Mercy (Smith) Clarke (abt. 1660 - abt. 1700)

Born about 1660 in Kingston, Rhode Island [uncertain]

Wife of Benjamin (Clarke) Clark — married before 1692 in Rhode Island

Descendants

Died about 1700 at about age 40 in Rhode Island

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Biography

Mercy Smith, who died about 1700, was the first wife of Benjamin Clarke of South Kingstown, Rhode Island. She is identified as a daughter of John Smith and his wife Margaret of Prudence Island, Rhode Island. Evidence for her parentage comes from the will of Daniel Smith of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, made 13 May 1695 and proved 15 July 1707, which bequeathed to his "sister Mercy Clarke, wife of Benjamin Clarke, of Kingstown, one-half of what was bequeathed me by my stepfather, John Snook, after my mother's decease."^{[1] [2]} Her date and place of birth are not recorded.

Mercy Smith and Benjamin Clarke married by 1692, when their daughter Mary was born. Their children, all born at Kingstown, included the following:^[3]

1. Mary Clarke, born 24 January 1691/2.
2. Sarah Clarke, b. 26 February, 1693.
3. Benjamin Clarke, b. 4 April, 1694.
4. Emanuel Clarke, b. 4 April, 1697.
5. Samuel
6. Jeremiah

Sources

1. ↑ Morrison, George Austin. The “Clarke” Families of Rhode Island (New York: Press of the Evening Post Job Printing House, 1902), page 265. Accessed at http://digital.library.yale.edu/cdm/ref/collection/rebooks/id/101779
2. ↑ Dorsey, section "Benjamin Clark of Rhode Island and some of his descendants," page 1, citing John O. Austin, Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, pp. 183, 184, and The Shotwell Family Annals, p.35.
3. ↑ Morrison, The “Clarke” Families of Rhode Island, identifies only Sarah Benjamin, and Emanuel; Glazier and Dorsey both identify the others.

• Ancestral File (TM) Family History Library :  Ancestral File Number 5JF7-TLL
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:9H24-VCJ : accessed 2017-09-10), entry for Mercy SMITH, submitted by jrasband2769614.. Person Count 35,673 . Submission ID MM95-KBW
• Dorsey, Jean Muir. Robert Fuller of Salem, Massachusetts and some of his descendants; Benjamin Clark of Rhode Island and some of his descendants; Peter Wright families of Rhode Island and Vermont. Urbana, Illinois, 1961.
• Wood, Michael Johnson. "The Earliest Shermans of Dedham, Essex," part 3. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 167, Apr 2013; Whole Number 666, page 155.
• Charles R, Hale Collection [of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices of Marriages and Deaths], (1933-34) at the Connecticut State Library, Plainfield, 24
• Glazier, Prentiss. Clark-Clarke Families of Early Connecticut. In: Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983. Originally published in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, January 1974, vol. 128, pp. 22-27. Citing William H. Eldridge, "Benjamin Clarke of Plainfield, Connecticut" (1932). Quotation:

Benjamin Clark (1663-1750) resided at South Kingstown, Rhode Island and Plainfield Connecticut. A detailed study by William H. Eldridge, "Benjamin Clarke of Plainfield, Conn." in the Library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society opines English birth. He was apparently not connected with the Clarks of Medfield, Mass. By his first wife, Mercy Smith, he had: Mary, Sarah, Benjamin, Emanuel, Samuel and Jeremiah; by his second wife Jean or Jane (maiden name possibly Dean) he had: Theophilus, James, Ann, Elizabeth, Martha, Hanna, Rest and Abigail. He and his widow each left wills.

• American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
• Gen. Column of the " Boston Transcript". 1906-1941: 9 Apr 1913, 3153. Name Mercy Clark., Birth Date 1650, Birthplace Rhode Island, Volume 29, Page number 492.
• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700