William Clarke

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Husband William Clarke ¹

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            AKA: William Clark 1
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Wife

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Children

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1 M William Clarke, Jr. ¹

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         Spouse: Rebecca Curtis (      -      ) 1

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2 F Honour Clarke ¹

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         Spouse: Thomas Pemberton (      -      ) 1

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General Notes: Husband - William Clarke

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William Clark, "of Lewes, in the County of Sussex, upon Delaware Bay, Gent," Chief Justice of the Provincial (Supreme) Court of Pennsylvania and a member of Provincial Council from Sussex county, 1683-1705. He was a Justice of Deal county, as Sussex county was known under the jurisdiction of the Duke of York, as early as June 7, 1680, and the "Three Lower Counties" of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, becoming territories of the Province of Pennsylvania, November 25, 1682, and part of William Penn's Proprietary Government, at which time the name of Deal county was changed to Sussex, and Jones county to Kent; William Clark was commissioned a Justice of Sussex county, May 1, 1683, and was regularly recommissioned until his death in 1705. He was also a Justice of the Provincial (Supreme) Court of Pennsylvania, July, 1684 to 1693, and was appointed Chief Justice of that tribunal, April 10, 1703, and served until his death. He was also Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1692. His will dated at Lewes, 2mo. 24, 1705, proved July 24, 1705, directs his property at Lewes to be sold, and mentions his son, William Clarke, Jr., and the latter's espoused wife, Rebecca Curtis; his granddaughter Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Brown; his granddaughter Mary Pemberton, his daughter Honour, wife of Thomas Pemberton, whom he makes sole executrix, and his brother-in-law, Walton Hulings, and his friend Thomas Fisher, whom he names as overseers of his will.
William Clarke in 1692 was made Collector of Customs for the Territories, a crown office, not under the jurisdiction of Penn's government. Although he continued to describe himself as a resident of Lewes until his death, he had nevertheless one of the finest mansions in the city of Philadelphia. It was located at the southwest corner of Third and Chestnut streets, the present (1907) site of the Merchants' and Mariners' Building, of the Girard Estate. Third and Chestnut was at that time not very far from the centre of the city, which was principally clustered about Front street. Still it was on the outskirts of the town, and Mr. Clarke had room, not only for a grand house according to the ideas of the period, but for a fine garden. The lot was ninety-nine feet front on Chestnut street and about two hundred and fifty-five feet deep. Clarke had bought it from Thomas Rouse, June 12, 1694. The house known as "Clarke Hall," was described as being built of brick, with a double front, two stories in height with a hipped roof. It had many parlors and chambers and, in size, was considered the largest house in town.
By deed of March 14, or April 22, 1704, William Clarke, Sr., conveyed this property to his son, William Clarke, Jr., and Rebecca Curtis, of Barbadoes, reciting in the deed that a marriage was soon to take place between the said William and Rebecca, "with whom he is likely to have a considerable estate." The father also declared in the deed that he was pleased at the prospect of his son's marriage to such "a worthy and virtuous person as the said Rebecca, and in consideration thereof, and from motives of affection" to his son, made the gift, the same to be void if the marriage was not solemnized in six months. The deed further recited that the property was then in the tenancy of Lieut. Gov. John Evans, who was living there with William Penn, Jr., Sec. James Logan, and Judge Roger Mompes-son. William Clarke, Jr., and Rebecca Curtis were married, but the match could not have been a happy one, judging from subsequent events. In fact, William Clarke, the younger, in less than fourteen years ran through his property and does not seem to have been in a condition to make arrangements with his creditors. The Assembly of Pennsylvania, May 3, 1718, passed an act in which it was directed that the house and lot at Third and Chestnut streets should be vested in Charles Read and others as trustees, to be sold for the payment of the debts of William Clarke, Sr., and William Clarke, Jr. These trustees, by deed of December 8, 1718, sold the property to Anthony Houston, and nine days afterwards Houston conveyed it to Andrew Hamilton, in fee. By virtue of this conveyance Hamilton occupied the house as his city residence during the remainder of his lifetime, but for a considerable period after the purchase he must have felt that he was residing in a house to which he had no legal title, although he paid a full and adequate price for it, for the reason that all laws passed by the Assembly of Pennsylvania were required to be submitted for the approval of the Privy Council of England, and it frequently happened that laws passed by the Assembly were repealed by the Privy Council, sometimes to the injury of the community and private individuals, as in this case. The Act of Assembly providing for the sale of the Clarke property was repealed by the Privy Council, and Mr. Hamilton was laid under the disadvantage of occupying premises from which there was a possibility he would be dispossessed. In fact, suit was commenced in the High Court of Chancery in England by some of the representatives of William Clarke, Jr., which, after the usual delay, was brought to a decree which set forth that the defendant, Andrew Hamilton, had no title to the premises. Andrew Hamilton was deceased at the time the decree was given, but his son, James Hamilton, entered into a compromise with the claimants, and February 8, 1743, Rebecca Richardson, then widow of Zacharias Richardson, but formerly widow of William Clarke, Jr., and her surviving children by Clarke, viz., Rebecca, wife of Edward Evans, and Elizabeth Clarke, who afterwards married Samuel Means, Jr., of Paxtang, conveyed their rights in "Clarke Hall," to James Hamilton; Mary and Ann Clarke, two other daughters of William and Rebecca (Curtis) Clarke, having died in their minority, unmarried and without issue. It is said that it was part of the bargain that one of the heirs, a daughter of William Clarke, the second, should be maintained for life on the premises, and it is tolerably well established that one of the Clarkes did live in the house until her death, both under the Hamiltons and their successors in title, the Pembertons, James Hamilton having sold "Clarke Hall" on February 5, 1745, to Israel Pemberton, the elder.

1 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911), Pg 381.