How do you solve a problem like William Clarke? For years my 4x Great Grandfather was a bit of an enigma because it seemed impossible to find out where he came from. He died in 1825 in Priors Dean, Hampshire - before the official census returns began - so there is no written information of where he was born. His marriage in 1798 to Elizabeth Pink in Froxfield simply states that he was not of that parish. So I have had quite a few head-banging years where William is concerned. So recently I went on a Mission: Impossible to try and shed some light on him.

The first rule of Genealogy is to always start with the obvious information. This can be easier said than done, as some information can be staring you in the face but you don't see the connection so, therefore, ignore its potential. This I did with Daniel Clark. He married Dinah Pink in Froxfield in 1815. But these are the only two Clarke marriages to take place in Froxfield at that time - William and Daniel. Daniel is easier to trace and can be found in the 1851-71 census'. He was born in Mapledurwell, near Basingstoke. So the question that came to mind was: could William and Daniel be brothers? So I went to Winchester to the Hampshire Records Office to search for Daniel in the parish records. I found Daniel's baptism and his parents were called William and Hannah. They had an older son called William baptised in Mapledurwell - but could this be my William?

So a period of umming went by. Then I saw another problem in the tree that I hadn't solved. (Don't worry folks, this does come together in the end.) In the 1881 census, John Clark, William Clark's grandson, had a 'son' living with him called Henry. What stood out about Henry was that he was born in Petersfield, whereas John's other children were born in Priors Dean or Froxfield. John's daughter, Sarah, was also born the sames year as Henry. Also Henry is only located with this family in 1881. So I did a search for Henry in the 1871 census and found him living with his parents Samuel and Elizabeth Clark. Samuel was born in East Meon which rang a bell. I remembered during researching Daniel and Dinah that I saw them living in East Meon in the census'. So I looked up Samuel's baptism, and bingo - his parents were Daniel and Dinah! So what about Henry being John's 'son'? The census enumerator could have got it wrong - not unusual. Or maybe John took him in as a son.

For me, all the information confirms that Henry and John were blood relatives. This then confirms all previous conviction and information that William and Daniel were brothers and came from Mapledurwell. With this, I then was able to trace the Clark family tree to John Clark and Mary Page who married 1748 in Sherborne St John.