Francis Clement
© The Meriwether Society, Inc. (gmb)

Mr. Francis Clements (indicating he was regarded as a gentleman entitled to that suffix) came to Virginia from England sometime before 1683; as “Captain Clemons”, he was on a list of debtors to the estate of George Jordan on 7 Sep 1682. Not only is this date earlier than 1683, but to hold the rank of Captain in the Surry County Militia, and for that matter to be indebted, suggests he had been in Surry County much earlier. Regardless, it is apparent he was well educated when he arrived as indicted by the positions he subsequently held.

In a few short years Francis established himself as an important figure in Surry County. He was a plantation owner with slaves or indentured servants working it. He also is often recorded as a witness to official papers, frequently a juryman, a militia captain, justice of the peace, burgess, Surry county clerk, and a variety of other official duties such as administrating estates, taking tithes, or acting as security for those giving bonds. In addition, he was the attorney for several, including Nicho. Meriwether and Henry Hartwell. Quite a resume.

On 9 May 1693 Clements bought the Meriwether plantation “Indian Spring” in Surry county from Nicholas Meriwether II. In his 1717 will, Clements bequeathed his plantation known as “The Spring” to his son Francis, who in turn donated it to the Southwarke Parish in his 1721 will.

Prior to 1715, Clements removed to Isle of Wight County, where he evidently died about 1717 and his will was probated.

The Will of Francis Clements, Sr.

Recorded in Isle of Wright, 1719, in Vol. 2, page 632, of Wills and Deeds.

He bequeaths to son, Francis Clements, "my plantation commonly called The Springs, whereof the said Francis now dwells, containing 516 acrews. My silver tankard --------- (obliterated).

Also named sons Thomas and Benjamin, daughters Mary and Elizabeth.

Will of Francis Clements

The Will of Francis Clements, Sr. is recorded in Isle of Wright, 1719, in Vol. 2, page 632, of Wills and Deeds.

He bequeaths to son, Francis Clements, "my plantation commonly called The Springs, whereof the said Francis now dwells, containing 516 acrews. My silver tankard --------- (obliterated).

To son, Thomas, 450 acres, a gun called Harrison, ect.

To son, Benjamin my plantation on north side of Nottaway River and 450 acres adjoining where upon I now live.
Daughters ---- Mary and Elizabeth ----

To Friend Captain Nathaniel Ridley, my silver swored, and to his wife, Elizabeth a mourning ring.

As a reward for faithful service done to me by my two slaves, they shall be immediately set free from bondage, and to both of them a cow and 50 acrews of land.

"I give unto my friend, James Staton, a mourning ring: and whereas I have just assurance of the tenderness and motherly care my wife bears to our children Benjamin, Thomas, Mary and Elizabeth, all residue and remainder of estate to wife Lydia Clements, whom I make whole and sole executor.

Witnesses: James Stanton, James Stanton, Jr., Richard Jones, John Allen (Will Book 2, Page 294)

DEATH: Many have Jul 1708 for some reason.

Another source lists birthplace as Surry County (But he received headrights for having transported himself from England, suggesting he was born there.)

Represented Surry County in the House of Burgesses in 1692-1693 (General House of Burgesses). He served as clerk of the General Assembly, 1699 (Journal of H.B.). He was clerk of Surry County from October 1697 to July 1708. (Surry Records) and his signature reads "Fra Clement".

Francis Clement married first, Elizabeth Merriweather, a sister of William and Major Nicholas Merriweather (Surry Records, Deed Book 4, p. 46); second, Lydia (?) (Probably Blighton), for at Surry Court, held August 11, 1711, Francis Clement and his wife, Lydia, administer the estate of George Blighton.

Prior to 1715, moved into Isle of Wight County. (This part later became Southampton County, Virginia)

16 May 1692, Richard Parker of Surry County, conveyed to Richard Washington, for the sum of 2000 pounds of tobacco, 80 acres of land lying of "Parker's Spring Branch" and Blackwater Swamp. Wit: Elizabeth and Francis Clements Vol III p265

Source: Surry Co VA Wills 1671 - 1750 pp 125-126
Historical Families Vol V Bodie p 45-49
"The Three Richard Parkers" by Waunita Powell of Paris Ill

Francis Clements 260
Captain Francis Clements was Burgess for Surry in 1693. He married Ann [sic], daughter of Nicholas Meriweather of Surry, who died in 1678, and was appointed administrator of his estate (not true?). Captain Clements moved from Surry into Isle of Wight where he made his will in 1717 (see will). Inasmuch as he received a grant of land in Surry for the transportation of himself to Virginia, he is evidently not a descendant of Jeremiah Clements who came to Virginia in 1611 and was Burgess for James City in 1641. From one of these two families it seems that Samuel Clemens, the author, was descended.

“There is a record in the court orders of Surry County that Francis Clements married Elizabeth Clough, the executor of Mr. John Clough. The entry is dated March 2, 1865. [12] This evidently was the first marriage of Francis, and his wife, Elizabeth, must have died very shortly thereafter. There is no later mention that they had any children.

It is very probably Elizabeth Meriwether Clements who signed an indenture of Richard Parker and Richard Washington, along with her husband, in May 1682. [13] There is no doubt that she and Francis were married by March 5, 1694, when they and Nicholas Meriwether were granted the administration of the estate of William Meriwether. [14] William Meriwether was the father of Elizabeth and Nicholas. [sic - brother] Francis and Elizabeth had one son, Francis.

There is the possibility that Elizabeth Meriwether had married John CLough first, and that Francis was only married twice. The fact that Francis II was not born until about 1694 leads one to believe that Francis and Elizabeth Meriwether had not been married prior to 1685. It would seem likely that there would have been other children from the marriage during that time span. It is not known exactly when Elizabeth died, but Francis had remarried by 1703. An entry in the Surry County court orders indicates that he married the widow of George Bleighton, by May 4, 1703. [15]

261

Elizabeth (Meriwether) Clough Clements 6
© The Meriwether Society, Inc.

Elizabeth is the oldest known child of Nicholas Meriwether, the only child of the first marriage by Nicholas.

Elizabeth first married Rev. John Clough; no known children. After his death, she married Francis Clements, by whom she had one known son, Francis Jr., who died in 1721 without issue. Elizabeth was alive in 1695 when she and her brother Nicholas were appointed administrators of their brother William’s estate. She was dead by 1703 when Francis married again.

See “The Meriwether Family in America: Volume I, The Colonists” for more details.

Additional evidence:
On 21 Apr 1695, Francis Clements, his wife Elizabeth, and Nicholas Meriwether (II) petitioned the court to appoint them as administrators of the estate of William Meriwether “late of this colony dying and leaving an estate of divers goods... (The said Eliza’a. & Nicholas being sister and brother to the said dec’d.)…”. This proves that Elizabeth (Meriwether) Clements was the daughter of Nicholas Meriwether I (but not, as we shall argue, necessarily the daughter of Elizabeth (?), second wife of Nicholas I and mother of Nicholas II). 257

On 5 Jan 1685/6, Francis Clements is shown to have married the widow of Rev. John Clough: “The difference between Mr. Fra. Clemons as marreing Mrs. Eliz. Clough Exrx. of Mr. Jno. Clough and Mr. James Cane is refrd. to xt. Cort.” 258

So this proves that Elizabeth was married to Rev. John Clough prior to marrying Francis Clements. Rev. Clough was minister in Jamestown during Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) but was serving as minister of Southwarke Parish, Surry County, in 1680, where it is presumed that the Meriwether family was still worshiping. It is possible that Elizabeth & Rev. Clough met around that time, married, and subsequently moved back to Jamestown, where Clough died in Feb 1683/4.

The 1695 court petition is the last we hear of Elizabeth, and in 1703 Francis’ wife is shown to be named ‘Lydia’, indicating Elizabeth had died, probably prior to 1702. It is believed that Francis Jr. is the only surviving child of Elizabeth and Francis Clements.

Elizabeth was probably the eldest child of Nicholas, and perhaps the daughter of an unknown first wife of Nicholas. This is based on the fact that, except for Elizabeth, all the children of Nicholas and his wife Elizabeth (?), plus Elizabeth Browne, issue of Elizabeth (?) Meriwether and Col. William Brown, are named in the will of Henry Hartwell as being “nieces of my wife Jane”. Since Elizabeth was not named, nor was her son Francis, this strongly indicates that she was not related to Jane (?) Hartwell, as all her siblings were. If true, this indicates that 1) Jane was probably the sister of Elizabeth (?) Meriwether Browne, not the sister of Nicholas Meriwether I as frequently cited, and 2) that Elizabeth Meriwether was not the daughter of Elizabeth (?) Meriwether Browne.

From: “Joe M. Oglesby” <Joe@MeriwetherSociety.org>
Subject: Francis Clements & Elizabeth Clough
Date: February 16, 2014 at 16:06:41 CST
To: “Guy M. Benson” <Guy@MeriwetherSociety.org>
Cc: Maurice Kendall <Maury@meriwethersociety.org>

Interesting speculation by Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis in her book Tidewater Virginia Families (1989). She agrees that Francis Clements married Elizabeth Clough, executor of Mr. John Clough, as shown by court orders dated 2 Mar 1685. But claims it is likely that Elizabeth Clough died shortly thereafter and that the marriage to Elizabeth Meriwether was a second marriage.

“There is a record in the court orders of Surry County that Francis Clements married Elizabeth Clough, the executor of Mr. John Clough. The entry is dated March 2, 1685. [12] This evidently was the first marriage of Francis, and his wife, Elizabeth, must have died very shortly thereafter. There is no later mention that they had any children.

It is very probably Elizabeth Meriwether Clements who signed an indenture of Richard Parker and Richard Washington, along with her husband, in May 1682. [13] There is no doubt that she and Francis were married by March 5, 1694, when they and Nicholas Meriwether were granted the administration of the estate of William Meriwether. [14] William Meriwether was the father [sic - brother] of Elizabeth and Nicholas. Francis and Elizabeth had one son, Francis.

There is the possibility that Elizabeth Meriwether had married John Clough first, and that Francis was only married twice. The fact that Francis II was not born until about 1694 leads one to believe that Francis and Elizabeth Meriwether had not been married prior to 1685. It would seem likely that there would have been other children from the marriage during that time span. It is not known exactly when Elizabeth died, but Francis had remarried by 1703. An entry in the Surry County court orders indicates that he married the widow of George Bleighton, by May 4, 1703. [15]

=======
From: GUY M BENSON <gbenson7@nc.rr.com>
Date: Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 10:08 PM
Subject: Re: Francis Clements & Elizabeth Clough
To: “Joe M. Oglesby” <Joe@meriwethersociety.org>
Cc: Maury Kendall <MKendall3@cfl.rr.com>

Pure speculation. The argument is a couple can’t be married for a few years without having children. Well, they could have had children that died - very common.

Don’t know about the Parker indenture. I am sure that Maury scoured the Surry records. It is not in chapter 6.

G

Excerpt from Volume I - The Colonists:

Believed to have been born around 1663, Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Nicholas I’s first marriage to an unknown spouse, possibly Elizabeth Woodhouse. She likely was an infant at the time her father married his second wife, Elizabeth Underwood(?) , around 1664. Accordingly, she would have been reared by her stepmother, Elizabeth, and father, Nicholas I until he died in 1678; and beginning in 1680 by her stepfather, Colonel Brown. We have no specific information about Elizabeth Meriwether’s birth, except that she was obviously mature enough to have been married twice by January 1685/6. At that time, court actions in Surry County indicate Mrs. Eliza. Clough, “Exrx.” of Mr. Jno. Clough, was then married to a “Mr. Fra. Clemons” [Francis Clements]. She probably was around age 22.

Elizabeth likely was born in James City County and possibly on Jamestown Island at the “Island House” plantation her father brought in November 1661. It appears she lost her mother before 1665, as we now accept that her half-brother, Nicholas II was born on 26 October 1665. Since their father, Nicholas I, did not invest in property in Surry County until May 1666, it is probable that both Elizabeth and Nicholas II were born in James City County and moved to Surry County some time after 1666.

There are few clues in available references to Elizabeth’s life in Surry County. She apparently attended the Southwark Church in Surry County in 1680 when The Reverend John Clough was pastor there. We do know she became Mrs. John Clough at some point, most likely after 1680 in Surry County, while The Reverend was serving the good people of Southwark Parish. The first detail of her residency in Surry County is in 1686 while she was married to Mr. Francis Clements and still acting as “Exrx.” of John Clough’s estate, noted above. In 1689 her second husband, Francis, was granted 450 acres of land in Surry County and in May 1693 he bought from Nicholas II the 651 acre plantation known as “Indian Spring”, a tract originally obtained by her father, Nicholas I in 1666. It seems evident she lived to maturity in Surry County, possibly in the same place Nicholas I did. Wherever, she probably lived in Surry County with each of her two husbands.

There are other indicators that this was true. In 1692 she was, with Francis, a witness to two legal transactions recorded in Surry County. Later, in 1696, she with husband Francis and brother Nicholas receive a Commission of Administration for the estate of her younger brother, William (M16). She died sometime between that date, 1696, and 1703 when her second husband, Francis, was married to Mrs. Lydia (Lake) Blighton. Lydia at that time was the “Adtrix” of the estate of George Blighton, deceased, her late husband. As there is no record of Lydia until 1703, when she and Francis were very active in handling the estate of her late husband, George Blighton, and it is reasoned that their first son, Benjamin, was born around 1703, it appears evident they had not been married very long before 1703. Elizabeth may have died around 1700.

An Alternative View

Interesting speculation by Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis in her book Tidewater Virginia Families (1989). She agrees that Francis Clements married Elizabeth Clough, executor of Mr. John Clough, as shown by court orders dated 2 Mar 1685. But claims it is likely that Elizabeth Clough died shortly thereafter and that the marriage to Elizabeth Meriwether was a second marriage.

“There is a record in the court orders of Surry County that Francis Clements married Elizabeth Clough, the executor of Mr. John Clough. The entry is dated March 2, 1685. [12] This evidently was the first marriage of Francis, and his wife, Elizabeth, must have died very shortly thereafter. There is no later mention that they had any children.

It is very probably Elizabeth Meriwether Clements who signed an indenture of Richard Parker and Richard Washington, along with her husband, in May 1682 [sic-1692?]. [13] There is no doubt that she and Francis were married by March 5, 1694, when they and Nicholas Meriwether were granted the administration of the estate of William Meriwether. [14] William Meriwether was the father [sic - brother] of Elizabeth and Nicholas. Francis and Elizabeth had one son, Francis.

There is the possibility that Elizabeth Meriwether had married John Clough first, and that Francis was only married twice. The fact that Francis II was not born until about 1694 leads one to believe that Francis and Elizabeth Meriwether had not been married prior to 1685. It would seem likely that there would have been other children from the marriage during that time span. It is not known exactly when Elizabeth died, but Francis had remarried by 1703. An entry in the Surry County court orders indicates that he married the widow of George Bleighton, by May 4, 1703.” [15]

She was the widow of a Mr. George Blighton.

In the will of Francis Clements Sr., he names Benjamin, Thomas, Mary and Elizabeth as children of his wife, Lydia. Francis Jr. is named separately, indicating he was the only named child who was born to Elizabeth Meriwether.