Milford Memorial Tower with clouds

The Milford Hall of Fame

memorializing contributions made by the citizens of Milford, Connecticut

George Clark
George Clark

George Clark, was one of two George Clarks at the founding of Milford in 1639. He was known as the "Carpenter," George "Sr." and later "Deacon." "Farmer" George Clark, aka "Jr." was the other Clark who joined the congregation of Peter Prudden and established the Republic of Milford whose constitution was the Bible itself. It was one of the first times in history when individuals could own property in their own name and not be serfs on the property of the lord of the manor under royal or feudal control.

Church records at Milford state that on March 31, 1644, "George Clerck carpenter was admitted to the church," and on April 2, 1644, "Mary his wife," was admitted. This is the only time the name 'Mary,' appears on Colonial records. Mary appears with him on the Memorial Bridge on New Haven Avenue. Some other records state that Sarah was the name of his wife.

Carpenter George was likely instrumental in the building of the fort-like church that greeted the migrants marching through the woodlands from New Haven in 1639. Legend has it the building was pre-built in New Haven and barged over to Milford where it were assembled by the colonists.

Another building would bring fame and wealth to Deacon George. His "stockade house" was built on the Old Post Road (Bridgeport Avenue) outside the protective palisades. For his valor, he received an extra allotment of land. The home still stands, now on the Milford Historical site at the foot of high street.

Deacon Clark as a Hertford men, like the bulk of Peter Prudden's congregation, were an independent lot. Hertfordshire England was a hotbed of revolution against the king. The judges who pronounced the death sentence on King Charles I, now known as the Regicides Whalley and Goffe, escaped to Boston Harbor in the 1660s. They found comfort and protection among the puritan activists who faced charges of treason. They fled Boston to New Haven with the king's men in hot pursuit then fled to Milford and were secreted for part of their time in Milford by Carpenter George Clark. It was a perfect place to conceal refugees. It backed up to a wild craggy wooded area, which extended to the bay. Alongside this rough area was a level low land, which was thick with bulrushes. Any man hidden there would be hard to find and easily able to surprise any officer inclined to look there. After two years, in November 1661, they left their various Milford hiding places and were secreted to Hadley, Massachusetts.

Later Clark would serve the King. He joined Robert Treat and many from Milford and Branford in the founding of Newark, NJ. The Dutch under Peter Stievesent were building settlements up the Hudson and expanding New Amsterdam thus cutting off the British. Robert Treat and Deacon George Clark conspired with the king's men to found a settlement of puritans in what was then called New Town settlement near the mouth of the Hudson. Treat and Clark would return to Milford. Many of Deacon George's relatives remained in Newark. Descendant, Abraham Clark of New Jersey, signed the Constitution of the United States. On March 12, 1664, King Charles granted his brother, the Duke of York, all of New Amsterdam and most of the territory included in the adjacent New Haven colony finally resolving the Dutch issues.

As part compensation for the boxing in of the Dutch, Robert Treat and Deacon George Clark and others demanded a liberal Royal Charter for the government of Connecticut. This charter gave to Connecticut independence that no other colony enjoyed. Much of them dealing with puritan religious and Biblical principles of individual rights and the ability to create laws independent of the British Parliament. Hidden in an old Oak when the King decided to rescind colonial rights, it is the source of Connecticut's title as the Constitution State. In May 1664, George Clark was one of two Deputies chosen by the people of Milford to represent them at the New Haven General Court. He was there when the terms of surrender of the New Haven Colony to the crown had to be arranged. This event took place because of New Haven's absorption by Connecticut, under the terms of the Royal Charter of 1662. After the consolidation took place, Mr. Clark was chosen repeatedly to be one of the two Deputy's from Milford to the Connecticut General Court.

George Clark, proven by evidence in his will, was also, one of the first "recorded" slave holders in American history. Presumably he was an African slave though Indians and white "bond" slaves were also common at the time. If so, it proves Milford was home to blacks at the very beginning. Legend has it that Clark worked while his slave managed the household, at least partly turning modern ideas of slavery on its head.

Perhaps Clark's greatest accomplishment came because of his death. His Will changed British Law. Deacon George Clark made out his will on April 15, 1678. Leviticus provides that a man may distribute property to all the members of the family. British law leaves property to the eldest son. The doctrine of primogeniture was fundamental to preservation of the wealth and power of England's ruling elite. The will called for each child receiving a share, the eldest a double share. Eldest son Thomas (B: 1638) contested the will. The case, with a number of intrigues and sidelights, went all the way to Parliament. George Clark had died in 1690 but the settlement of his estate at the privy council level did not take place until 1745 after 55 years tied up in the British bureaucracy.

The Clark case involved fundamental rights between England and the colonies: must Connecticut submit its laws to the Crown for approval? Connecticut had a special charter so the Colony of Connecticut took over the prosecution of the case. The Clarks based their rights on their constitution and their constitution was the Bible, the King James Bible, the ancestor of the king. Historian Robert J. Taylor writes: "the whole point at issue was whether common law applied to the colonies automatically … The Clark case at long last resolved … in Connecticut's favor."

Second son, Samuel (b:1645) married Mary Clark, daughter of Farmer George Clark unifying the family names of the founders into one line. Daughter Sarah (b: bef April 1644) married Johnathan Law and third son George (b: 3/5/1648) was born. The Clark family has extensively expanded across America with early ties to New Jersey and Ohio, once Western Connecticut.

Meg Casey

Talking is a far preferable state of affairs than to have the matters of concerns either continually swept under the rug, … or worse, put back on the shelf and only dusted off occasionally so that it remains looking nice at face value.

Meg Casey - handicapped advocate (1955 - 1985)

The Milford Hall of Fame thanks:

Milford Bank