William Clark & Ipswich Salt Trade

[ajayr]

Hello

I am looking into a company or partnership trading in salt in or around the port of Ipswich at the end of the 18th century. The company seems to be 'Clarke Cornwell and Shave' which had offices in the parish of Saint Clement. Other names associated are John Stannard, Jonathon Hines, Edward Sawyer, Samuel Barker, Charles Chaplin, William Last, Robert Cole and Bernard Barwick although these may have been working independently. William Clarke of 'Clarke Cornwell and Shave' died 1791 but I assume the company continued to trade after that.

Can anyone throw any light on the Clarke family, I believe William Clarke had a niece Harriett who married Nathaniel Cornwell described later as a surgeon. I had assumed that William Clarke had lived in Ipswich but someone has been kind enough to look up deaths from that period and not found the burial in any of the parishes, so he may well have lived outside of Ipswich.

Any thoughts would be very welcome.

Regards

Tony Randall
www.ajayr.org

[Keziah2]

Hello Tony

You don't say how you have arrived at 1791 as being the year in which William Clarke died?

There are 2 entries on the Suffolk Burial Index (Suffolk FHS) that may be of interest:

William CLARKE of Stoke buried 9 Apr 1790 Layham St Andrew.  Date is obviously not spot on but Stoke is likely to be Stoke, Ipswich, which is right next to the Orwell so near the port.  Unfortunately no indication of age, marital status etc.  Layham is just west of Ipswich.
There are a couple of burials that suggest a couple William & Susan with children c1742 & there is a Susan (also of Stoke) buried 13 Jun 1781 Layham St Andrew.

William CLARKE buried 3 Jan 1791 age 60 (pauper) Capel St Mary, St Mary.  The status pauper doesn't bode well for it being your man tho.  Capel just south of Ipswich.

Keziah

[ajayr]

Hi Keziah

William Clark was married to Elizabeth Knipe 16 Nov 1790 St Anne Richmond, Liverpool. Elizabeth re-married in August of that year to John Cobbold in Ipswich. Probate for William Clarke is dated 6 April 1791 in Ipswich.

Obituary of considerable Persons; with Biographical Anecdotes p 281: At Ipswich, in his 61st year, Wm. Clarke esq. many years a portman, and several times a chief magistrate, of that borough (Gentlemans Magazine March 1791)

Monthly Obituary for Feb and Mar 1791: William Clarke, esq, at Ipswich, many years Portman, and several times Chief Magistrate of that Borough (The European Magazine, and London Review, Volume 19)

As Elizabeth Knipe came originally from London, close to Lower Thames Street (Billingsgate) and William Clarke was in the salt trade (for the fishing industry) it was possible that he had a London connection.

Regards

Tony Randall

[Keziah2]

Well that clearly eliminates William of Stoke from proceedings and there is nothing else remotely possible on the SBI but the Index does not cover every parish in the County.

The 1790 marriage entry for William & Elizabeth in Liverpool clearly states William CLARKE of the Parish of Ipswich so if not born there he must have been at least resident in Ipswich at some point. 

Good luck
K

[diddymiller]

Tony - might have been helpful to stick to your original post to avoid duplication re the burial index.

thought this might be interesting;

English Wich towns
 
Wich and wych are names associated (but not exclusively) with brine springs or wells in England. Originally derived from the Latin vicus, meaning place, by the 11th century use of the 'wich' suffix in placenames was associated with places with a specialised function including that of salt production.[6] Several English places carry the suffix and are historically related to salt, including the four Cheshire 'wiches' of Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich and Leftwich (a small village south of Northwich), and Droitwich in Worcestershire. Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich and Droitwich are known as the Domesday Wiches due to their mention in the Domesday Book, "an indication of the significance of the salt-working towns in the economy of the region, and indeed of the country".[

Diddy