James Clack, another sibling of Spencer Clack

Looking at Spencer Clack's siblings, part 2... (See this link for the start of this series)

Ann Clack Robinson 1745-1800
Spencer Clack 1746-1832
Martha (Patty) Kennon Clack (between 1748-60) - (around 1793-1818,) unknown if she married Hightower, d. maybe in NC *
James Clack (1750 or 56) -1837
John Sterling Clack 1758-1798
Richard Clack 1763-1806
Agnes Bolling Clack 1771-1803

James Clack died in 1837, but could have been born in 1750 or 1756, according to those Ancestry trees.

But I just found out there's a memorial marker to him in Dance Cemetery in Lynchburg, Moore County, TN.  And that gives me more firm dates to go on for his life.  Cha-ching, I can now change my questioning dates.   It says 1756-1837.  I'm going with that.  (However, often headstones have incorrect dates, so I'll be open to finding any written documents about his dates of birth and death.)  But it also says he was a Revolutionary Soldier.

"In Memory of James Clack born Jun 1756 - died Oct 1837, "A Revolutionary Soldier"

I looked at the list of people buried in the Dance cemetery, hoping to find some relatives.  You never know.  And of the 41 listed graves, it says 80% have been photographed.  I love when families name their children with old family names, and this research has proved this out.

There's a 1 year old James Clack Smith. Died in 1839.

A Mary Kennon Brown Smith died in 1840 when she was 35 (unknown if she was James' mother.)   Her children listed at "Find a Grave" for this site are: Mary Ann Clack Smith Martin 1826-1909, Martha Elizabeth Fisher Smith Harris 1829-1851, and Agness Bolling Smith Fuller 1832-1898.

Dance Cemetery, Moore County, TN

There are 2 family names I recognize...first daughter has Clack as a middle name, and last daughter is named after Agnes Bolling, a Virginia ancestor.  Not to mention Mary Kennon Brown Smith has the other ancestral name Kennon as well.

Mary Kennon Brown Smith...a.k.a. Mary Kennon Browne Clack Smith.

There be some relations in here, I'm thinking.  And the fact that the markers look so similar is also suggestive that one family had them made for their relatives.

I clicked on Mary Clack Smith's husband's link, and he was buried in Arkansas.  But it also gives this information (which notably isn't an original source, but might be considered first person account of those who knew her.)

"Dr. William Flournoy Smith, husband of Mary Kennon Browne Clack (daughter of James Clack & Sally Dickens), married October 29, 1823, Granville County, NC."

This may not be an original source, but here's the rest of the posting at "Find a Grave" for Dr. Smith.  It would have been nice if it had been included under Mary Kennon Brown Smith's listing (where I've now added it with her name.)

Notes for MARY KENNON BROWNE CLACK: 

"Mary Wilson Brown Dickens Hicks wrote this about her cousin & uncle. Her parents, William & Nancy Dickens reared Mary Clack to womanhood & was looked upon as an elder sister amongst my fathers children. Uncle Clack, Mary's father, was a constant visitor at my fathers house & he was a gentleman of the old school--one of the most refined, pious men I ever remember to have seen. His daughter Mary was the sole object of his deepest affection. I have often, in after years, thought how self sacrificing he was, doting on her as he did; surrounded with wealth and comfort at home; yet he allowed her to reside with my parents, fifteen miles from him, in order that she might have the benefit of my mother's care, in whose ability to raise daughters he had the utmost confidence. My cousin was married in my father's house."

From The Village Messenger, Fayetteville, Tennessee, Vol. 4, No. 27, December 7, 1827 

So James' daughter was Mary Clack who was cared for by her father fostering her with a nearby family, the Dickens.  Unfortunately for us, no Dickens were buried in the Dance cemetery (according to the list). There may be a connection to the Dance family through a Sarah Smith Dance (1793-1863) but that's just a bit too far removed from my Clack search for me to go further with her family ties.  There are no other Clacks that I've found, and the rest of the Smiths don't seem to be connected to Clacks.  I wish the Dickens were somehow part of the information.

There are still some questions to be answered. If she was a Clack, why does her grave leave that name off, just saying Mary Kennon Brown Smith?  And the 1827 article doesn't include any information about her husband, Dr. Smith.  This would have been a rather important marriage name, so is there some explanation?

So I've added a new wife to James Clack, that of Sally Dickens.  Let's see what that turns up.  There was one wife that had no substantiating data, named Jane McClin...so I was never sure if she'd married James, had the daughter, or was a later marriage.  Still looking...

OK, I've found the bond listed in Granville, NC for the marriage of Sally Dickens to James Clack on Nov. 26, 1804.  Original written document!  Whoo-hoo!

Their only child, Mary Kennon Brown Smith Clack lived from 27 Aug 1805 till 20 Dec. 1840.  Since her first daughter has Clack in her name, I checked her "Find a Grave Site" and it lists her parents as Mary Clack Smith and William Smith.

It's beginning to sound like Mary Kennon Brown Smith was the same woman as Mary Kennon Clack Smith.  But if she didn't want to carry the Clack name, she still used it in her children's names!  And she never let go of the Kennon either.  This is pure conjecture, but it sure is beyond coincidence.

Back to Mrs. James (Sally Dickens) Clack.  I want to see if she wasn't a deceased sister of the Dickens family who raised James and Sally's daughter, Mary K.

When I finally found Sally's parents, I found where the Brown in Mary Kennon Brown's name came from, it was her grandmother's maiden name!  Mary's mother, Sally died in 1808, when Mary was just 3.  There were many siblings of her mothers...now to find the ones who lived down the road from James Clack. Unfortunately none of Sally's brothers was named William.  So maybe a cousin?

That will mean going back a generation into Col. Robert Dickens (or Dickins) family.  Do I want to spend the time? Yes, because I want to connect the cousins.

So yes, Col. Robert Dickins did have a son William Dickins, (17732-1845).  And the next step is to see who he married. YES, a Nancy Pullian, who he married in 1810, in Granville Co., NC.

So that ties up the beginning of the life of Uncle James Clack.  I have to quit for tonight, because twice I tried to add all the children of William and Nancy Dickins to my ancestry tree, and they didn't come up.  When Ancestry starts mis-behaving like this, I won't waste my time.

* I've changed my mind and decided to go with the Martha Kennon Clack Hightower approximate facts for now.  So now I will update the information given above on a later date!