The 'Heathen' Clark Woman



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For all those who wanted to read this story..

According to my records, there was a Nathaniel Clark who was a brother of Julia Clark and Wit Clark. Julia Clark was born 1843 in Indian River, Sussex Co, but I do not have dates on Nathaniel or Wit. Julia Clark married Robert Morris, (b. 1838 in Laurel, Sussex Co), and they had children Carlos, George R., Oscar Burton, Emma, Clara Preston, Steven, Anna, and Mary Agnes.

I have heard the story, through a couple of different sources in the family, that the mother (name unknown) of Julia, Wit & Nathaniel was a "heathen," an Indian woman who used to come riding bareback on a horse, and all the children were afraid of her, and thought her a witch. One day she was found dead of a broken back in the woods, having been apparently thrown from the horse.

One cousin had even told me that she'd often heard this story while growing up, and had thought the word "heathen" (which was apparently often used to describe this woman) meant a very bad or evil thing, since she never knew what it meant otherwise. Upon becoming older, however, she found that it actually meant someone who was not a Christian, and this changed her perception of the woman of the story. It no longer meant that the woman was evil, just that she hadn't been Christianized.

It would be interesting to find out this woman's name, and to possibly even find a record of her death. I'm not sure if the Nathaniel of this family is connected to the one(s) earlier mentioned.

John C. Carter
St. Petersburg, FL

 

 

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KUSKARAWOAK & MITSAWOKETT

"The History and Genealogy of the
Native American Isolate Communities
of Kent County, Delaware, and
Surrounding Areas on the Delmarva Peninsula
and Southern New Jersey"

 

 

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