Abraham Clark

Self taught in law, a surveyor who enjoyed math,

Clark's love for freedom directed his political path.

  "Our fates are in the hands of An Almighty God, to whom I can with pleasure confide my own; he can save us, or destroy us; his Councils are fixed and cannot be disappointed, and all his designs will be Accomplished."

        About 1678, Richard Clark, shipwright of Southold, Long Island, moved to Elizabethtown, N.J.  His grandson Thomas had one child only who became the father of our Declaration signer Abraham Clark.  Abraham was brought up as a farmer without much formal education; but finding himself passionately interested in the whys and wherefores of legal matters, he educated himself in the law. 

      "He gained a reputation as the 'poor man's counselor' for his willingness to dispense free legal advice or accept produce or merchandise in lieu of a fee." Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1975), page 47. 

     "A few days after he took his seat for the first time, as a member of congress, he was called upon to vote for, or against, the proclamation of independence. ..... He knew full well that fortune and individual safety were at stake. But what were these in comparison with the honor and liberty of his country. He voted, therefore, for the declaration of independence, and affixed his name to that sacred instrument with a firm determination to meet the consequences of the noble, but dangerous action, with a fortitude and resolution becoming a free born citizen of America."  Rev. Charles A. Goodrich Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. New York: William Reed & Co., 1856. Pages 230-232.   

        After the war, he represented New Jersey in the national councils.  As a member of the state legislature and at the request of several Quaker legislators, he introduced the state's first anti-slavery legislation in 1786 as aided by John Hart.  It served as a first step towards the complete abolition of slavery in New Jersey.    

       Abraham Clark was a Presbyterian as identified by the Presbyterian Historical Society and the Presbyterian Church, USA.  Ian Dorion, "Table of the Religious Affiliations of American Founders," 1997.  He was buried in the church-yard, at Rahway, New Jersey, a Presbyterian Cemetery.  Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1975), page 48.  Inscription which designates the grave:

Firm and decided as a patriot,

Zealous and faithful as a friend to the public,

He loved his country,

And adhered to her cause

In the darkest hours of her struggles

Against oppression

Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 1-2, Brearly-Cushing, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, 1929 (Vol. 3 of the original edition).

Sanderson's Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, published by Thomas Cowperthwaite Co., 1846, pp. 331-335.

 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 Matthew 5:10

         Following the Battle of Long Island in August, 1776, and the fall of New York City, the British captured thousands of prisoners, too many for the land prisons in New York.  They turned their aging vessels into wretched floating prison ships, leaving them to accumulate more filth, vermin, and infectious diseases including smallpox.  The Jersey was the most feared by would-be prisoners.  Its portholes were closed.  There were some small holes, 20 inches square, crossed by two bars of iron.  The air was damp, scarce, and foul, making the prisoners gasp continually.  Men jammed into the Jersey died on a regular basis, so much so that when jailers opened hatches in the morning, they shouted to the prisoners below, "Rebels, turn out your dead!"  In the prison ships, more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War.

        In 1777, Gen. George Washington wrote to Gen. Lord William Howe. "You may call us rebels, and say that we deserve no better treatment," ... "But, remember, my Lord, that supposing us rebels, we still have feelings as keen and sensible as loyalists, and will, if forced to it, most assuredly retaliate upon those upon whom we look as the unjust invaders of our rights, liberties, and properties."