7 generations on Howard land
At reunion, nearly 100 descendants of Clark brothers who left Ireland in 1797 learn there’s still something new to find out about family
N early 100 descendants of three brothers who left Ireland in1797 to settle in what would become Howard County learned new details about their ancestors’ earliest beginnings in America at an outdoor reunion of the Clark family at Elioak Farm.
The family members were rewarded twice for making the effort to attend the July 14 get-together: First, it was a rare summer day with low humidity; and second, they received news that remnants of a mill and house built by the Clark brothers at the turn of the 19th century had been located.
They also learned that Charles Carroll of Carrollton — a Marylander who signed the Declaration of Independence — may have written about the Clark brothers in published letters to his father.
“As I see it, this is just the beginning of new research on the Clark family,” said Martha Clark, owner of the 540-acre family farm on Route 108 in Ellicott City and daughter of state Sen. James Clark Jr., who farmed in Howard County from 1946 until his death 60 years later at age 86.
The Clark descendants have been holding reunions every five years since 1989, when they gathered at Centennial Park to mark what would have been the 180th birthday of James Clark of Wheatfield, Martha Clark’s great-great-grandfather. An Ellicott City neighborhood off Montgomery Road is named for his farm.
But the lure of hearing new details about the Clark brothers’ start in Maryland held special appeal for reunion attendees this year, Clark said.
“People are even more curious now [about their ancestry] thanks to websites Frank Joseph Maguire, who was born in 1938, is thought to be the eldest of the Clark clan.
The Clark descendants have been holding reunions every five years since 1989. like ancestry.com and the popularity of programs like ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ ” Clark said, referring to a cable TV series that traces the genealogy of celebrity guests.
It’s not as if the Clarks don’t already know a lot about their lineage, which began with David, John and James Clark signing a 30-year contract — called an indenture — to work for Charles Carroll.
The brothers leased nearly 150 acres at Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City from Carroll and grew wheat and produced textiles at a fulling mill for him in exchange for their rent. The indenture was later renewed for another 20 years.
But some details of those days remain elusive.
David Clark was 26 and John Clark a year younger when they arrived in what was then northern Anne Arundel County, Clark said, noting that family records don’t indicate what became of James Clark.
The area where the young men settled was designated the Howard District in 1839, and officially became Howard County in 1851.
“The brothers were hard-working and smart, and they bought land in Howard County when they could,” she said.
Along with Wheatfield, farms that be-
The family members were rewarded twice for making the effort to attend the July 14 get-together: First, it was a rare summer day with low humidity; and second, they received news that remnants of a mill and house built by the Clark brothers at the turn of the 19th century had been located.
They also learned that Charles Carroll of Carrollton — a Marylander who signed the Declaration of Independence — may have written about the Clark brothers in published letters to his father.
“As I see it, this is just the beginning of new research on the Clark family,” said Martha Clark, owner of the 540-acre family farm on Route 108 in Ellicott City and daughter of state Sen. James Clark Jr., who farmed in Howard County from 1946 until his death 60 years later at age 86.
The Clark descendants have been holding reunions every five years since 1989, when they gathered at Centennial Park to mark what would have been the 180th birthday of James Clark of Wheatfield, Martha Clark’s great-great-grandfather. An Ellicott City neighborhood off Montgomery Road is named for his farm.
But the lure of hearing new details about the Clark brothers’ start in Maryland held special appeal for reunion attendees this year, Clark said.
“People are even more curious now [about their ancestry] thanks to websites Frank Joseph Maguire, who was born in 1938, is thought to be the eldest of the Clark clan.
The Clark descendants have been holding reunions every five years since 1989. like ancestry.com and the popularity of programs like ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ ” Clark said, referring to a cable TV series that traces the genealogy of celebrity guests.
It’s not as if the Clarks don’t already know a lot about their lineage, which began with David, John and James Clark signing a 30-year contract — called an indenture — to work for Charles Carroll.
The brothers leased nearly 150 acres at Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City from Carroll and grew wheat and produced textiles at a fulling mill for him in exchange for their rent. The indenture was later renewed for another 20 years.
But some details of those days remain elusive.
David Clark was 26 and John Clark a year younger when they arrived in what was then northern Anne Arundel County, Clark said, noting that family records don’t indicate what became of James Clark.
The area where the young men settled was designated the Howard District in 1839, and officially became Howard County in 1851.
“The brothers were hard-working and smart, and they bought land in Howard County when they could,” she said.
Along with Wheatfield, farms that be-
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