Hi Carol, My Rachel Walsh Clarke, b. about 1792, in St Martinville, who married William Stephens is my brick wall. On the 1810 LA census it shows a neighbor named James Clarke. I suspect that Rachel is related to this James Clarke but have no way of proving it. I also think that the neighbor, James, was related to the Patrick Clark and Rachel Melone/Melon families. This couple had a bunch of children and grandchildren. I don't know if James Clark is related to them for sure. Do you have anything on a James Clark? If Rachel was born about 1792, she cannot be a daughter of Patrick Francis Clark and Rachel Elizabeth Melon. Francis died in the late 1770s or early 1780s, and Rachel took a second husband, Joshua Garrett. I don't have their marriage date, but their first child was born in 1783. Francis Clark and Rachel Melon had only 2 sons, James and John. John had a daughter named Rachel, who was born about 1797 (baptized in 1801 at age 4), but this Rachel married George Miles Lee in 1815 at Opelousas and they had 12 children before George passed on in 1843. I think she died in Concordia Parish. (Not sure of location). So this is not my Rachel Clark. CLARK, Jean (James CLARK - of Baltimore & living on Bayou Vermillion & Ester COMSTOCK - of Rhode Island) b. 4 July1809, bt. 11 Nov. 1810 Pats: Francois CLARK - of Ireland & Rachel MELON - of Baltimore; Mats: ---- COMSTOCK - of Rhode Island & Rachel ALLREDGE - of Rhode Island; Spons: Jean Baptiste VERDUN & Rachel CLARK, wife of Guillaume (French for William) STEVENS. Fr. Gabriel ISABEY (SM Ch.: v.6, #1014) The above seems to say they are related to James Clark but not how. Asking someone to be a sponsor usually means that they are connected somehow, either by marriage or blood. But I don't know more than this. It's a puzzle alright. Hope you can take my little piece and perhaps put it with something you have and come up with the answer. You can see that Rachel Clark, wife of Guillaume [William] Stevens [Stephens], was one of the sponsors of Jean [John], the youngest son and last known child of James Clark and Esther Comstock. I don't know how sponsors are chosen, but it appears that they may or may not be relatives of the person baptized. Thus, this entry could indicate that Rachel was indeed a relative or just a friend of the family. The above is cut and pasted from my notes and so this letter is a bit choppy. Let me know if you want more on the Clarks that I may be related to and thanks for replying to my query. Terry LEBLANC Larson...now living in Minnesota. > From: Choochoo66@aol.com > Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 20:00:51 EST > To: LAVERMIL-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: white,campbell,stephens,landry > Resent-From: LAVERMIL-L@rootsweb.com > Resent-Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 18:00:52 -0700 > > Terry/Susie, > Do you know where they were located in 1800+? > I'm looking for Clark, > LeMaire > Smith > I know the Clarks were on the east coast (perhaps New Jersey). > Carol > >> Hi Susie, >> My Stephens are William Stephens, b. abt 1780, m. to Rachel Walsh Clark. >> Their children are: >> 1. John Vachel Stephens, b. 1820, m. Irene LeMaire >> 2. Rachel Stephens, m. John Collins >> 3. Julia Stephens, m. James Smith??? >> 4. Mary Elizabeth Stephens m. Silas Bradshaw >> 5. Ann Stephens, m. William Windham >> Have more on Children of John V. Stephens. I think there is a later >> connection somewhere but don't know just where. >> Terry >> >> > >