, was living in 1557 in the village of Croft, Leicestershire, sixteen miles northeast of Coventry, England. He did not know that Richard's great-grandson, Robert Clements, was a founder of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1642, and that Robert's great-grandson, Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, though born in Massachusetts, divided most of his adult life between Hunterdon County, New Jersey and Rockbridge County, Virginia. Ezekiel's great-grandson, John Marshall Clemens, was born in Virginia, but raised in part in (West) Virginia and in part in Kentucky. As a young adult he moved to Tennessee and at the age of thirty-seven to Missouri. It was here that his son, Mark Twain, was born. Tracing this family line from England to Massachusetts and then, in its successive migratory steps, into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, is the remarkable result of cumulative research. Mark Twain's sixteenth and seventeenth century origins are known from research begun some seventy-five years ago by Adolphus Washington Greely, the prominent Arctic explorer, now known to be a fifth cousin of Mark Twain, and by Henry Wyckoff Belknap. Under the patronage of Percival Wood Clement, Governor of Vermont, also a fifth cousin of the famous author, this research was expanded, professionalized and published by Mary Lovering Holman, F.A.S.G., and Caroline Clement Brown. But while these genealogists amassed a wealth of knowledge on the Clements family of Haverhill, Massachusetts, none was aware that Mark Twain was descended from these early settlers of New England. The investigation of the eighteenth and nineteenth century migrations of the branch of the family to which Mark Twain belonged was THE,PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May begun during the author's lifetime. Twain's own lack of knowledge in this regard has often been quoted:' I am helpless when it comes to genealogies. While my mother was alive she always kept the run of them, and I referred inquirers to her with full confidence; but now I have nowhere to turn. My father was John M. Clemens, but back of him or even around him I am in the dark. Twain's authorized biographer, Albert Bigelow Paine, in his Mark Twain: A Biography (1912,3 vols.), 2 reveals very little more. Though his first chapter is entitled "Ancestors," the reader learns only that the author's paternal grandfather was also named Samuel Clemens and that he married "a Virginia girl," Pamela Coggin.' More than a generation later, the Editor of the Mark Twain Estate, Dixon Wecter, authored Samuel Clemens of Hannibal 0952).4 Wecter aggressively pursued Twain's ancestry and was able to discredit a number of spurious claims,' but, like Paine, was not able to establish a paternal line beyond the grandfather.' The most recent chapter of research began more than twenty years ago with the publication of Rachel M. Varble's Jane Clemens: The Story of Mark Twain's Mother (1964).7 The book was dedicated to Doris W. Webster, a member of the Clemens family. Mrs. Varble and Mrs. Webster pressed the search for Mark Twain's ancestors to court records involving a Clemens family in Rockbridge County, Virginia. But when Mrs. Webster died in 1967, the compiled genealogical data was turned over to Ralph Gregory of Marthasville, Missouri and curator of the Mark Twain Shrine and Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. He and the present contributor independently discovered the key District Court documents in Staunton, Virginia. In 1979 the papers of the Virginia lawsuits were studied and it was discovered that the Samuel Clemens mentioned there was in fact Mark Twain's grandfather and that this Samuel Clemens was a lineal descendant of Ezekiel Clemen(t)s of the Haverhill, Massachusetts family. In 1980, therefore, the present contributor prepared a forty-five page typescript entitled The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens, Grandfather of Mark Twain. This work combined the research of those who had published on the Clements of Haverhill and of those who had pursued the family line in ascending order from the author himself. The 1985 MARK TWAINS CLEMENS ANCESTRY 3 typescript was photocopied and distributed to a number of genealogical libraries. It was greeted with enthusiasm. Reviews appeared not only in standard genealogical publications, such as the Genealogical Journals and The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine,' but also in academic journals, such as American Literary Realism: 1870-1910" and American Literary Scholarship." The work of the genealogist had once again enriched the study of American culture. In 1984, however, the present contributor received a letter from Harriet C. Hardaway of St. Louis, Missouri, which demonstrated a significant error in the 1980 publication. Mrs. Hardaway is a member of the Clemens family, a third cousin, twice removed of Mark Twain. She was a close friend of Mary C. Clemens, also of St. Louis and also a third cousin of the author, who compiled a manuscript history of the Clemens family before her death in 1958. The Clemens family papers of Mary C. Clemens, now in the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis, include a manuscript letter of 181 1, written by Mahlon Clemens, a great-uncle of Mark Twain, to Jeremiah Clemens, great-grandfather of Mary C. Clemens. This letter shows that The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens, Grandfather of Mark Twain incorrectly set forth the line of descent from Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia, to Samuel Clemens, grandfather of Mark Twain. This important revision, the recasting of the contributor's research under the present title, and the great general interest in the genealogy of an individual of national prominence together merit the publication of "Mark Twain's Clemens Ancestry" in permanent form here. THE SO U RC ES The English and Massachusetts ancestral records were published in the early part of this century. Two important articles appeared in the Essex Institute Historical Collections: "Robert Clements of Haverhill and Some of his Descendants" by Adolphus Washington Greely in 1911;1 ' and "The English Ancestry of the Clements Family of Haverhill, Massachusetts" by Henry Wyckoff Belknap in 1917. 13 Governor Clement's book, Ancestors and Descendants of Robert Clements of Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England, First Settler of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was edited by Mary Lovering Holman, F.A.S. G., and Caroline Clement Brown and published in two volumes in 1927 (hereinafter, the Clement book). THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May The Clement book, largely the work of Mary Lovering Holman, traces the branch of the family to which Mark Twain belonged only to the fourth American generation. Following a biographical summary of the life of Abraham Clements (1657-bef. 1716), the authors comment: ts Of his nine children, the only one of which any trace has been found is the son, Jeremiah Clements. Whether the rest died young or married is apparently not of record. Among the "rest" is listed Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, born 1 February 169516 in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Though unknown to the authors of the Clement book, this man was the key link between their work and the family tree which emerged from the court records in Rockbridge County, Virginia. The Clement book documents the changing domiciles of Abraham Clements.' He was born in Haverhill, but was apprenticed in Newbury and married there. About 1684, he removed to the border town of Hampton, New Hampshire and then seems to have lived between Hampton and Salisbury. By 1701 he had removed to Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His career was not prosperous, as various court records show, and he gradually lost most of the property which he possessed. The place and precise date of his death are not definitely known, but a strong argument can be made that he died in Bristol and it can be stated that he died before 5 March 1715/6.'7 Letters of administration were issued in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania." The Clement book does not mention the latter. Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, son of Abraham, apparently moved to Bristol, Pennsylvania with his father about 1701 and was raised there. In 1726 an Ezekiel Clemen(t)s first appears in court records in Hunterdon County, New jersey.' The identification of this Ezekiel Clemen(t)s as the same as the man born in Haverhill in 1696 and the marshaling of considerable evidence to show that he was the grandfather of Samuel Clemens, grandfather of Mark Twain, are the two chief accomplishments of the present contributor. The first step in pulling together these new sources was the study of the family of James Clemen(t)s, an early settler of what is now Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. This man, his wife and six children settled on 400 acres of land in 1774. 2') He died on that farm in 1795, the same year his will was proved.' His will 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY names six sons: Jeremiah, William, Abraham, John, James, and Ezekiel. Jeremiah, the eldest, lived in Danville, Kentucky. A history of Washington County, published in 1893, describes this family as cousins of Mark Twain.' A history of St. Louis, Missouri, published in 1899, states that James Clemen(t)s of Washington County, Pennsylvania was the grandfather of James Clemens, "Jr.." the "rich cousin" of Mark Twain's father.' It also states that James Clemen(t)s was born in 1734 in New Jersey. That James Clemens, Jr., of St. Louis, did provide substantial financial assistance for John Marshall Clemens is acknowledged by Mark Twain's authorized biographer' and by subsequent biographers of Twain.' The genealogical relationship, however, between James Clemen(t)s (1734-1795) and Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain's grandfather, was unknown. An inquiry in Hannibal, Missouri brought the present contributor into contact with Ralph Gregory and through him the Webster-Varble files were made available. This collection included a family letter written on 18/19 January 1886 by John M. Clemens of Louisville, Kentucky to James N. Clemens of Lola and Carrsville, Kentucky. One portion of the letter reads as follows:' Jeremiah (our great-grandfather) married Elizabeth Moore of Trenton, New jersey. Jeremiah's children were: Samuel (my grandfather); Gershom (your grandfather) who lived at Amherst Courthouse, Virginia; James; Mahlon; and three other boys whose names I have not; Jennie who married a man by the name of Crews; Deborah who married Anderson Crews; and Phoebe who married Thomas Miles of Amherst Courthouse, Virginia. A son, William Miles, lives at Lynchburg. This letter represented a significant advancement. It named the paternal great-grandparents of Mark Twain — Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Moore) Clemen(t)s— and permitted the construction of the following family tree: THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Jeremiah Clemen(t)s I Elizabeth Moore (of Trenton, New Jersey) Samuel Gershom James Mahlon "three three other daughboys" ters 1 John Marshall Hannibal Jonathan Samuel L. John M. James N. The similarity of Christian names in the James Clemen(t)s family of Washington County, Pennsylvania with those of a Clemen(t)s family found in two law suits concerning the ownership and occupancy of land in Rockbridge County, Virginia suggested further study of the court records. These may be abstracted as follows:' (A) an ejectment suit in 1786 versus Robert Shaw by Abraham Clemen(t)s, only son of Abraham, who was the oldest son of Ezekiel of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The suit was decided in favor of Abraham Clemen(t)s in 1788, but appealed by Shaw Shaw lost two appeals, the latter in 1798. (B) a trespass suit in 1789 by the same Robert Shaw versus Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Gershom, and James Clemen(t)s for entering the land, plowing and removing trees. in 1793 Jeremiah, Gershom and James Clemen(t)s responded that "their right of possession is derived from Abraham Clemens, heir-at-law of Abraham Clemens, the elder, and Ezekiel Clemens, deceased." (The name is spelled both Clements and Clemens in the court papers). The court's findings and rulings provide a full summary. Benjamin Borden, of New jersey, received a grant of 92,000 acres in what is now Rockbridge County in 1739 with the stipulation that he attract settlers for the land. The land was patented in Borden's name in 1740 and one of the first purchasers was Ezekiel Clemen(t)s of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Clemen(t)s settled on a four hundred acre parcel perhaps as early as 1741, certainly by 1743. in 1746 the executors of the estate of Benjamin Borden executed a deed to Ezekiel Clemen(t)s for this property. Clemen(t)s later withdrew from this land, however, apparently returning to New Jersey. As a result a second patent to the land was issued and the property occupied by another family. This 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY gave rise to the 1786 and 1789 law suits. Ezekiel Clemen(t)s is noted in the court record as having died in 1778; his eldest son and heir-atlaw, Abraham Clemen(t)s, died in 1785; this left Abraham Clemen(t)s, grandson of Ezekiel and eldest son of Abraham, the heir-atlaw to his father's and grandfather's rights to this property.' One of the papers filed with the District Court during the course of the first appeal of the 1788 decision was an affidavit of a Samuel Clemens, sworn in Staunton, Rockbridge County, which addressed the question of the absence of an unnamed brother from the court proceedings. The affidavit reads as follows (spelling corrected):' My brother, being in company with me last Sunday, was a week then started (and) told me he was a-going to Richmond for papers respecting a suit in this court between Clemens and Shaw. After being gone some days a messenger came to me and informed me that he, my brother, was sick and requested me to come to him. I went and found him somewhat recovered. As he informed me, he also told me he had taken unwell after he started and proved unable to prosecute his journey. Samuel Clemens (s) Sworn to before me this 6th day of Sew. 1792. Alexr. St. Clair (s) This affidavit was an important sliver of evidence for the signature of Samuel Clemens matches that of Mark Twain's grandfather when he signed his marriage bond in 1797 in Bedford County, Virginia.' Bedford and Rockbridge counties are adjacent. The identification of Mark Twain's grandfather as a member of the Clemen(t)s family of Rockbridge County suggested pursuing the New Jersey origins of Ezekiel Clemen(t)s. A search of Hunterdon County, New jersey records provided important additional evidence. The first mention of Ezekiel Clemen(t)s is in 1726, when he is sued for failure to pay a debt.' Financial straits seemed to have plagued him for he is named fourteen times over the next twenty years in Hunterdon County records in connection with claims against him.32 Finally in 1765 he is sued for debt by his son, Abraham, who claims that his father "absconds himself from his creditors, that he is not . .within the province of New jersey.' A Sheriff's sale was ordered and the list of assets sold show Ezekiel to have been a weaver:4 At least one family tradition claims that Ezekiel THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Clemen(Os married a Christina CasteII.' A William Caste11 is found in Hunterdon County in the period 1727-9.' The Hunterdon County records also shed some light on a Jeremiah Clemen(t)s who appears to be the same man as the great-grandfather of Mark Twain. In May 1765 Jeremiah Clemen(t)s of Hunterdon County sued Abraham Clemen(t)s of the same county for failure to pay debt.' This suit, along with that of Abraham versus Ezekiel, brings together three of the key Clemen(t)s names. County records also include the probate proceedings of a Gershom Moore of Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County.' This man left a widow, three sons, and two daughters. One son was also named Gershom. He appears in Hunterdon County records in 1741 and 1758 and is living in or near Trenton, New jersey in 1771." One gap in the New Jersey records of Clemen(t)s is that of James Clemen(t)s (1734-1795). Though the presence of his family in Washington County, Pennsylvania had sparked the search by the present contributor, he had not been found in Rockbridge County court records or in any of the Hunterdon County records. An inquiry in Mercer County, Kentucky, however, home of Jeremiah Clemens, eldest son of James, revealed that the tombstone of Jeremiah, in Danville, Kentucky, was inscribed "born Loudoun County, Virginia."' The birth date on the gravestone was the same as that in the James Clemens' family Bible.' Loudoun County is more than one hundred miles northeast of Rockbridge County. When its records were searched, James Clemen(t)s was found as early as 1757.'2 He purchased land there in 1762 and was taxed in 1771. In 1773 he and his wife, Hannah (Walton) Clemen(t)s, sold their farm' and moved to what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania. The Loudoun County records also revealed the presence of Jeremiah Clemen(t)s, Mark Twain's great-grandfather, who was the defendant in a law suit of 177112.4' 4 The precise family tie between James and Jeremiah, however, still remained elusive. The genealogical relationship of James and Jeremiah was finally established by the manuscript letter of 1811. This letter was written by Mahlon Clemens of Amherst County, Virginia, son of Jeremiah, to Jeremiah Clemens of Danville, Kentucky, son of James. The letter reads as follows (spelling corrected):' MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 1985 November 21, 1 8 1 1 Amherst County, Virginia Dear Cousin, This is the first address of this kind you ever received from me. But I feel a natural disposition to inform you that the last existing part of your father's family is gone. My father, your uncle Jeremiah, died on the 17th of this month. He left only one daughter with my mother, which is the only support of her declining age. Myself and two sisters are married (and) live in Amherst in Virginia. Brother James practices physic in "Albeny" Brother Gershom lives on the Mississippi. Brother Ezekiel I have not seen for twenty years, but we received a letter from him about two years ago. He was then in South Carolina. Brother Samuel was unfortunately killed on the Ohio. I have given you a short account of my family, which is the only mark of friendship 1 can show to you. I expect to be in country (?) next fall. We all join in sending our love to you and family. I am again th respect. Mahlon Clemens (s) Combining the genealogical information of this letter with that of the 1886 letter and setting it alongside the genealogical information found in the Rockbridge County court records, the following family trees may be constructed and a link between the two suggested:' Ezekiel (d. 1778) Abraham (d. 1785) ja t-rcs (1734-1795) Abraham Jeremiah others (fl. 1790) (1763-1826) Barnes, "Jr" (1791-1878) Jeremiah (d. 1811) I Mahlon Gershom others (1766-1839) Hannibal (1803-1836) John Marshall Jonathan R. (1798-1847) (1811-1862) John M. (1835-1892) Samuel L. James N. (1835-19W) (1835-1912) Are James (1734-1795) and Jeremiah (d. 181 1) Clemen(t)s, now proven to be brothers, sons of Ezekiel and brothers of Abraham (ci. 10 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May 17 85) Clemen(t)s? Is Ezekiel Clemen(Os (d. 1778) the same as the son of that name, born in 1696, of Abraham Clements (1657-1716), who is found in the Clement book? Given the following summary of evidence: that the Clement book documents the move of Abraham Clements (1657-1716) from Massachusetts to Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania about 1701; that Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, son of Abraham, born in 1696, must have moved with his father to Bristol in 1701; that in 1716 the Pennsylvania letters of administration were granted to an older brother of Ezekiel's living in Bucks County; that Bristol is just fifteen miles from Hunterdon County, New jersey; that Ezekiel Clemen(t)s was living near Trenton, in Hunterdon County by 1726, the only man by that name in the county; that a Clemens family tradition claims that Ezekiel Clemen(t)s married a Christina Castel" and that a family of that surname is found in Hunterdon County in the 1720's; that Ezekiel Clemen(t)s named his eldest son Abraham, most likely after his own father; that Abraham (d. 1785), James (d. 1795) and Jeremiah (d. 1811) Clemen(t)s all have lifespans and death dates which dovetail nicely with a generation born of a marriage of ca. 1725; that two, quite distinct family traditions give James and Jeremiah Clemen(t)s New. jersey origins, James being born there in 1734 and Jeremiah being married in or near Trenton; that James named a son Ezekiel, Jeremiah named his eldest son Ezekiel, and both James and Jeremiah named their eldest daughters Christina; that Jeremiah is associated with Abraham (d. 1785) in the law suits in Hunterdon County, New Jersey; that James and Jeremiah are both living in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1771; that Abraham, grandson of Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, was associated with Jeremiah and his sons, Ezekiel, Gershom, James and Samuel, in the law suits in Rockbridge County, Virginia in 1786 and subsequent years; that Samuel Clemens, whose affidavit appears in the Rockbridge County court records, is the grandfather of Mark Twain; 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 11 then it can be said with considerable assurance that Ezekiel Clemen(t)s, born in Massachusetts in 1696, was the father of Jeremiah Clemen(t)s, who died in Virginia in 1811. The direct ancestral line of Mark Twain therefore proceeds through ten generations. By combining six generations which appear in the Clement book with the four established above, the line appears as follows: Richard Clements (ca. 1506-1571, in Leicestershire, England) m. ca. 1535, Elizabeth Robert Clements (ca. 1536-1606, in Leicestershire, England) m. ca. 1561, in Leicestershire, Alice Richard Clements (ca. 1570-1617, in Leicestershire, England) ms 1595, in Leicestershire, Agnes Robert Clements (1595-1658, in Massachusetts) m. ca. 1615, in Leicestershire, England, Lydia Robert Clements (ca. 1634-1714, in Massachusetts) m. 1652, in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Fawne Abraham Clements (1657-1716, in Pennsylvania) m. 1683, in Massachusetts, Hannah Gove Ezekiel Clements (1696-ca.1778, in Virginia (?)) m. ca. 1724, in New Jersey (1), Christina Castell Jeremiah Clemens (ca. 1732-1811, in Virginia) m. ca. 1763, in New Jersey, Elizabeth Moore Samuel Clemens (ca. 1770-1805, in (West) Virginia) m. 1797, in Virginia, Pamela Goggin John Marshall Clemens (1798-1847, in Missouri) m. 1823, in Kentucky, Jane Lampton Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910, in Connecticut) CLEMENTS: THE FIRST SIX GENERATIONS' The earliest record in England is that of Richard Clements, who in 1557 was one of the three persons who took the inventory of Thomas Crispe of Croft, Leicestershire. On 15 October 1562, Richard was a "tything man" of Croft. Croft is about seven miles south-southwest of Leicester. Today there is only one street, Hill Stret, left in the old village, which lies close under Croft Hill. The center of the old village has disappeared. The new village lies over the river. The church, Saint Michael, is of red syenite stone. There is a Norman window in the north transcept, west wall. The font is Norman. The communion plate is of 1585. The church was rebuilt in 1879. Richard 12 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Clements (1506-1571) married Elizabeth—. His children are listed in his will, drawn on 3 February 1571 and proved on 1 March of that same year: (1) Robert (see below) (2) Mary (3) Edward (4) Isabel (who married Robert Ives) (5) Richard (who was fourteen years or younger in 1572) Robert Clements (ca. 1536-bur. 26 June 1606) was a constable at he married (2) Croft in 1572. He married (1), ca. 1561, Alice . He was buried at Croft. His childern are listed in Margaret his will, drawn on 25 May 1606 and proved on 12 August of that same year: Roberts; and (1) Jane (ca. 1562-0 (who married (1) (2)— Cooke) (2) Isabel (ca. 1564-0 (who married, on 26 October 1591, at Croft, John Johnson) (3) Robert (ca. 1566-bur. 31 August 1612) (who married Alice (4) Thomas (ca. 1568-bur. 12 May 1629) (who married (1), on 4 March 1594, Margaret Lucas; and (2), on 14 April 1608, Elizabeth Wakelin) (5) Richard (see below) (6) John (ca. 1572-0 (who married, on 2 November 1597, widow Elizabeth Warren) (7) James (ca. 1574-bur. 9 July 1624) (who married (1) and (2) Frances—) Richard Clements (ca. 157 0-bur. 18 July 1617) was a church warden at Cosby, Leicestershire in 1598. He bought land at Leire in 1616, but died the following year and was buried at Cosby. He married, on 2 March 1595, widow Agnes Fellow, who died in 1619. There is record of two children: (1) Robert (see below) (2) Ann (?-bur. 10 January 1607) Robert Clements (bap. 14 December 1595-29 September 1658) married (1), ca. 1615, Lydia . In 1617 he was living in Huncote, Leicestershire. By 1624, he was living in Ansley, Warwickshire. His wife was buried in Ansley on 12 March 1642. Two months later Robert Clements emigrated to America and became one of the faun-- 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 13 ders of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The death of Lydia Clements and the emigration of Robert resulted in the scattering of their children. Two sons and one daughter remained in England, though all were to leave for different destinations within ten years. Two sons and perhaps two daughters traveled with their father to America. The eldest son had preceded his father to Massachusetts. The will of Robert Clements was proved on 11 October 1658. He had eight children, as follows: (1) Job (ca. 1616-4 September 1682) (who married (1), on 25 December 1645, Margaret Dummer; and (2) Lydia ; and (3), on 16 July 1673, widow Joanna Leighton) (2) Lydia (ca. 1618-16 January 1676) (who married, ca. 1644, Moses Pengry) (3) John (hap. 22 October 1620-1659) (who married, on 1 June 1648, Sarah Osgood; this family was lost at sea in 1659) (4) Abraham (ca. 1622-5 April 1677) (who married (1) Elizabeth —; and (2) widow Jayne Aylett) (this man emigrated to Killenacratt, County Cavan, Ireland) (5) Daniel (ca. 1624-June 1680) (who married Elizabeth ) (this man also emigrated to Ireland, where he died at Rathkenny, County Cavan) (6) Sarah (ca. 1626-August 1694) (who married (1), on 10 June 1645, Abraham Morrill; and (2), on 8 August 1665, Thomas Mudgett) (7) Robert (see below) (8) Mary (1637-27 October 1710) (who married, on 15 November 1653, John Osgood) (this woman emigrated to Massachusetts in 1652) Robert Clements (Ca. 1634-1714) was born in Ansley and came to Massachusetts in 1642 with his father. He married, on 8 December 1652, Elizabeth Fawne, daughter of John and Elizabeth Fawne of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was a cooper by trade. In 1658 he returned to England and Ireland, apparently with his wife and young children, to act as guide for his brother John. Their plans were interrupted, however, when the ship upon which they were passengers was captured by Spaniards. They were held captive for several weeks. John Clements and his family were lost at sea soon thereafter and Robert returned to Massachusetts. In 1675 he was constable at Haverhill. He and Elizabeth had eleven children: 14 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May (1) John (16 September 1653-16 May 1692) (who married, on 22 February 1676, Elizabeth Ayer) (2) Daniel (3 July 1655-10 January 1680) (3) Abraham (see below) (4) Jonathan (1659-March 1712) (who married, before 1694, Elizabeth ) (5) Hannah (2 October 1660-after 1717) (who married, ca. 1678, Joseph Crockett) (6) Fawne (2 March 1662-March 1740) (who married (1), on 21 November 1688, Sarah Hoyt; and (2), on 7 March 1718, widow Dorothy Carr Frees) (7) Nathaniel (6 September 1663-4 May 1689) (8) Robert (29 March 1665-3 September 1741) (who married, on December 1690, Deliverance Odiorne) (9) Lydia (14 December 1668-11 October 1696) (who married, on 19 February 1689, John Johnson, jr.) (10) Mary (8 June 1670-1 July 1670) (11) Mary (24 July 1673-11 February 1678) Abraham C lements (14 July 1657-bef. 5 March 17 16) married, on 10 May 1683, Hannah Gove, daughter of Edward and Hannah (Partridge) Gove. He and his wife moved from Haverhill to Hampton, New Hampshire (her family's home) shortly after their marriage. There is evidence to show that he did not prosper. About 1701 he and his family moved to Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He borrowed £ 127 10s. in 1702 from Edward Shippen, then Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. Letters of administration on Abraham's estate in Bucks County were granted on 5 March 1716 by the Registrar General of Pennsylvania to the eldest son, Nathaniel Clemen(t)s, joiner, of Bucks County: To Nathaniel Clemens . greetings, whereas Abraham Clemens lately died intestate, having while he lived and at the time of his death divers goods, rights and credits within the province The second son of Abraham was Jeremiah, who on 31 December 1716 was named administrator of his father's estate in Essex County, Massachusetts: Jeremiah Clemens, son of Abraham Clemens of Salisbury, deceased, and John Gove of Hampton and Thomas Manning of Ipswich 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 15 Abraham apparently had real and/or personal property in both colonies. Jeremiah Clemen(t)s had returned to Massachusetts before 1714. On 14 March 1716 he purchased a parcel of land in Haverhill from his cousin, Samuel Clements. Abraham and Hannah (Gove) Clements had ten children: (1) Edward (3 March 1684-d. as an infant) (2) Dorothy (ca. 1685-23 March 1704) (who married, on 15 October 1702, James Moulton) (3) Elizabeth (6 July 1687-?) (4) Nathaniel (27 August 1689-?) (5) Jeremiah (22 April 1692-d. as an infant) (6) Jeremiah (15 April 1693-1732) (who married, on 25 November 1714, Anna Jones) (7) Sarah (ca.) 1694-? (8) Ezekiel (see below) (9) Lydia (li August 1698-?) (10) Hannah (17 November 1700-?} EZEKIEL CLEMEN(T)S: GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF MARK TWAIN This man represents one of the two generations of the Clemen(t)s family about which very little had been known up to the present time. Ezekiel Clemen(Os was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1696. When he was five, his father, Abraham, moved to Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Here Abraham Clemen(t)s died about 1716. Ezekiel moved across the Delaware River and a few miles north to Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Here his name is found in county records for the first time in 1726. About 174-1 Ezekiel Clemen(t)s agreed to purchase from Benjamin Borden a tract of land in what is now Rockbridge County, Virginia. Ownership of this land, variously surveyed at 375 or 400 acres, depended on Clemen(t)s) ability to settle on it and clear it as a working farm. He apparently fulfilled this requirement for on 18 June 1746 he received a deed to the property." As early as 1748, however, it would appear that financial difficulties intervened in Virginia and that the Clemen(t)s family was forced to return to New Jersey 49 Little more is known until the intrafamily law suits of 1765. Depositions taken in the District Court of Augusta County establish the date of Ezekiel's death as 1778. The place(s) of 16 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May his death and burial are unknown. There were at least three children, as follows: (1) Abraham (ca. 1725-February 1785) (who married, ca. 1746, ; and had children: Abraham, two daughters)' Catherine (2) Jeremiah (see below) (3) James (1734-1795) (who married, ca. 1762, Hannah Walton; and had children: Jeremiah (1763-1826), Christina (17651837), William (1767-1849), Abraham (1769-1841), Ann (1771ca. 1802), Ruth (1773-1858), John (1775-1814), Permelia (17771818), James (1779-1860), Hannah (1781-ca. 1803), Ezekiel (1783aft. 1825), Hester (1785-1848).' JEREMIAH CLEMEN(T)S: GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF MARK TWAIN Though the position of Jeremiah Clemen(t)s in the chain of Clemen(t)s family lineage is now clear, the details of his own life remain sketchy. His occupation can not be stated with certainty, though he appears to have been a farmer. On the other hand, the land records of both New Jersey and Virginia show that he never held title to any real estate. His birthdate and marriage date must also be a matter of conjecture, though there is good evidence that his wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Moore and that she was the daughter of a Gershom Moore of Hunterdon County and later, Trenton, New Jersey. An outline of Jeremiah Clemen(t)s' life, however, may be constructed. He was likely born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and lived his childhood years there. He must have traveled with the family to Rockbridge County, Virginia in the early 1740's and probably spent his teen-age years there. As a young adult, he returned to Hunterdon County, where he married and was a litigant in the intra-family law suits of 1765. Within a year he and his family were likely in Loudoun County Virginia, near his brother James.' He was certainly a resident there in 1771. The death of older brother Abraham, in 1785, appears to have brought Jeremiah back to Rockbridge County, for it was the actions of Jeremiah and his sons which led to the second of the law suits over the Clemen(Os family land.' At the close of the century, Jeremiah was living in Albemarle County (now Nelson County), Virginia.' He died in Amherst County. Unlike his father, Jeremiah died a well documented death. The exact date and place are provided by the family 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 17 correspondence cited above and there is record of probate proceedings in Amherst County' Jeremiah had children as follows: (1) Ezekiel (ca. 1764-aft 1809) (2) Gershom (22 March 1766-29 January 1839) (who married (1), on 22 April 1791, Jane Usher; and (2), on 31 January 1817, widow Margaret Gillespie Trimble) (this man moved to Livingston County, Kentucky in 1805' and was a wagon-maker and farmer at Carrsville57) (3) James (ca. 1768-aft. 1811) (4) Samuel (see below) (5) Christina (ca. 1775-aft. 1815) (who married, in 1798, John Crews)58 (6) Deborah (ca. 1779-aft. 1848) (who married, on 2 February 1814, Anderson L. Crews)S9 (7) Mahlon (ca. 1782-aft. 1824) (who married, on 9 December 1809, Nancy Miles)" (8) Phoebe (ca. 1785-aft. 1846) (who married, on 21 September 1809, Thomas Miles)61 SAMUEL CLEMENS: GRANDFA THE R OF MA 12K T WAIN The absence of information on the identity and lives of the father and grandfather of Samuel Clemens has been the greatest obstacle in establishing the lineage of Mark Twain. This was no doubt due, in large part, to the tragic, early death of Samuel Clemens. The fullest account comes from Mark Twain's older brother, Orion Clemens, in 1883, in response to the request of a local historian, R. I. Holcombe.' In Hokombe's History of Marion County, Missouri (1884), the story is told that Samuel Clemens died at "a house-raising. While pushing a log before him up an inclined plane, the log slipped, carrying him down and fatally crushing him against a stump."' This, of course, is confirmed by the account—"killed on the Ohio"—given in the 1811 letter above and also by a portion of the 1886 letter —". killed in (West) Virginia by a falling log at a house-raising at Point Pleasant on (the) Kanawha River. . ."" Had Samuel Clemens lived to be a grandfather, there may never have been a mystery to the Clemens' family genealogy. Very little is known of Samuel Clemens' own life prior to his marriage to Pamela Coggin ire 1797. The present contributor has shown that Samuel's older brother, Gershom., was born "in Virginia."65 18 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May He has also shown that Samuel's father, Jeremiah, was in Loudoun County in 1771 and 1772. The Rockbridge County law suits show that Samuel was a minor in 1789 and had attained the age of majority (21) by 1791. It seems likely then that Samuel was born in Loudoun County, Virginia about 1770. Samuel Clemens married Pamela Goggin on 29 October 1797." The Goggin family had been residents of Bedford County for more than fifty years."' Pamela's father, Stephen Goggin, jr., had served in the Bedford County Militia during the Revolutionary War. The newlyweds apparently lived in Campbell County, adjacent to Bedford, where their first child, John Marshall Clemens, was born." In 1802, however, they purchased a 400 acre farm in Bedford County.' Part of that acreage was sold in 1803 7° and by July, 1804 Samuel Clemens was living in Mason County, (West) Virginia, where he was appointed that county's first Commissioner of Revenue.' In March, 1805 he purchased a 119 acre farm near present day Lakin, West Virginia: 2 Sometime in the fall of that year Samuel Clemens met his unfortunate death. Several members of the Goggin family had moved from Bedford County, Virginia to Adair County, Kentucky.' Pamela Goggin Clemens took her five young children to join them. There, on 21 May 1809, she married Simon Hancock, a childhood friend from Bedford County-14 There were three children by this marriage.' Though one of the Clemens children, a boy named Pleasant, died in 1811, the other seven children of Pamela Goggin Clemens Hancock were raised to adulthood in Adair County.' Samuel and Pamela (Goggin) Clemens had children as follows: (1) John Marshall (see below) (2) Pleasant (21 June 1800-2 November 1811) (3) Elizabeth Moore (6 September 1801-aft 1886) (who married, in 1817, John Nichols Pollard) (4) Hannibal (6 November 1803-1 August 1836) (who married, ca. 183(7, Jane Hudson Jones; she married 2nd, "Judge" Sales) (5) Caroline (27 March 1805-11 November 1854) (who married, in 1824, Isaac Withers Settle) JOHN MARSHALL CLEMENS: FATHER OF MARK TWAIN The life of John Marshall Clemens is well known and has been extensively documented in Wecter's Sam Clemens. A short account 1985 19 MARK TWAIN'S GLEN ENS ANCESTRY ■ may be sufficient here. John Marshall Clemens was born on 11 August 1798, apparently in Campbell County, Virginia. His early childhood was spent in Bedford County, Virginia and Mason County, (West) Virginia. When he was just seven years old, his father was killed in a house-raising accident in Mason County. His mother moved her family to Adair County, Kentucky and remarried there. His relationship with his step-father appears to have been less than might be expected; Simon Hancock charged the estate of Samuel Clemens for the support of John Marshall Clemens and the other Clemens children. By the time John Marshall was fourteen, he was apparently selfsupporting. John Marshall Clemens worked at odd jobs until he was twentyone. Then he studied for admission to the bar and on 29 October 1822 was granted the right to practice law in the state of Kentucky. On 6 May 1823 he married Jane Lampton, daughter of Benjamin and Peggy (Casey) Lampton of Adair County. John Marshall Clemens took his bride first to Gainesboro, Jackson County, Tennessee, where their first child was born in 1825. Two years later the family moved forty miles east to Jamestown, Fentress County, Tennessee. Though Marshall Clemens (as he was known to his family) made large purchases of land in Fentress County, his law practice did not flourish and he was soon reduced to opening a small crossroads store outside of Jamestown. There he struggled along for a few years, serving as postmaster as well as storekeeper. In 1835 Marshall Clemens moved his family from Tennessee to Florida, Monroe County, Missouri, about one hundred miles northwest of St. Louis. Here, in the fall of 1835, Mark Twain was born.' Marshall Clemens opened a country store on the Main Street of town and began to practice law He rapidly achieved some renown, for in November of 1837 he was named a judge of the Monroe County Court. Fortunes changed quickly, however, for just two years later Marshall Clemens left Monroe County for Hannibal, Marion County, Missouri, about thirty miles to the northeast of Florida. Marshall Clemens prospered no more in Hannibal than he had in Jamestown, Tennessee or Florida, Missouri. It was in Hannibal that his finances began to be assisted by his second cousin, James Clemens, Jr., of St. Louis. Nevertheless the family appears to have become quite poor by the time of Marshall Clemens' death, 24 March 1847. Has it not been for the continued support of James Clemens, Jr., the 20 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE Ma) children of Marshall Clemens would not have had the opportunities which made possible the career of Mark Twain, John Marshall and Jane (Lampton) Clemens had children as follows:78 (1) Orion (17 July 1825-11 December 1897) (who married, on 18 December 1854, Mary Eleanor Stotts) (2) Pamela Ann (13 September 1827-1 September 1904) (who married, on 20 September 1851, William A. Moffet) (3) Pleasant Hannibal (1828-1828) (4) Margaret Lampton (31 May 1830-17 August 1839) (5) Benjamin Lampton (8 June 1832-12 May 1842) (6) Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain) (30 November 1835-21 April 1910) (who married, on 2 February 1870, Olivia Louise Langdon) (7) Henry (13 June 1838-20 June 1858) POSTSCRIPT Thus it is seen that Mark Twain was in the eleventh generation from Richard Clements, the 16th century Englishman of Leicestershire. Three centuries of one family: though Mark Twain was not interested in genealogy, one would like to think that he too would have found his English roots, by way of an early New England settlement, a classic American story. NOTES Dixon Wester, Same/ Clemens of Hannibal (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1952), p, 1, quoting Samuel L. Clemens to O.B. Sears, 16 July (1902), Mark Twain Museum, Hannibal, Missouri. 2 New York, Harper & Bros. 3 Ibid., 4 Boston, Houghton Mifflin CDrnpany. 5 Ibid., pp. 1-3 and 271-2 at n_ 5, 6, and 7. 6 Ibid., at p, 3 and p. 271, n. 'Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Co. 8 Effing-ham R Humphrey, jr., review in Volume 10, No. 1 (March, 1981): 53-4. 9 Meredith B. Colket, Jr., F.A,.S.G., review in Voiume 44, No. 3 (Spring, 1981): 140. "Thomas A. Tenney, "Mark Twain: A Reference Guide, Fourth Annual Supplement," in Volume 13, No. 2 (Autumn, 1980): 161, 215-6. 11 American Literary Scholarship: AB Annual 1980 (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1982): 92. '2 Volume 47 (1911): 317-42. 13 Volume 5.3 (1914 250-4. 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 14 The title page of this work lists Percival Wood Clement as the author and Mary Lovering Holman and Caroline Clement Brown as editors, Both volumes were published in Philadelphia by the Press of Patterson and White Co. The work is notable for demonstrating that Robert Clements, the immigrant of 1642, left behind a son, Daniel, who later settled in Ireland and whose great-grandson, Robert Clements, was created first Earl of Leitrim. The latter's great-grandson, Robert Bermingham Clements, fourth Earl (1847-1892), was thus a sixth cousin of Mark Twain. 15 Clement, Robert Clements, p.. 74. 6 Ibid., pp. 70-4. 17 Ibid., p. 70, states that Abraham Clements "died, probably in New Hampshire, about 1716." This conclusion is based in large part on the failure of Clement, Holman and Brown to find the letters of administration issued in Pennsylvania. These letters were recorded on 5 March 1715/6 and establish the outside parameter of Abraham Clements' life; the Pennsylvania letters predate the Massachusetts letters by more than nine months, arguing for Pennsylvania as the place of death. 18 Essex County, Massachusetts. Probate #5573 (as quoted by Clement, Robert Clements, p. 74); and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Administration Book B.128. The Pennsylvania letters of administration named eldest son Nathaniel as administrator. He is cafled "joiner, of Bucks County:" Note that Clement, Robert Clements, p. 74, states that Nathaniel "probably died before 1716." This inaccuracy is no doubt due to Nathaniel's absence from the Massachusetts letters which were issued to Jeremiah, the second oldest son. 19 Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Court of Common Pleas. 11.120 (16 October 1726). John Smith vs. Ezekiel Clements. Research by C. Phyllis D'Autrechy. 2" Ohio County, West Virginia. Land application #69 for a Virginia certificate, made on 11 December 1779, entered 1 February 1780. 21 Washington County, Pennsylvania. Will Book 1:302; Accounts C-27. Will of James Clemens. Signed 21 September 179$; proved 26 October 1795. 22 Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J.H. Beers, 1893), p. 1429. 23 William Hyde and H.L. Co rd, eds., Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis, 4 vols. (New York: Southern History Co., 1899), 1:407-8. 24 Paine, Mark Twain, p. 44. 25 Wecter, Sam Clemens, pp. 56, 71, 78, 102-3, 112, 121; warble, Jane Clemens, pp. 132, 150-1. 26 Two copies of this letter are known. One is in the possession of Irene B. Wardrop of Golconda, Illinois, She is a great-great-granddaughter of Gershom Clemens (1766-1839), brother of Mark Twain's grandfather, Samuel Clemens. The other copy (an incomplete copy) is among the Webster-VarbleGregory files in Marthasvilie, Missouri. It was received by Ralph Gregory from Cyril Clemens of St. Louis, Missouri. 27 Both cases are abstracted in Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 3 vols. (Roslyn, Virginia, 1912; reprint edition, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980), 2:8, 38, The present contributor had the original files examined by Katherine G. Bushman, who provided far more details. Staunton, Virginia. District Court judgments. September, 1794 (K to Z); and April, 1800 (M to Z). 2 This summary of the court's findings is drawn entirely from the original records. See n. 27 above. A substantial portion of those records were copied and reproduced in Raymond M. Bell, The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens, Grandfather of Mark Twain (Washington, Pennsylvania: Photocopied for the author, 1980; revised edition, 1984), pp, 14-21. 29 District Court Judgment. September, 1794 (K to Z). The original is reproduced in Bell, The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens (1984 revised edition), p, 16. ") Bell, The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens (1984 revised edition), p. 17 has reproduced the original. The existence of this marriage bond has been known to Clemens genealogists for at least fifty years. See Charles 0. Pa.ullin, "Mark Twain's Virginia Kin," William & 1ary Quarterly, 2nd ser., 15 ( July 22 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May 1915): 294-8. This article is cited by Wecter, Sam Clemens, p, 272, n. 12, who is unable to press the Clen-iens family ancestry beyond the marriage document. 1 See n. 19, above. 32 Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Various courts of Common Pleas. 1726-1746. 33 Hunterdon County, New jersey. Court of Common Pleas. Miscellaneous files, Affidavit 416 (16 January 1765). 4 Hunterdon County, New jersey. Court of Common Pleas. X.14 (February 1765). The Sheriff's sale auctioned the following assets: 1 loom, 6 reeds, 3 pair of gears, 19 spools, 6 shuffles, 1 quill wheel, 1 maul, 1 hoe, 1 spinning wheel and tray and hammer, 1 black walnut chest of drawers, 3 chairs, 1 frying pan, 1 grid iron, 1 flesh fork, 1 trammel, I iron wedge, t sickle, 1 broad hoe, l washing tub, 1 plow and bedstead, 2 barrels, 7 acres of wheat, 1 table. " James Wolfe Clemens, M. D. (1795-1846) was born and raised in Buffalo Township, Washington County. His adult life was spent in Wheeling, (West) Virginia. He was a grandson of James Clemens ( I 734-1795). James Wolfe Clemens, M. D. wrote that his paternal grandfather's mother was named Christina Castille (she married Ezekiel Clemen(t)s). This manuscript was owned by Clemens Jones (1858-1916), a grandson of J.W. Clemens, M.D., arid is quoted in the manuscript history of the Clemens family authored by Mary C. Clemens. The source is Harriet C. Hardaway of St, Louis, Missouri Hunterdon County, New jersey Court of Common Pleas. 11-III (1727-9), various entries for William Cassell. Castel! is noted in at least one instance as assignee for Sheriff John Dagworthy. Research by C. Phyllis D'Autrechy, 31 Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Court of Common Pleas. X.67 (May 1765). Jeremiah Clemens vs. Abra(ha)rn Clemens, 3g New Jersey Archives, 1st ser. (Paterson, New Jersey: The Press Printing and Publishing Co., 1901), 23:324. "Ibi 1, 30(Abstracts of Wills, Vol. 2):256 (for the 1741 reference); 33(Abstracts of Wills, Vol. 4): 68 (for the 1758 reference); and 34(Abstracts of Wills, Vol, 5):194 (for the 1771 reference), ." Danville, Kentucky. Bellevue Cemetery. "Jeremiah Clemens; Born Sept. 16, 1763; in Loudoun Co,, Va.; died June 8, 1826" Research by A. R. Ison. I The ( James) Clemen(t)s family Bible is the source for the birthdates of his children as given in the Biographical Record of Itachington Colinty, p. 1429. 42 William Waller Hening, The Statutes at Large (of Virginia. 8:132. 4.1 Loudoun County, Virginia Deed Book 0.444 (13 December 1762.) for purchase of land, Deed Book 1.354 (executed on 25 August 1773; acknowledged on 13 September 1773) For sale of land. Pollyanna Creekrnore, comp., "Loudoun County, Virginia: 1771 Tith.able Table," Virginia Genealogist 16 (Oct-Dec. 1972): 244, where he is listed as "James Clemons' on "James Hamilton's list" for "Shelburne Parish." 44 Loudoun County, Virginia. Order Book E. 250, 316 (14 November 1771 and 27 May 1772). Rut Johnson vs. Jeremiah Clemen(t)s. 45 Mary C. Clemens Collection. Box 2 (1737-1819). Missouri Historical Society. St. Louis, Missouri. Research by Harriet C. Hardaway. 46 The dates of Ezekiel Clemen(t)s and his son, Abraham, as well as those of his two suggested sons, James and Jeremiah, are taken from the evidence cited in the text and footnotes above. The dates of the subsequent three generations are borrol.ved from Bell, The 1411restry of Samuel Clemens, p. 3. 47 Unless otherwise noted, all information presented in this section has been taken from Clement, Robert Clements, pp. 1-2 (Richard Clements),3-8 (Robert Clements), 8-9 (Richard Clements), 13-30 (Robert Clements, the immigrant), 47-57 (Robert Clements), and 70-4 (Abraham Clements). 48 Augusta County, Virginia, Deed Book I.131 (18 June 1746). Zeruiah Borden, widow of Benjamin Borden, and Benjamin Borden (Jr), son, to Ezekiel Clernen(t)s. .1) This conclusion is drawn from two court records of 1748. On 8 April 1748 one Joseph Walker of Augusta County, Virginia brought a complaint against Abraham Clemen(t)s, daiming that Abraham was 1985 MARK TWAIN'S CLEMENS ANCESTRY 23 about to remove from Virginia without settling a debt. See Chalkley, Chronicles 1:298. In August, 1748 Abraham Clemen(t)s with his wife, Catherine, sues one Thomas Coor for debt in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. See Hunterdon County, Court of Common Pleas, V, 219a. In 1753 Abraham Clemen(t)s was not a resident of Virginia for on 18 October 1753 his land was claimed by another man, Robert McClenachan. See Chalkley, Chronicles 2:260. 5° Chalkley, Chronicles 2:8. "Mary Roberts deposes, February 28, 1788, in Frederick County, Maryland, that she was a near neighbor of Ezekiel Clements, of Hopewell Township, County Huntindon (sic), New Jersey, and knew the family 15-20 years. Ezekiel and eldest son, Abraham, went out to purchase land; said they had bought in the backwoods. Abraham married and had three children, one of whom was a son named Abraham," 51 Names and birthdates of all children taken from ( James) Ciemen(t)s family Bible as quoted in the biographical Record of Washington County, p. 1429. Death dates given here are taken from Bell, The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens, pp. 34-7, where marriages, children and grandchildren of James Clernen(t)s may be found in full family charts. 32 This conciusion is drawn from three facts, Though Jeremiah Clemen(t)s was in Hunterdon County, New Jersey in 1765, it would appear that his son Gershom was born in Virginia a year later. A family history, compiled by descendants of Gershom Clemens, quotes the family Bible in giving Gershom's birthdate as 22 March 1766. It also states that the birthplace was Virginia. See Eugene Earl Trimble, Trimble Families; A partial listing of the descendants of some colonial families (Kensington, Maryland: By the Author, 1958), Part 9 (Gershom Clemens). This family history is also the source of the full text of the 1886 letter quoted in the article and n. 64., below. The birthplace of Gershom Clemens is confirmed by the schedule of the Tenth Census of the United States, 1880 (NAMP, T9) for James Ford Clemens, M.D. ( 1818-1897), son of Gershom, which lists PC's father's birthplace as Virginia. The third fact in advancing the conclusion given in the text is that the presence of Jeremiah Clemen(t)s in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1771 is proven by the law suit cited in n. 44, above. If son Gershom was horn in Virginia in 1766, and father Jeremiah was in Loudoun County in 1771 along with his brother, James, who had been there since 1757, then it seems likely that Jeremiah Clernen(t)s moved from Hunterdon County, New jersey to Loudoun County, Virginia in late 1765 or early 1766. Chalkley, Chronicles 2:38. When Abraham Clemens was granted a judgment against Shaw in 1788, he apparently authorized his uncie, Jeremiah, and cousins (sons of Jeremiah), Ezekiel, Gershom and James, to clear land and plant crops. This brought the complaint from the occupant, Robert Shaw, that the Clemen(t)s were trespassing on his land. 54 Albemarle County, Virginia, 1800 tax list. Jeremiah Clemens. The Webster-Varble files, in the possession of Ralph Gregor); also contain a copy of the marriage bond of Jeremiah% daughter, Christina, to John Crews. It was issued in Albemarle County in 1798 and was signed by Jeremiah. 55 Amherst County, Virginia. Will Book 5.430, John Crews (a son-in-law) and Christopher Fletcher, administrators of the estate of Jeremiah Clemens. .56 Livingston County, Kentucky Order Book B, Certificate 132 (2 April 1805; Gershon) Clemens purchased 133 acres on this date). His land holdings were increased b 1 acres in l 812: Survey Book C. 234, 282. 37 Leslie E. McDonald, Echoes of Yesteryear Smith land, Kentucky: Livingston Ledger, 1972). McDonald's history of Livingston County, Kentucky notes that Gershom Clemens was a great-uncle of Mark Twain. The connection is noted a second time in History, Legend and Lore of Livingston County, Kentucky (Smithlanci, Kentucky: Livingston Ledger, 1974), p. 78: "The first doctor at Lola (Kentucky) was Dr. ( James N.) Clemens . . a second cousin . . . of Mark Twain." Both books had access to the Gershom Clemens family history of Irene B. WiTardrop of Golconda, Illinois. 58 Bell, The Ancestry of Samoa Clemens, p. 25. Research by Ann L. McAlister. " Ibici, 6" Ibid. 61 Ibid. Wecter, Sam Clemens, p. 273, n. 16, suggests the real source is Jane Lampton Clemens, daughter- 24 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May in-law of Samuel Clemens and mother of Orion and Samuel Langhorne Clemens, He reports as follows: "The compiler of this volume (Holcombe) on Aug. 29, 1883, had written Mark Twain for biographical information about his father, and Mark on Sept. 4 passed on the request to his brother Orion (correspondence in MTP, Letter File). Undoubtably the final source of infrornation was the long-widowed Jane Lampton Clemens, aged eighty, then living with Orion in Iowa, with apparently a fair memory at this time and keen interest in family history." 63 Return Ira Holcombe, History of Marion County„ Missouri (St. Louis, Missouri: E. F. Perkins, 1884) pp. 914-5. " The portion of the 1886 letter not quoted in the text above includes the following: "Your grandfather, Gershon-i Clemens, and my grandfather, Samuel Clemens, were brothers. On the death of my grandfath.er, who was killed in (West) Virginia by a falling log at a house raising at Point Pleasant on (the) Kanawha River, my grandmother (who was Pamela Goggin of Virginia) with two sons, Hannibal (rny father) and John Marshall (Mark Twain's father) and two daughters, Elizabeth and Caroline, came to Adair County, Kentucky, where she married Simon Hancok. She lived and died near Columbia, Kentucky. Elizabeth married a man by the name of Pollard of Virginia. She has long been widowed and is now over 80 and living at Liberty in West Virginia. Caroline married Isaac Settle of Barren County, Kentucky. My father, Hannibal, married Jane Jones near Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky. John Marshall married Jane Lampton of Adair County, Kentucky. The two brothers went to Fentress County, Tennessee, where my father established a Canard and my uncle Marshall embarked in the drygoods business with the appointment of postmaster. They migrated west locating at Florida, Missouri, where on October 12, 1835 I was born and on November 30 Samuel L. Clemens saw the light of day. When I was about one year old, my father died with typhoid fever and my mother with my brother James and myself returned to grandmother Jones near Monticello. My brother died at the age of ten. My mother married Judge Sales of Monticello in 1841 and died about eight years (later)." 65 See n. 52 above. 66 The exact date of the marriage is not given in the marriage bond; see n. 30 above. It was known to Wecter, Sam Clemens, p. 273, n. 15, from "Kentucky Bible Records,' Nalional Genealogical Society Quarterly 16 ( June 1928): 20, which published the Bible record of Samuel Hancock. The Hancock Bible included the first marriage of Pamela Coggin as well as the birthdates of her children by that marriage. 67 Wecter, Sam Clemens, p. 5-7 and 272-3, notes 8-18, provides this information in some detail along with Stephen Goggin's Revolutionary War service. Wecter, Sam Clemens, pp. 6-7, states that the place of birth of John Marshall Clemens is given on his tombstone in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hannibal, Missouri. All other evidence points to a Bedford County residence for Samuel and Pamela (Coggin) Clemens during this period, Wecter, Sam Clemens, p. 7 and 273, n. [8. '" Wecter, Sam Clemens, p. 8 and 273, n. 19 Wecter has based this and apparently a good deal of his account of Samuel Clemens, grandfather of Mark Twain, on Paullin, "Mark Twain's Virginia Kin.'1 See n. 30 above, 7 ' Ibid. 72 Ibid. 73 Ibid., pp. 9-10. 74 Ibid., p. 11. Exact date is found in "Kentucky Bible Records." See n. 66, above. 75 'Kentucky Bible Records," p. 20. 745 Wecter, Sam Clemens, pp. 11-13. The birth dates of all five of Samuel Clemens' children are given in the Samuel Hancock Bible record in "Kentucky Bible Records." It should be noted, however, that none of the five are noted by the surname of Clemens. Both Clemens and Hancock children are given by first name only. The death dates of three of the five Clemens children — Pleasant, Hannibal and Caroline are also given. Dates for all descendants of Samuel Clemens may be found in Paul Owen Selby, comp •, Mark Twain's Kinfolks (Kirksville, Missouri: Missouriana Library of Northeast Missouri State University, 1973). 1985 77 MARK TWAIN'' CLEMENS ANCESTRY 25 For an interesting account of Mark Twain's early life see Ralph Gregory, Mark Twain's First America— Florida, Missouri: 1835-1840 (Hannibal, Missouri: Mark Twain Museum, 108 Hill Street, Hannibal, MO. 63401, 1965). 7 8 All dates appear in Selby, Mark Twain's Kinfolks. See n. 76, above.