James Clemens (abt. 1734 - 1795)

Born about 1734 in New Jersey

Ancestors

Descendants

Died Oct 1795 at about age 61 in Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

James Clemens lived in Appalachia, in Pennsylvania. See Appalachia Project.

James was born in 1734. He passed away in 1795.

Information found at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/LBVS-C66, edited by Elaine Booth:

History of Washington Co., Pennsylvania. Buffalo Twp pp 673-686 History of James Clemmens and wife Hannah Walton and children

US Biographical Dictionary p 563 (enc 133) Believed to be this James Clemens

Descendant of Gregory Clemens (a land holder in Huntingdonshire England married a Spanish Lady in Cordova Spain. Tried for "Regicide" and Killed. His widow and her children emigrated with his 2 brothers to Augusta Co Va. and purchased a farm near Staunton.

Buffalo Twp p 673-686 History of Washington Co., PA: "James Clemmens with is wife (Hannah Walton), and their servants and slaves, crossed the mountains in a wagon and settled in Buffalo township, on the waters of Buffalo Creek. The tract of land "Rural Swain" which was secured on a Virginia certificate, was surveyed to Mr. Clemmens June 13, 1785 and is still held in the family, William Clemmens, a great-grandson, owning it. the children of James Clelmmens were twelve, six sons and six daughters. William married Polly and Abraham married Elizabeth Wolf, daughters of Jacob Wolf, and all lived in this twonship. emiah who was a surveyor, married Mary Hawkins of Kentucky. Hannah, who went to attend school in that State married there and Ruth who became Mrs. Garard William, lso emigrated there. James and Pamelia went to St. Louis, Mo where they both married and settled. John Clemmens married Polly Fleck, daughter of John Fleck. He was a general in the war of 1812, and his widow became the wife of Dr. John Steel. One of his sons, a second John Clemmens, married a Miss Ewing, of Ohio. Ezekiel removed West. Christiana became Mrs. Eleven Williams of Taylorstown. Nancy was the wife of Thomas Craig, and died in this county, and Hester Clemmens was the wife of James Clelland. Dr. James Clemmens a noted physician of Wheeling, W. Va was a descendant of this family."

.On the 13th June 1785 James Clemens had a survey made of land on the waters of Buffalo Creek on a Virginia certificate of 395 acres and 6 perches. On the 2 June 1786, letters patent from the commonwealth of Virginia issued for this tract and it is in the possession of the widow of one of his descendants. In running Mason and Dixon's line and fixing the boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania, this tract was divided, a part being in Donegal Township, Washington Co, Pennsylvania and the balance in Virginia. . JAMES CLEMENS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY (PA)

James Clemens was a great uncle of Samuel Clemens, the grandfather of Mark Twain. James was born in New Jersey in 1734. (Hyde and Conard) He was in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1757 and in 1774 migrated to Washington County (Pa). (History of the Upper Ohio Valley, I, 572) The tombstone of his son, Jeremiah, at Danville, Kentucky, says that Jeremiah was born in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1763.

James Clemens settled in what is now Buffalo Twp, Washington Co, Pa in 1774, according to his land application #69 for a Virginia certificate made on Dec 11-1779, entered Feb 1-1780, (Records of Ohio Co, VA). This area was claimed by Virginia until 1781, when Washington County, Pa was formed. From 1773 to 1781 Westmoreland Co, Pa also claimed jurisdiction.

When James made his first settlement in 1774, he had his wife, Hannah (Walton), and children: Jeremiah 11, Christina 9, William 7, Abraham 5, Ann 3 and Ruth 1. Hannah was born about 1742. A Jeremiah Walton was living in Dickinson Township, Washington County in 1788. In 1774 this area was a part of Augusta Co, Va. When James Clemens sold land (Ohio Co, W VA DB I, 28) to Robert Taylor (founder of Taylorstown) on Apr 8-1775, he listed himself as James Clemens "of Augusta County". In 1776 this section became Ohio Co, VA; in 1781 Donegal Twp, Washington Co, Pa; in 1799 Buffalo Township.

The Buffalo Twp area was first settled in 1772. Three persons gave that date for their Virginia certificates. Six gave 1773. Thirteen, including James Clemens, gave 1774. Just north of the Clemens farm lived Basil Williams who had come from Leesburg, Loudoun Co, Va. Two of his sons married Clemens daughters. Less than a year after James Clemens arrived in Buffalo, the Revolution began. By 1777 the Virginia militia was organized; Indians attacks were imminent. In 1778 the first Virginia taxes were levied. In 1781 the Pennsylvania militia was formed. The year 1782 was fateful. In March Miller's fort, a few miles west of the Clemens cabin was attacked. John Hupp and Jacob Miller were killed. At the end of May and the beginning of June the three oldest Clemens sons - Jeremiah 19, William 15, Abraham 13 - were likely among the 500 who marched into Ohio on the ill-fated Crawford expedition. Abraham Clemens received a pension by an act of legislature Mar 17-1838 for service in Indian wars.

Jeremiah was a private under Capt Eleazer Williamson, a neighbor, in Company 2, Battalion 3. It was first under Westmoreland Co, then Washington Co. The service record is given in the Pennsylvania Archives III, 23, 217 & 310; V, 4, 703; VI, 2, 125. Both Jeremiah and his father, James Clemens, received depreciation pay for service in the Revolution in the Washington Co militia - V, 4, 394. In Sep 1782 Rice's fort, also a few miles west of the Clemens cabin, was attacked by Indians. Conrad Philabaum and his son, George, were killed. About this time the oldest Clemens daughter, Christina, age 17, was pursued by Indians, and reached safety at Wolf's fort, just east of the Clemens cabin.

In the fall of 1782 the western boundary of Pennsylvania was run - a temporary line - confirming that the Clemens land was in Pennsylvania. A requirement that all slaves be registered between Oct 1 and Dec 31-1782 may have led James Clemens to dispose of his slaves, for tradition says that he brought slaves with him in 1774. Feeling against slaves was strong in the Buffalo region. Clemens did not register any slaves. His next-door neighbor, Basil Williams, registered a female slave, Nance, on the last day, Dec 31-1782. Her four children were registered: Debra 1791, Jenny 1794, Daniel 1795, Ben 1799.

The name of James Clemens appears a number of times in the Ohio Co, VA court records from 1778 to 1780; juror, sale of land to Robert Taylor, administrator of Joseph Miller estate, surety for Jacob Wolf's ordinary. On the first jury list for Washington Co, Pa in 1781 the name of James Clemens appears. On the first tax list (Donegal Twp 1784) he had 400 acres, 5 horses, 4 cows - value $304 - about average.

The first break in the family came in 1787, when Jeremiah, the oldest son, age 24, left for Kentucky, then a part of Virginia. In his will in 1795 James asked that the youngest sons, James and Ezekiel, be sent to Jeremiah in Kentucky for schooling.

James Clemens, Sr was interested in land. He had five tracts:

(1) 400 a "Rural Swain" in Buffalo Twp, surveyed by Pa 1785;(2) another 400 a in Nest Finley Twp, a few miles to the southwest, surveyed by Pa 1789, sold in 1794;(3) a tract three farms to the northwest, sold in 1775 to Robert Taylor;(4) 500 a along the Ohio river in Ohio (now Tyler*) Co, W VA "Long Reach", granted in 1783 willed to sons; *or Pleasants(5) 1400 a adjoining the 500 a along the Ohio, granted in 1788, also willed to six sons - 1900 a divided in 1798. The will of James Clemens, Sr, written Sep 21-1795, was probated Oct 26-1795. His six sons (ages in parenthesis), Jeremiah (32), William (28), Abraham (26), John (20), James (16) and. Ezekiel (12) were given the land on the Ohio river. (William and John are Walton names.) The home farm was to be sold. It went to Abraham. William had bought part of it before the will was written. James and Ezekiel were to go to Jeremiah in Kentucky for school.

Daughters, "Christian" (30), Ann (24), Ruth (22), "Amelia"(18), Hannah (14) and Hester (10) were given money or land. The executors of the will were Leven Williams, son-in-law, and Eleazer Williamson, neighbor. The witnesses were John Burns, Peter Wolf and George Helt.

It took 11 years (to 1806) to settle the estate. By then all the children were of age. Leven Williams had died. Abraham helped receive and pay out monies. There is a large bundle of papers (Accounts C27) in the Washington (Pa) courthouse.

Payments were made to: John, James, William, Abraham; to Ruth, wife of Carard Williams; to Christina, widow of Leven Williams; to Ann, "late wife" of Thomas Craig; to Parmelia, wife of Charles Williams; to William Hawkins, whose wife, Hannah Clemens was dead in 1803; to Hester Clemens. A horse was sent to James Clemens, Jr in Kentucky. A grandson, James, son of William, is mentioned in the will. The widow, Hannah, died in 1817. She and the younger children lived with Abraham on the home place. In the 1798 "window tax" Abraham had two log houses worth $64 and 300 acres.

William had one log house worth $100 and 60 acres. In 1798 the 1900-acre tract was divided into six pieces of 314 acres, assigned from north to south to Ezekiel, William, James, John, Abraham and Jeremiah. William, the last of the sons in Pa, died in Buffalo Twp in 1849. The others had sold their land by 1812 (Ohio Co deeds):

James, Mercer Co, KY 1806 to William Clemens

Abraham and Elizabeth, Washington Co 1806 to Thomas Cochran

John, Washington C o 1811 to Charles Wells

Ezekiel, Washington Co 1812 to Charles Wells

Jeremiah and Jane, Mercer Co, KY 1812 to Charles Wells.

A road petition in the Washington County courthouse is for a road Feb 1806, from Abraham Clemens' tavern to the state line. Signers include James, William, Abraham Clemens. James, also a viewer, was gone in May.

Crumrine in his history tells of the family and who some of them married, William and Abraham married Mary and Elizabeth, daughters of Jacob Wolf. Christine and Ruth married Leven and Garard, sons of Basil Williams. John married Mary Flack, Ezekiel "went west". Hester married James Clelland. William Clemens "esquire" and "consort" Mary are buried in the East Buffalo United Presbyterian cemetery in Buffalo Twp. The 1893 Wash County history gives the birthdates of the children of James, Sr and William. It mentions the connection with Mark Twain.

John Clemens an Englishman who emigrated from his native land in a very early day, and taking up a large tract of land in Buffalo township, Washington county, became identified with the earliest history of the county. Among the sons of this early pioneer was one James Clemens, born in Washington county, and married to Hannah Walton, who bore him the following children: Jeremiah, born September 16, 1763; Christina, born January 21, 1765; William C., born January 30, 1767; Abram, born October 3, 1769; Ann, born October 5, 1771; Ruth, born March 26, 1773; John, born September 12, 1775; Parmelia, born April 10, 1777; James, born March 4, 1779; Hannah, born March 5, 1781; Ezekiel, born July 18, 1783, and Hester, born June 18, 1785.

William C. Clemens, son of James and Hannah Clemens, was born and reared on the farm in Buffalo township, Washington county. In early life he was married to Mary Wolfe, and their children were as follows: Dr. James Clemens, an eminent physician of Wheeling, W. Va., born May 26, 1795, died in 1845; Jacob, born November 6, 1796; Abraham, born September 7, 1798; Elizabeth, born February 1, 1800; William, born April 25, 1803;John C., born December 28, 1804; Hannah, born October 30, 1806; Sabina, born November 6, 1808; Amos, born August 14, 1810; Jeremiah. born May 10, 1812; Delilah, born February 6, 1815, and Hester, born July 2, 1818. Of this family Hannah is the only one yet living. The father was a farmer, and for many years was justice of the peace. John C. Clemens, son of William C. and Mary (Wolfe) Clemens, was born on the old homestead in Buffalo township, this county. He was a prosperous farmer and an enterprising citizen. When a young man he was married to Louisa, only daughter of John Hupp, a wealthy farmer, a brother of the eminent physician, Dr. Hupp, of Wheeling, W. Va. To this union were born seven children, viz.: James C., John Hupp (he was a member of Company A, One Hundredth P. V. I., and was killed at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864), Isaac C., Veturia, Louisa(Mrs. Horn), Alonzo Walton (who lives on part of the home place) and John. Alonzo W. owns part of the Clemens homestead farm adjoining Mrs. Horn, on which are several good producing oil wells; there are also some good oil wells on Mrs. Horn's farm (what was once the Clemens homestead); there are in all twenty-four oil wells. Part of the farm is now owned by Mr. Werick and Mrs. Horn, Alonzo W. owning the rest. John C. Clemens, the father of this family, served for many years as justice of the peace; he was first cousin of Samuel Clemens, better known by the nom de plume of "Mark Twain." Mr. and Mrs. William M. Horn reside oneighty-five acres of the Clemens farm, part of the old homestead, and he also owns part of the old homestead containing 125 acres, on which he was born and raised, and on which is an extensive stone quarry, leased to the Pittsburgh Stone Company, and he realizes a handsome royalty. Mr. Horn gives his attention to farming and stock raising. In politics he votes with the Republican party.

Text taken from page 1429 of:Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).

Sources

• Probate: "Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993"
  Washington > Will Books, Vol 001-002, 1781-1814 > image 162 of 578
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 24 April 2024)
  Jams Clemens.

• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970: "U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970"
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 24 April 2024)

• Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).

• History of Washington Co., Pennsylvania. Buffalo Twp pp 673-686 History of James Clemmens and wife Hannah Walton and children