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Among the ambitious and adventurous spirits that sought homes in the
northern part of Vermont were three sons of Cephas Clark, namely Silas,
Samuel, and Cephas, all of whom settled in Glover. This was a township
granted to a general of that name as a reward for military services in the
Revolutionary War. A statue of General Glover stands on Commonwealth
Avenue in Boston, and a bronze memorial tablet in his honor has been
placed on the house in Glover Street in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in
which he lived.
The design of this work is to treat from now on of the history of the
three sons of Cephas Clark who emigrated to and settled in the northern
part of Vermont.
Silas Clark, born in Keene, New Hampshire, November 30, 1777, was married
in that town February 20, 1805, to Betsey Wyman. Very soon thereafter he
journeyed with his young wife, by the crude and uncomfortable mode of the
times, to what was to be their future home in Glover. He purchased a lot
of eighty acres at a sheriff's sale for $3.59, situated at a place called
Keene Corner, so named because a few families who came from Keene had
located in that neighborhood. Here he lived until 1827, when he removed to
a lot near the northern end of "Runaway Pond," which I shall mention
later. On this lot he built the hostelry known as Clark's Tavern, and
conducted it the remainder of his life. His son Charles succeeded him
until his death in 1859. Thereafter members of his family continued the
business several years. A regular stage line passed that way, and this was
a convenient half-way house for travellers between Montpelier and the
northern towns of Orleans County. With the building of the railroads and
with other changes in the activities of the people, the business of the
tavern decreased, and it ceased to be an inn. The old buildings remain and
tell
"But a dim remembered story
Of the old time entombed."
Silas Clark was active, energetic, and public spirited. He cut and hauled
by oxen the first liberty pole ever erected in Glover. He was directly
connected with an event that occurred in that town on the sixth of June,
1810, which is historic. Through the southern part of the township ran an
elevation of land that divided the flow of waters between the north and
the south. Upon this elevation was a pond a mile and a half long, a mile
wide and sixty feet deep, discharging its waters southward into the
Lamoille River. About a mile below, northerly, there was a much smaller
pond, whose outlet was a slender stream on which was a mill, to operate
which, in dry seasons, the waters of this little stream were insufficient.
With a purpose to increase the size of that stream, it was decided to tap
the larger pond on its northerly side. Accordingly, about thirty men, most
of them from motives of curiosity, assembled on the day mentioned to
witness the operation. Silas Clark, aided by two or three other men, with
spades in hand, constructed a trench and at the finish broke into the pond
and invited the waters to descend northward. A stream poured forth and all
seemed to be going well, when suddenly the water disappeared. One of the
men stepped into the channel to ascertain the cause. An appalling noise
was heard, and the earth where the company stood began to sink. The man in
the channel was pulled out by his hair and all parties made haste to gain
higher ground. It appeared that the composition of the northern bank of
the pond was only treacherous quicksand, capped by a layer of hard
substance impervious to water, that kept in place that great body. Into
this quicksand the water settled and carried away the entire embankment.
Gaining additional force by uniting with the smaller pond, the augmented
volume tore away the barrier of the latter and rushed onward, bearing
everything before it and finally emptying itself into Lake Memphremagog.
In its course trees were uprooted and pushed along upright, obstructing
the flow until its increasing strength broke away the dam and left the
waters free to pursue their onward course of destruction. Every building
before the mighty torrent was swept away. Huge rocks, of the weight of
many tons, were loosened from their moorings and carried long distances
from their natural beds. The fleetest runner of the party volunteered to
warn the inhabitants in the path of danger, and his admonition prevented
the loss of any lives, although there were hair-breadth escapes.
The locality is known by the name of Runaway Pond. A carriage road runs
through it. The historical interest that the event creates, and the
attractions that the natural beauties afford, bring year by year many
visitors to this charming spot. Note the illustration on another page.
Parties in Lamoille County, claiming that their property was injured by
the draining of this basin, instituted a suit against Silas Clark and two
others for damages. The case was kept along year after year, by a practice
that seems not entirely to have gone out of use in these modern times.
Finally all the parties died. No decision was ever rendered by the court
on earth, but Death entered an appeal to the final Judge of all cases.
Of Silas Clark's sons, Warren settled upon a lot which lay at the
southerly end of Stone Pond, where a group of a dozen houses was built.
Here he died at the early age of thirty-two. We give later a mention of
his distinguished son, Elbert. Hiram located on a lot a little east of the
above and erected a sawmill, in which was sawed the greater part of the
lumber that was used in the construction of the houses of Glover village.
Cephas Clark, the second of that name, was born in Keene, July 17, 1784.
He married on September 26, 1805, Deborah Wilbur, of Westmoreland, New
Hampshire, a woman of very superior qualities. She had been brought up
under the influences of a Christian home. Her father, the Rev. Nathaniel
Wilbur, and her brother, the Rev. Warren Wilbur, spent their lives in the
ministry, looking for spiritual and never for material rewards. It is
unknown what monetary compensation the elder clergyman received at a time
when such obligations were usually discharged by the proffer of farm
products, but it is known that the minister of the younger generation
labored year after year for an average annual salary of two hundred and
six dollars.
The first twelve years after the marriage of Cephas Clark, he lived in
Westmoreland and Keene, New Hampshire, and Rutland, Vermont, and was
engaged mainly in agricultural pursuits. During this time he served as a
soldier in the war of 1812, having drafted himself in the following
peculiar way. A draft of ablebodied men having been ordered, it was
carried out by putting cards into a box, on some of which was written the
word "Stay," and on others the word "Go." Each man was required to put his
hand into the box and withdraw a card which would determine his fate.
Cephas Clark put in his hand and seized a card. Turning it slightly his
eye caught the word "Stay." He instantly dropped it and took up another
card on which was the word "Go." This shows his patriotism. Another
incident is related which shows his native shrewdness. He was laying a
stone wall such as farmers were accustomed to construct for fences. Some
of the stones were heavy, and it required considerable exertion to put
them in their proper places. While he was so engaged, a man of large and
powerful physique came along and offered to bet five dollars that he could
lift a heavier stone than Mr. Clark could lift. The latter, believing that
he could never match strength with so strong and muscular a man, adopted a
diplomatic expedient. He replied that he would not lift as much as he
could for five dollars, but if the other would make the bet fifty dollars,
he would accept it. Thereupon the first proponent of the wager backed
completely down.
When the question was under consideration by Mr. Clark and his wife as to
the advisability of their migration to the northern part of Vermont, and
the advantages and disadvantages were being discussed, Mrs. Clark, with
prophetic vision of the development and growth that were to be, and
actuated by strong maternal love, said she would gladly endure the
inevitable exposure and toil and want for the benefit of her children. She
thought that the land when improved would afford to them and their
descendants better opportunities in the future than otherwise they could
have. Thus strengthened and encouraged, Mr. Clark, in 1818, removed with
his wife and six children from Keene, New Hampshire, to Glover.
A farm of one hundred and sixty acres near the center of the town of
Glover became the home of Cephas Clark, and here he saw all his children
well-to-do and comfortably situated on farms in close proximity to him.
The original homestead has been occupied by some of his descendants to
this day. The land has been cleared and made better, and the log house has
given place to improved and commodious buildings, which are shown in an
illustration on another page. The farm is now occupied and owned by Ezra
L. Clark, a grandson of the original purchaser.
Samuel Clark was born in Keene, New Hampshire, May 22, 1781. I have had
much difficulty in tracing the record of his family. Traditional accounts
have averred that he married and had two children, Samuel and Nancy; that
his wife died; and that his son married and removed to Rutland, Vermont.
After diligent search of the official records of Keene and numerous
enquiries of some of the oldest residents of Rutland and other places, I
have been unable to obtain positive information about that supposed
marriage, and I have not mentioned it in preparing the genealogical
tables. In 1807 Samuel Clark married Betsey Fisk, of Lexington,
Massachusetts. He removed to Glover about the year 1816. His location
during the early years of his residence there is not known; but on
February 27, 1833, he purchased from his brother, Silas, fifty acres lying
about one mile southerly from Parker Pond in the westerly part of the
town. Here he lived and died, and his son, John Brewster, succeeded him in
the occupancy of the homestead. At a later time the son procured a farm
half a mile northerly therefrom, erected commodious buildings, removed
thither, and there lived many years. The last part of his life was passed
in West Glover Village where he had purchased an estate. Samuel Clark was
the great-great-grandfather of Harry Clark Humphrey, whose valuable
services in the United States Navy are herein mentioned.
A figure before a name indicates the degree of descent from Cephas
Clark, who was born January 7, 1745. The date of birth is sometimes
inserted in more than one place to facilitate the identification of the
person spoken of. The name of a place in parentheses, after a person's
name, denotes his or her present post-office address. A name in
parentheses, after a wife's name, denotes her maiden name.
In a few cases we have not been able, after long and painstaking research,
to ascertain all the related facts. Any omission or incompleteness of
statement in the following pages may be attributed to that cause.
b--born, or born at.
d--died, or died at, or daughter of.
s--son of.
m--married, or married at.
m (second)--signifies a second marriage.
The descendant list below shows only those children whom we have
further information on. To find a complete list of siblings make sure
you visit the parental link. - AG
Based in part on A History Of The Descendants Of
Cephas Clark Who Was Born In Medfield, Massachusetts January 7, 1745
With Some Account Of His Ancestry From Their Advent In America, By
Chester Ward Clark
