| The Clow Family History ... by David Clow Click Here to see David's Paintings and Studio Web Pages... |
| Nathaniel Clough and Susannah Clough� in Queen Annes County, Maryland Our oldest known Clow family members are Nathaniel Clough and his wife Susannah. They lived in Queen Annes County, Maryland, owned their own farm of unknown acres but was said to have been considerable. Land recorded in 1744, 50 acres was named �Clough�s Hope.� In 1747 another 50 acres was recorded and it was called �Boon�s Hope.� Boon�s Hope cost Nathaniel and Susannah 2,100 pounds of tobacco, which was a common practice in the early colonies, paying for items with tobacco off your own land. Nathaniel Clough died in 1748, his estate papers and will are filled in the courthouse in Annapolis. He wanted his estate divided equally among his wife and children. The children were John born 1732, Mary born 1733, Cheney born 1734 this is our line, Susannah born 1737, Rachael born 1738, James born1740, Sarah born 1742, Rebecca born 1743 and Ann born 1749. Susannah Clough, Nathaniel�s wife died before 1756 exact date is unknown. Cheney Clough and Elizabeth Clow� The son on Nathaniel and Susannah Clough in Maryland The story about our Grandfather Cheney Clough begans with the Revolutionary War. Cheney Clough, son of Nathaniel Clow of Queen Ann County Maryland, made a big mistake that would eventually cost him his life. He chose to fight for the King instead of the colonist. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War about a third of the colonist had no desire for independence from England but in Kent County Delaware, where Cheney Clough was living, the Loyalist were greatly outnumbered. Cheney choosing to support the King of England, having been a British Officer earlier, he now found himself a Tory. As the war progressed the Tories constantly created terror by raiding and plundering the colonist, supplies to the British, robbed the mails, plotted against the life of Washington, and generally became very disliked by their neighbors. During the War, in 1778, the colonist past a law requiring all male citizens over the age of 21 to take an "Oath of Allegiance." A Tory would be pardoned if the Oath was given, if not he would suffer the confiscation of all his land and possessions. When it became time for Cheney's Oath he refused. He also refused to pay taxes to Delaware claming he was living in Maryland. His farm was on both sides of the state line but the house sat in Delaware. One morning, April 18, 1778, the Sheriff of Kent County, John Clayton, went out to arrest Cheney Clough. This attempt erupted into a gun battle and one of the Sheriff's men, named Moore, was killed. When the battle was over Cheney Clough wife, our Grandmother who was helping him load rifles, was wounded and Cheney was arrested and taken to jail. This action 200 years later would be known as �The Cheney Clough Rebellion.� At this point the townspeople wanted his head, they wanted blood, they wanted him charged, and executed for treason. For four years he sat in prison. On December 12, 1782 Cheney Clow was brought to trail, was found not guilty of treason but authorities kept him in prison. It seemed that Cheney hadn't taken the Oath and therefore could not be charged with treason. Keeping him in prison, they charged him with burglary and murder, later the burglary charge was dropped for the lack of evidence but he had to stand trail on the murder charge. At the trial, even with testimony from the Sheriff, that the man shot at the time of the arrest was shot in the back, and not from Cheney�s gun, but probably from one of the Sheriff�s own men behind Moore. This did not sway the jury. The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to be hanged by the neck until dead. It now fell on the governor to set the time and place for the execution. The Governor wishing he could pardon Clough but did nothing, in fact he did nothing for six years. A new Governor came into office. More petitions for pardon was filled by the family but still to no avail, Cheney's wife and children finally gave up their long fight. In 1788 a final letter from Cheney Clough, having been in close confinement for 10 years, the letter addressed to the new Governor requested that a pardon be granted at once or that a warrant be issued without delay for his execution. The pardon was not granted and Cheney Clough "went bravely to his death, singing a hymn as he walked to the scaffold." The war was long over and ideas were changing, but all too late for Cheney Clough. Everyone agreed that Cheney Clow had fallen victim to the ill-judged violence of party feelings. No date was ever recorded for the execution, Cheney had no will, and there is no record of the disposition of his estate. After they hung Chaney Clough the family took his body and buried it in a secret place. Many think the grave was near the house but unmarked. In January 1790 the eldest daughter, Arrana, petitioned the State of Delaware to settle the estate of Cheney Clow and to distribute such among his heirs. The petition was "ordered to lie on the table" and on the table it remained... Joshua Clough and Sarah Walker Clough now spelled Clow�in Ohio After Chaney Clough was hung, the story goes, our family line left the Delaware area, changed the spelling of the name to Clow and his son Joshua, that�s our grandfather, moved to Ohio. We have a marriage certificate of Joshua and Sarah Walker being married in Kent Co. Delaware, Oct 2, 1794 but can�t explain how Joshua�s son Edward, our grandfather, was born 1794 in Virginia, the same year and in a different state. Wrong date somewhere... Joshua Clow, with a new name and a new place, died in Harrison County Ohio. Edward Clow and Hannah Smith Clow� in Holmes County, Ohio and Fayette County, Illinois Edward Clow son of Joshua Clow was born 20 May 1794 in Virginia. He married Hannah Smith on January 23, 1817 in Wayne Co., Ohio. She was born 23 Aug 1795 also in Virginia. In Holmes Co. EDWARD and HANNAH CLOW raised 13 Children between the years of 1818 and 1839. SANFORD P. CLOW, my 2nd Great grandfather, was the twelfth child in the order of births. The other children were Fanny, Sarah, Rachel, Mary, Nelson, Johnston, Andrew, David, John, William, Allen, and Julia. Allen may have been a twin to Sanford. Holmes County lies in the central part of Ohio and was formed in 1824. Today Holmes county harbors one of the largest Amish settlements in the world second only to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Henceforth in recent years there has been an ever-increasing interest in the area with its fine restaurants, bakeries, cheese houses, meat shops and hand crafted specialty shops. This also contributes greatly to the picturesque quality of Holmes county rural life. The present day traveler is forever fascinated and impressed by the quaint and interesting life of these great people. Holmes County is often called the "Switzerland of Ohio" not only because of its Swiss Cheese makers but also for its beautiful scenery. Many say that Holmes County's scenic beauty is unequalled east of the Rockies. EDWARD and HANNAH SMITH CLOW left Ohio early in the summer of 1839. They traveled by covered wagon in a train, (four wagons for the Clows), with friends and neighbors to Fayette County Illinois and settled near a booming trading post known as Post Oak, North of the old Overland Stage Route, a stop called Howards Point. Howards Point later became the village of St Elmo. It took them four weeks to make the trip. Post Oak and St Elmo, in Loudon Township, is situated in the northeast corner of Fayette County Illinois. Most families moved into this area between 1835 and 1840. A man named Ammerman was probably the first occupant of what in those days was considered, perhaps, the most desirable of locations, plenty of timber and no scarcity of water. The Kaskaskia River forms the western boundary of the township, and its tributaries supply more than enough moisture for rich pastures. Post Oak today (1996) is made up of only two or three residents, the Post Oak Church, and the old cemetery next to the Locust Grove Church where Edward, Hannah, and Edward's second wife Mary Stahl are buried. Among the early settlers who joined Edward Clow in this region were men like John Harris, Richard Brazzel, Daniel Buzzard, and John Smith. Families like the Sapps, the Graves, Stewarts, Wrights, and the Morrisons. Many of these families migrated to Illinois from their old homes in Holmes County. Post Oak had a general store, a gristmill, a few saloons and churches, this town during the early 1800�s was the center of activity. Records show that in 1839 Edward Clow owned the west half of section 32, TWP 8, Range 3 of Fayette County, Illinois. To be exact, 361.15 acres. Nelson Clow, in 1850 owned 40 acres in section #32 TWP 8, Range 3. Children of Edward and Hannah Clow are� Sarah Clow, born 1818 in Wayne Co., Ohio. She married Jesse Taylor Jan 1842 in Fayette, Illinois. Rachel Clow, born 16 Mar 1823, died 21 Jun 1888. Fanny Clow, born 23 Jan 1825, died 29 Sep 1914. Nelson Clow, born about 1827, died 21 Mar 1863 during Civil War. Andrew Jackson Clow, born 1828 in Holmes Co., Ohio. He married Mary Rhodes 15 Nov 1853 in Fayette, Illinois. Johnston Clow, born 15 Mar 1829, died 16 Apr 1923. David Clow, born 1831 in Holmes Co., Ohio, died after 1850. Mary Polly Clow, born about May 1831, died 28 Oct 1903. John Clow, born 1833, died 1863. William Clow, born about 1834, died 1911. Allen B. Clow, born 21 Feb 1835, died 5 Mar 1910. Sanford Clow, born 1837, died 1905. Julia A. Clow, born 1839 in Illinois, died after 1891 in Virden, Illinois. Shortly after arriving in Illinois, Hannah gave birth to their thirteenth child Julia, having difficulty, HANNAH SMITH CLOW died on June 10, 1839. She was 43 years old. She is buried in the Post Oak Cemetery, north of the town of St Elmo, in Fayette Co. Edward married his second wife Mary Stahl in Fayette, Illinois. She was born 6 Jan 1807 in Tennessee. Mary died 26 Sep 1872 in Post Oak, Fayette, Illinois, at the age of 65, and was buried Oct 1872 in Post Oak Cem. Children were� Robert F. Clow, born 12 Dec 1842, died 29 Nov 1921. Martha Clow, born 1845 in Howard's Point, St. Elmo, Illinois. She married Richard Campbell 1 Mar 1863 in Fayette, Illinois. George Clow, born May 1850 in Fayette, Illinois. He married Jennie Kistler Graham 1872 in Illinois. Edward B. Clow, born 1847, died 22 Dec 1903. Robert, Edward and George all three later served in the Union army during the Civil War. At the time of their move to Illinois, Sanford Clow was 2 years old. His older brothers Nelson and Johnston were 12 and 10 respectfully and the oldest child in the family was Fanny their older sister who was 21. From the time she was three or four years old Fanny was "mom's little helper." By the time she was ten the whole family had become very much dependent on Fanny's help. Even while they were in Ohio Fanny help take care of her younger brothers, helped her mother with the cooking and the making of clothes. With the death of Hannah, Edward became entirely dependent on Fanny for the household chores. After Edward and Mary Stahl were married Fanny continued living at home, helping with the children, possibly filling the roll of mother better than Mary, at least in the eyes of Sanford. Edward died 28 Nov 1855 in Loudon City, Fayette, Illinois, at the age of 61, and was buried Dec 1855 in Post Oak Cemetery, Fayette, Illinois. As stated before he was buried in the cemetery next to the Post Oak Church and next to my Grandmother Hannah Smith Clow. In Edward's will Fanny was the only child singled out and given her bed, her bedding, and one cow. Most of the family possessions were willed to Mary with the stipulation that, if and when she remarried the household articles were to be sold and the money from those items be divided among the remaining children. Our Grandfather Sanford P. Clow bought a colt at his dad�s estate sale. Sanford P. Clow and Elizabeth Byers Clow� in Montgomery County, Illinois At the time of Edward's death in 1855, SANFORD P. CLOW, my 2nd Great grandfather, was living in Montgomery County Illinois, having settled in Bois D'Arc Township in 1854, and building his home in Section #4. On page 398 in the History of Montgomery Co., Sanford Clow is listed as one of two settlers to first move into the Bois D'Arc community. In 1839 the Capital of Illinois was moved from Vandalia in Fayette County, to Springfield in Sangamon Co. By this time settlers were moving into the northern areas of Illinois, and with the large numbers north in Chicago it was decided that a more central location for the Capital was needed. With the moving of the Capital and all the associated business and construction with that move I would guess, Sanford probably headed in that direction. We know, from a marriage certificate, that on October 20, 1858 SANFORD CLOW and ELIZABETH BYERS were married in Springfield, Illinois. Elizabeth was the daughter of ABRAHAM BYERS of Sangamon County, her mother was MARGARET BRAMHULL. At this time they made their home near the village of Chattam, just south of Springfield. Chattam, Ill. is where they were living when my Great grandfather MATHIAS PARKER CLOW was born in 1860. Years later they lived in the Virden and Farmersville area all three, Chattam, Virden, and Farmersville are within a 15 mile radius of each other. In doing research even though we were in three different Counties, Sangamon, Montgomery, and Macoupin, Sanford during his married life move less than 15 or 20 miles. Mathias P. Clow and Nettie Cauby Clow� in Montgomery County, Illinois MATHIAS PARKER CLOW was the first child to be born to Sanford and Elizabeth Clow in December 1859, followed by John in 1863, Carrie in 1869, then Eddy, named after Sanford's father, in 1873, Emily in 1874, and last Lucilla in 1875. From birth records we know that they were living in the Virden, Ill by 1873. In 1905 Sanford Clow died and was buried in the Virden cemetery, Macoupin County. Elizabeth lived another eleven years and died April 24, 1916 she's buried alongside Sanford. Mathias grew up helping his father work the farm but was probably the first of the Clows to break from farming as a livelihood. On June 22, 1883 he married NETTIE AMELIA CAUBY (her family also lived in the areas of Virden, Girard, and Farmersville.) They had six children, three dying as infants. SANFORD JOSEPHUS CLOW, my Grandfather, was the first born on June 28, 1887, the second child was Earl, followed by Irvin in 1891, (a twin of Irvin died at birth.) Mathias at the time of the twins' birth was working as teamster or muleskinner. By 1894 and the birth their 5th child Nettie, who also died, Mathias was back in the farming business. With the birth of Verna in 1896 he was working as a Policeman in Farmersville, he was 37 years of age. One year later, March 30 1897, almost to the week, Mathias Parker Clow died from a stroke at the young age of 38. Sanford would have his 10th birthday the following June. Mathias was buried in the Girard, Illinois cemetery. On one of my visits to photograph the head stone was told by the groundskeeper that there was no stone or marker for Mathias Clow. His records identified the cemetery section but no exact plot could be pinpointed. He informed me that his father was grounds keeper before him and he could remember as a young man when he first helped with the mowing, that many of the graves were marked with wooden markers. As the years passed, and if family members didn't replace them with stone markers, the exact plot locations were eventually lost. Nettie Cauby Clow, after the death of her husband Mathias, went to work supporting her family of four, the oldest, Sanford, nine years old, and Verna, the youngest at one. The two in between were Earl and Irvin. After the death of his father Sanford became man of the house. Even at the age of nine or ten he helped his mother earn money for the family. I have a photo of Sanford, my Grandfather, as a boy 10 to 12 years of age, setting on the seat of a wagon, team hitched and a dry goods store in the background. This could very will have been Mathias' team in Farmersville, he may have worked as a teamster like his father. He worked in the coal mine and had several part-time jobs. Sanford and Verna liked to play musical instruments, and they played with the local band at dances. Sanford played drums and Verna played the piano, they played by ear, which designated some musical sort of talent. It was at one of these dances that he met my Grandmother NELLIE BLY MC ELFRESH of Waggoner, a small town south of Farmersville Nettie Cauby Clow, Sanford's mother, somewhere along the way met an older man, as the story goes married him but kept it a secret from the kids. After Sanford and Nell were married Nettie announced that she too had gotten remarried and that she now owned a small farm in Missouri, near the town of Deepwater. She told Sanford that she planned to move there with Irvin and Verna and wished that Sanford and Nell would come with them. She was sure that the farm could make enough for two families and it would be a lot better if the family could stay together. After some thought and discussion, they agreed. It was decided that she, Sanford and Irvin would take the household goods and furniture on the train and Nell and Verna could follow in a week after they got the furniture moved in and the house set up. Sanford Clow and Nell McElfresh Clow� to Barton County, Missouri After meeting at a dance Sanford and Nell started dating, Sanford would ride the train to Waggoner from Farmersville, or rent a horse and buggy from the livery stable. As Grandma was telling the story, she laughed, and told a story that one night when they had left the buggy for awhile and some boys turned the horses loose, the train had already left for the evening so Sanford had to walk the six or eight miles home. On February 17, 1914 SANFORD JOSEPHUS CLOW and NELLIE BLY McELFRESH were married in Springfield, Illinois. NELL was born December 17, 1892. Nell was the daughter of THOMAS GARRISON McELFRESH he was born January 16, 1857 in Ohio, her mother was MARY ELIZABETH BANDY born January 2, 1879 in Montgomery County Illinois. Mary was the daughter of Louis Bandy and Margaret Blue Bandy. Nell�s brothers and sisters were Birdie McElfresh born Aug. 15, 1879, he died March 10, 1907. Dove Alice McElfresh born October 2, 1880. Madgedelen McElfresh, born Aug. 8, 1882. Ralph Roy McElfresh born April 13, 1884, he died Oct. 28, 1886. Mary Grace McElfresh born Aug. 7, 1886. Charles Walter McElfresh, born May 16, 1888 and Opal McElfresh born January 15, 1899. Children of Sanford and Nell Clow were Harold, Jay and Dolly. Children of Harold and Lucille Clow David, Connie Don Jay and Maxine Clow No Children Dolly and Wilson Duncan Elizabeth |
| Misc. Information for the Clow-Clough Family |
| 1 Joshua CLOW + Sarah WALKER 2 Rebecca Louisa CLOW b: 1796 d: ABT 1846 + George CARPENTER b: 1792 3 Catherine CARPENTER b: 23 NOV 1818 d: 3 SEP 1907 + Azor BUNYAN b: 1820 d: MAY 1874 4 Sara Loyza BUNYAN b: 9 JAN 1835 d: 11 SEP 1845 4 Lucinda R. BUNYAN b: 1841 + Henry KELLER 4 Albert Wesley BUNYAN b: 1844 d: 22 SEP 1925 + Caroline SCOTT 5 Charles Albert BUNYAN 6 Claire BUNYAN 4 Harriet Mary BUNYAN b: 4 SEP 1846 d: 17 MAR 1927 + William Wallace DAVEY b: 25 SEP 1842 d: 28 JAN 1926 5 Gilbert Judson DAVEY b: 30 AUG 1867 d: 18 JUN 1929 + Jennie Viola NIVER b: 7 MAY 1873 d: 15 NOV 1939 6 Marion Gilbert "Jack" DAVEY b: 21 MAR 1895 d: 26 NOV 1972 + Amy LONG b: 22 JUN 1901 d: 24 AUG 1942 6 Orville Leroy DAVEY b: 31 OCT 1899 d: 19 AUG 1967 + Charolette Ethel Irene WRIGHT b: 19 MAY 1909 d: 29 MAY 1965 6 Lois Edith DAVEY b: 13 OCT 1903 d: 20 APR 1965 + Miles RANDOLPH b: 15 AUG 1898 d: 6 SEP 1971 6 Lester Harrington DAVEY b: 16 AUG 1906 d: 12 AUG 1974 + Marian ROEST b: 24 MAR 1916 d: 23 FEB 1993 6 Howard Clayton DAVEY + Pearl RANTHOM 6 Hazel May DAVEY + Paddy JONAS b: 2 MAR 1904 d: 19 NOV 1978 5 Azor Burr DAVEY b: 15 AUG 1870 d: 29 MAR 1960 + Bertha LARSON b: 21 MAY 1877 d: 12 DEC 1932 6 Beatrice DAVEY b: 1898 d: 1898 6 Carl Wallace DAVEY b: 2 NOV 1899 d: AUG 1970 6 Bernice (Bernie) DAVEY + Earl RHODES 6 Gertrude "Gert" DAVEY + Walter NEEDHAM 6 Allen DAVEY + Lucille LAWLOR + Lois STRICKLAND + Anna Maria REED 6 John DAVEY b: 27 MAY 1908 d: 1978 + Bernice HOLMES 5 Bertha Marcella DAVEY b: 29 JUL 1872 d: 23 OCT 1933 + Hans Eric (Edward) HANSON b: 28 AUG 1855 d: 19 OCT 1933 6 Lillian Virsil HANSON + Andreus George EYESTONE 6 Nellie May HANSON b: 1 MAY 1896 d: 26 JAN 1958 + Thomas Henry PUSEY b: 15 JUN 1895 d: 20 DEC 1972 6 John (Oscar) Wallace HANSON 6 Harriet HANSON 6 Herschell HANSON + Agnes HAWN + Genevieve ROBERSON b: 2 JUN 1917 d: 21 MAY 1988 5 Bessie Madina DAVEY b: 29 JUL 1872 d: 6 APR 1907 + Joseph SHERMAN 6 Joseph SHERMAN 5 Oliver George DAVEY b: 18 NOV 1879 d: 14 JUL 1959 + Nellie CUMMINS 6 Mildred DAVEY b: 11 NOV 1904 + Arthur ANDERSON b: 18 JUL 1902 d: JUN 1990 6 Richard DAVEY 4 Charles Sylvester BUNYAN b: 11 SEP 1848 d: 6 DEC 1926 + Mary Ellen ROOT 4 George B. BUNYAN b: 1850 + Rebecca CLARK 4 John Francis BUNYAN b: 9 APR 1852/1853 d: 12 MAY 1917 + Menora WALLACE b: 9 JUN 1858 d: 11 MAR 1924 5 Bertha May BUNYAN b: 1 DEC 1877 d: 25 JAN 1964 5 Edna Grace BUNYAN b: 11 NOV 1879 d: 29 NOV 1942 5 Fred Oren BUNYAN b: 26 JUN 1882 d: 23 SEP 1954 5 Ben BUNYAN b: 6 JAN 1885 d: 4 JUN 1969 5 Clyde BUNYAN b: 18 JUN 1887 5 Jewell BUNYAN b: 28 JAN 1890 d: 27 MAR 1971 5 Walter E. BUNYAN b: 15 AUG 1892 d: 27 FEB 1950 5 Earl BUNYAN b: 29 DEC 1894 d: 7 SEP 1975 5 Irvan BUNYAN b: 17 APR 1897 d: 28 AUG 1969 5 Vernon BUNYAN 5 Traverse Lee BUNYAN b: 18 NOV 1902 d: 24 DEC 1980 4 Clarissa V. BUNYAN b: 1855 + Thomas STRICKLER 4 Eunice Emma BUNYAN b: 1856 d: 13 JUL 1911 + John Landrum BROWN 5 Simeon BROWN 5 Almeda BROWN b: AUG 1878 d: JAN 1978 + Samuel Edward ARNOLD 6 Melvin ARNOLD b: 1898 d: 1905 6 Lorn ARNOLD 6 Eunice ARNOLD 6 Melva Irene ARNOLD + Dean Franklin COFFMAN 6 Marvin ARNOLD 5 Harold BROWN 5 Harlan BROWN 5 Bert BROWN 5 Bart BROWN 5 Mildred BROWN 4 William Price BUNYAN b: 28 FEB 1860 + Laura J. REAMS + Leah FIMLEY + Ada KNOLLTON 3 Elizabeth CARPENTER + Ezekial BUNYAN b: 15 JUL 1828 d: 30 DEC 1904 4 Benjamin Franklin BUNYAN b: 1876 + Clara Ida BROWN OR WINSLOW 5 Everett E. BUNYAN b: 12 APR 1907 d: 23 DEC 1920 4 Grant Francis BUNYAN 5 Emmett BUNYAN 6 Living BUNYAN 3 Sophie CARPENTER + William S. BUNYAN b: 24 OCT 1824 d: 15 JAN 1916 |
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| Edward Clow family. Photograph taken c 1875 |
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| William F Clow Alma IL 1905 |
| This photo, above, was sent to us by William Thue of Hendersonville, North Carolina he would like help in identifying those in the photo contact him at 828-698-0804 |
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