Re: Chipman's Challenge ...

To summarize and present together the main points as I understand them
in support of the contention that Jeremiah/Jeremy Clarke of RI, d.
1651/2, was the son of William and Mary (Weston) Clerke:

a)  “Jeremy” is a derivative of “Jerome,” and he mostly used “Jeremy,”
not “Jeremiah.”

b)  He was a contemporary of the “Jerum Clerk” in the East Farleigh,
Kent parish register and that “Jerum Clerk” is otherwise unaccounted
for.

c)  He was of gentry origin.

d)  His wife was of gentry origin, and a portrait of her father, Lewis
Latham, was handed down in the family.

e)  He named a son “Weston.”

f)  His descendents continued to use the name “Weston.”

g)  There weren’t enough other Clarke/Clerke and Weston families in
early 17th century Britain for another solution to his ancestry to be
credible.

h)  William and Mary (Weston) Clerke had a daughter named Mary who had
a son named “Jeremy.”

You could add to the circumstantial evidence:

i) The American immigrant had children named James and Mary, which
were the names of the parents of the child born at East Farleigh.

The following links may refer to Jeremy Clarke's brother, Rev. Essex
Clarke. Perhaps he left a will mentioning his brother Jeremy?

http://books.google.com/books?id=lhwsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA348&dq=ruth+%22essex+clark%22&lr=

http://books.google.com/books?id=z0YQAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA45&dq=%22essex+clarke%22+prebendary&lr=

http://books.google.com/books?id=BAUVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA119&dq=lancashire+%22essex+clark%22&lr=
.

Relevant Pages