Prior to Pat: Finding My Ancestors

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Revolutionary War's 250 years anniversary milestones: Service of Joseph Barney IV

 

Joseph Barney IV (1755-1836): Revolutionary War Service

This short paper focuses on the Revolutionary War service of Joseph Barney IV, my 4th great grandfather.  In 2025, we are beginning to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Revolutionary War events and these milestones were the inspiration for me to focus on my ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War. The intent of these papers is to preserve the military history of these ancestors in detail that is greater than the general genealogical documents I retain. 

Before we get to Joseph’s Revolutionary War service, below is a short background to provide some familial and historical context.

Joseph Barney IV was born on November 28, 1755 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts to Joseph Barney III and Lois Martin.   The Barney family had roots in Rehoboth, in southernmost Massachusetts near Providence, Rhode Island, since Lt. Joseph Barney (his great grandfather) moved from Salem to Rehoboth in the 1690’s.  

Joseph married Experience Simmons on October 8, 1774 in Rehoboth, just prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, but when all signs pointed to escalating conflict following the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the Quartering Act of June 1774, and the meeting of the First Continental Congress in September 1774.   After living in New Hampshire for some time during and after the war, the family migrated to Vermont and are found there in the 1790’s, shortly after Vermont became a state in 1791.  Joseph died in Rutland, Vermont in 1836. 

The Barney Family is one of the many families with deep roots in Massachusetts, who moved westward through New England during and after the war. 

The following are the highlights of Joseph Barney IV’s military service in the Revolutionary War.  According to his pension declaration, Joseph enlisted in the Continental Army at Rehoboth on July 1, 1776, perhaps knowing that the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia to consider a Declaration of Independence.  He served the five months, between July and December, as a sergeant in Captain Nathaniel Carpenter’s Company, Colonel Simson Cary’s Massachusetts Regiment.  Joseph’s soldier number, so helpful for research with the National Archives and other resources, was S12114.

The moniker “minute man” is very prominent in the hand-written recitals of military service in his pension declaration so perhaps he liked that term.   Minutemen were basically New England militia companies, organized and trained, and ready to go at a minute’s notice. 

The highlight of his first enlistment was fighting in the famous “Battle of Harlem Heights” in Manhattan on September 16, 1776.  This was General Washington’s first successful battle of the war and historically noted for raising the morale of the struggling Continental Army.  The battle was part of the New York and New Jersey campaign and fought in the northwest corner of Manhattan along the Hudson River.  General William Howe commanded the British. 

Joseph and Experience’s first child, Jeremiah, was born in October of 1776 in Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.   It’s unclear from the record why Experience might have moved to New Hampshire; however, it is worth noting that Richmond is just over the border from Massachusetts.  Five more children followed, all born in Richmond, and Joseph and Experience appear in the 1790 census as living in Richmond seven years after the conclusion of the war.  

Joseph’s namesake, Joseph Barney V, and my third great grandfather, was one of those five children, and born in Richmond in 1780. 

Joseph’s next enlistment appears to cover the years 1777-1779 with Colonel Archibald Crary’s Regiment of Rhode Island.  This includes service in the August 1778 “Rhode Island Expedition” with General Sullivan in an attempt to dislodge the British from Newport. 

This enlistment was the last of Joseph’s service in the war.   The next chronological entry in his pension file is the application for a pension, executed in July 1832 in Rutland, Vermont, and approved by the U.S. Government on January 9, 1834.   Joseph had less than three years to enjoy his hard-won pension, as he died on November 23, 1836 in Rutland.  



Joseph Barney IV is buried in West Street Cemetery in Rutland Vermont, in Row 6, on the west side of the cemetery.  The grave has a new marker stone, installed in 2021, from the U.S. Veterans Administration through the committed and dedicated work of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA) to ensure veterans have an appropriate headstone.  His name is also listed on a large granite marker near the cemetery entrance which lists veterans buried in the cemetery from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War. 

-        Written by Patricia A. Clark, May 2025

 

 

Monday, January 6, 2025

Favorite Photo from a DNA Match Cousin

 

This is my favorite photo that came to me from a cousin found by a DNA match. Our grandfathers were brothers, but I had almost no information about my grandfather’s brother, John, until the DNA connection led to email correspondence and phone calls with my new-found second cousin.  My own grandfather appears in the photo, too.

It’s a wedding photo of John Martin Clark and Helen Carr on May 18, 1930, at Church of St. John the Evangelist at 351 East 55th Street, Manhattan, New York. 



I love this photo because it was the first photo I ever saw of John, it is a wedding photo, it reflects the 1930’s era fashion, and because it clearly ties John to my grandfather, Thomas. 

John was 46 years old and lived on East 57th Street so nearby the church.   On the 1930 census, John is listed as living with his aunt, Delia Crane, on East 57th Street and with an occupation of plumber.   Later in 1942 on his WWII draft registration card, he is listed as working for the Department of Water Supply presumably for the City of New York. 

Helen Brigid Carr, who also went by “Nellie,” was 40 years old at the time of her marriage to John Clark.   Helen was born in Ireland according to the 1950 census.   Helen and John had two daughters, Eileen and Mary, born in 1931 and 1933 respectively.  The family lived in Astoria and then Flushing, Queens, NY.  

John died in 1951 at the age of 67 while Helen went on to live another 32 years dying in 1983. 

This photograph is presumably the typical bride and groom with the best man and maid of honor.   While no one has identified the maid of honor, the best man is the groom’s brother and my grandfather, Thomas L. Clark, who was 47 years old in 1930 and was a Major in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.  Connecting with this branch of the Clark Family has been one of my top achievements in my genealogy journey and this wedding photo represents that achievement in great style!

 

 

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Origins of The Mayflower's John Alden and Priscilla Mullins

 

52 Ancestors:   Origins

Origins of The Mayflower’s John Alden and Priscilla Mullins

John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, my 9th great grandparents, were two of the people on the historic 1620 voyage of the Mayflower from England to what would be the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  John and Priscilla are well-documented in American history.  They had 10 children and many descendants; in fact, there is an organization called Alden Kindred of America (alden.org) today which, among other things, preserves their house in Duxbury, MA. 


The Mayflower, credit BBC. 


Much of the story of their voyage is already well known.  The Mayflower carried 102 passengers and 30 crew from Southampton, County Hampshire, England bound for the Colony of Virginia but was forced by storms to anchor at Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in November 1620.  John was a signer of the “Mayflower Compact,” a pledge to govern themselves by law and order, sometimes viewed as a precursor to the US Constitution. John chose to stay with the Pilgrims and not return to England with the Mayflower.  Half the crew and 49 passengers died the first winter, including Priscilla’s parents and brother, leaving her with no family members.  But what were John and Priscilla’s origins?

First, it is important to know that while Priscilla and her family were Pilgrims (wanting to separate from the Church of England), John Alden was a crew member on the Mayflower.  So, they stepped aboard the historic ship for very different reasons.

Priscilla was born in Dorking, County Surrey England, in 1602, which made her 16 or 17 years old at the Mayflower sailing.  Multiple documents indicate that this family, as well as other Pilgrim families, were recruited for the sailing by Thomas Weston of London Merchant Adventurers. 

Twenty-one at the time of sailing, John Alden was probably born in Harwich, County Essex, England in 1599.  John was hired as a “cooper” or barrel maker for the ship, which was a critically important position as barrels held drinkable water and other provisions, and his carpentry skills were very desirable during voyage and later.  Some genealogists think John was from a group of Aldens in Southampton and some claim he was from the Aldens of Harwich.  To my eye, the preponderance of the evidence favors Harwich.  Mayflower’s Captain Christopher Jones was from Harwich and the Mayflower’s homeport was Harwich, so on balance I attribute John’s origins to Harwich, County Essex.  Diving into the conflicting research on John’s origins could be another good project for another time. 


County Surrey and County Essex are known as "home counties" in the United Kingdom because of their proximity to London. 


Let’s take a closer look at Surrey and Essex Counties where Priscilla and John originated.  Both counties are what is known as “home counties” in the United Kingdon because they are close to London, with Surrey to the southeast and Essex to the northwest of London.  In today’s modern world, Surrey and Essex could be regarded as London suburbs with many people commuting into London.

Surrey is a land locked county, bordering the River Thames.  It has very strong ties to London by proximity and economics.  One historical note of interest is that King John signed the 1215 Magna Carta in Runnymede, which is in the northern part of County Surrey.  With not especially fertile soil, sheep predominated in Surrey and therefore woolen cloth manufacturing was a key industry for centuries in Surrey.  Now, the economy, heavily influenced by nearby London, is driven by financial services and a large number of company headquarters. 

Essex borders the North Sea.  The northern part of the county is agricultural while residents in the southern part of the county typically work in London.  The Port of Harwich is in the northeast tip of the county, right on the North Sea, and has a long history of ship building.  For some time in the 1600’s, Harwich was designated a Royal Naval Dockyard.  Harwich is only about 30 miles from another port city, Ipswich in County Suffolk, which is much larger now and was the launching point for many ships that sailed to the colonies in the Great Migration in the later 1600s. 




Monday, January 2, 2023

Celia Crehan Clarke: A Strong Woman Surviving Adversity

 

What Ancestor Would I Like to Meet?

 

This week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt is which ancestor I would like to meet and this is an easy question for me.  The choice is a strong woman, my paternal great grandmother and I still have many questions about her. 

Whenever I see that Ancestry television commercial that features a woman saying she wants her children to know that they come from strong ancestors, I always think of Celia Crehan Clarke.

Celia Crehan was born in County Galway, Ireland and came to the US probably sometime in the 1880s.   That’s one question right there:  when and where exactly did she arrive?

She married Lawrence Clarke in Chelsea, a suburb of Boston on January 31, 1883 according to their marriage record.  Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, suggested the one photo I have of Celia is very probably a wedding photo.   I love this photo and have it in a silver frame, with appropriate documentation inside of course, and keep it on my dresser as a daily reminder about strong women. 

 Celia Crehan Clarke (1859-1898)

Their first child, Thomas Lawrence Clarke, was born in November 1883 in New York City.   Thomas was my grandfather.   What prompted their move from Boston to New York City? 

Celia and Lawrence had 4 children between 1883 and 1887:  Thomas, John, Hugh and Cecilia.  John has been a particular problem for me with close to negligible documentation; was John born in 1884 which is my best calculation so far?  John was somebody who appears to have been unsure of his birth year, with various birth years appearing in the few censuses in which he can be found.  Even his 1942 draft card shows a birth year of 1888, which is impossible given the other children’s births and the father’s death.   I sometimes think that the trauma surrounding John’s childhood made him not want to remember any details in adulthood. 

The two youngest children, Hugh and Cecilia, both died very young and only from cemetery records at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens County, New York, can I conclude that they were probably born in 1886 and 1887 respectively.  The cemetery records have the year of interment and the age but not the date of birth.  There are no New York City birth or death records for these children and I would want to ask Celia why there are none. 

Similarly, there is no New York City death record – or it cannot be located - for the biggest trauma to this young family, which was the early death of the father, Lawrence Clarke, in October 1887.  Family Search shows a record in “New York, New York city Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949” database but numerous attempts with NYC Department of Records & Information Services (DORIS) have turned up the dreaded “not found” response.  I sometimes wonder if my DORIS account has a ’frequent customer’ flag on it.   The exact chronology of the series of deaths was deduced from the Calvary Cemetery records and it is hard to believe what Celia had to contend with in such a short period of time. 

First was the death of Baby Hugh in July 1887, which prompted Lawrence to purchase the cemetery plot.  Three months later, Lawrence is laid to rest in the very same plot.  Then Baby Cecilia is buried in 1888 at age 8 months.  

 

The address on 120th Street in Harlem where Celia raised her two boys for eleven years.  Photo from the 1940s obtained from New York City Historical Records Digital Collections https://www.nyc.gov/site/records/historical-records/collections.page

Celia raised the two remaining boys, Thomas and John, as a widow on 120th Street in Harlem for eleven years until her untimely death from pneumonia at the age of 39 in February 1898.  How did she overcome the obstacles she must have faced?   Did she really work for Consolidated Edison, or “Con Ed” the electrical utility company in New York City, as my family history notes from the 1970s indicate?  These notes are fifty years old but all other information that I have been able to verify has turned out correct.  If she did not work for Con Ed, how did she support the boys? 

If I could talk with Celia, I would want her to know that these boys grew up to be happy and successful men with families of their own.  Thomas had a long career with the U.S. Army and John worked for the City of New York.  And I would tell her that granddaughters of both Thomas and John met in 2022 through a DNA test and talk on the phone every holiday and have zoom calls together!   That would be a fun conversation. 

Lastly, yes, I would have to ask Celia about her parents.   I have the names on her death certificate but there were many men with her father’s name in County Galway and I’m not sure my assumption is correct.   Finding that connection to Ireland would be the question at the top of my list and at the same time, I am grateful for what I have learned about Celia.  

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Joseph Barney: A Revolutionary Ancestor Who Is "New To Me"

 

 The reason for beginning my genealogy journey twenty years ago was to prove a family story that my mother’s Woodward line was descended from a Revolutionary War solider from New Hampshire.  The family story proved true and the soldier had three brothers that also served, as well as a father who is a recognized patriot for his service on Hanover, New Hampshire's “Committee to Procure Men for Service,” as well as other war-related endeavors.  This Woodward clan provided an abundance of riches as I learned over the years, with loads of military records and meticulously documented New England vital records. My definition of genealogy work, in my mind, rested on the foundation of this enormous find.   I never dreamed that there could be more Revolutionary War ancestors in my future.  

Like many of you, with the extra time available during the pandemic, I took an extra look at my family trees.  Although I thought I had done a good job researching women in my tree, and I wanted to believe that I had done an exemplary job, when I was honest with myself, I spent more time on the surname-consistent men.  So, I used a lot of this pandemic time to explore many of “the wives.”  

One woman I had neglected was Charlotte Barney (1821-1897) who married Edwin C. Woodward, both from Castleton VT, in 1839 in Granville, New York which is just over the NY/VT border.  Charlotte’s line also had lots of Ancestry hints and easy documentation.  Her parents were Joseph Barney V and Olive Fisher who are buried in Castleton’s Old Congregational Cemetery with exceptionally tall headstones.   

The very tall headstone for Charlotte's father, Joseph Barney V ((1780-1827), at the Old Congregational Cemetery in Castleton, Vermont.  

  Charlotte’s paternal grandfather easily came up as Joseph Barney IV, another Revolutionary War soldier.   Born in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts in 1755, he was exactly the right age to actively fight in the war.   Joseph was a Minute Man from Rehoboth and then entered and served as a Sergeant in Capt. Nathaniel Carpenter’s Company, Col. Simeon Cary’s Regiment, including service at Harlem Heights and White Plains in New York.   Joseph later moved to Rutland, Vermont after the war.   He died in 1836 at the age of 80 and is buried in Rutland’s West Street Cemetery.  

 

My 'new to me' Revolutionary War ancestor, Joseph Barney IV (1755-1836).  The newly replaced stone is from the Veterans Administration and the remnants of the old stone are preserved behind the new stone.  Work courtesy of Vermont Old Cemetery Association.

Here was a Revolutionary War ancestor that was “new to me” in 2021.   Finding another Revolutionary War ancestor was motivation for our next trip to Vermont and New Hampshire, which we completed in August 2022.  Not only did we visit Joseph’s resting place but we saw the replaced headstone which the fine folks from Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA) applied for, on his behalf, from the US Veterans Administration.  VOCA works to encourage the restoration and preservation of neglected and abandoned cemeteries in Vermont; visit their website at voca58.org for more details of their year-round work. 

 

Monument to veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War and the Civil War at West Street Cemetery in Rutland, Vermont. 

 Lastly, we were surprised and pleased to learn about the monument to all veterans buried at the West Street Cemetery.  VOCA had also worked to have a special monument placed for them, at a prominent position close to the entrance.  Through the blessings of alphabetization, Joseph Barney’s name occupies an eye-catching place on this monument. As so often happens in family history work, I found a new ancestor and met many wonderful and helpful people along the way. 


Revolutionary War's 250 years anniversary milestones: Service of Joseph Barney IV

  Joseph Barney IV (1755-1836): Revolutionary War Service This short paper focuses on the Revolutionary War service of Joseph Barney IV, m...