The English Years of Thomas Henry Clark

THE BIRTH OF THOMAS

Like most family records, the letters, the dairies and the journals which have been handed down in the Clark Family concerning Thomas Henry Clark are disappointingly incomplete, and more especially concerning his youth.  There are none of the countless little details and anecdotes that would clarify our picture of him.  There is nothing about the kind of house he was born in or what his family did for a living or even the kind of town they lived in.

We know that he was the son of Thomas Clark and Sarah Plain, that he was born on 7 May 1805 at Acton, Herefordshire, England; but these facts constitute our entire knowledge of his youth.  So today, a century and a half later there falls to us the task of taking this informational skeleton and clothing it with the flesh of realism and of breathing into it again the life that once animated it.

To begin with, let us ask some questions.  What did it mean to be born in Acton, Herefordshire, England on 7 May 1805?  What were the people doing?  What were they talking about?  What was happening not only in England but elsewhere in the word?  How much of it had any effect on the Life of Thomas Henry Clark?

ENGLAND’S WAR WITH FRANCE

A search of the history of the time shows that the most important event surrounding his early life began a dozen years before he was born when Napoleon fell heir to the French Revolution.  The brilliant prosecution of the military struggle carried on by this ambitious tyrant threatened not only all of the Continent, but England as well.  British forces were sent to the continent to oppose him but they were badly beaten and were plunged into one disaster after another.  Added to England’s defeats on the continent were a series of bad harvests at home and the loss of Britain’s commercial traffic.  There was defeat unrest and much actual rant throughout the island.  To make worse, the government felt that the situation called for repressive measures and many of the traditional British liberties were suppressed.  The right of “the meetings” was limited, arbitrary imprisonment was practiced and harsh sentences were often handed out to innocent persons.   Never in the history of Englishmen was their morale so low or their situation so precarious as it was in 1798, which is actually the year when Thomas Henry Clark’s history begins.

According to the parish records in Bishop’s Frome, Herefordshire, it was on April 23, 1798, Thomas’s parents, Thomas Clark and Sarah Plain, were united in marriage.  Like all wartime marriages, it must have been an occasion tinged with a great deal of sadness.  We do not know that the young husband was in the armed forces, but surely he must have been subject to call at any time and the fact that England was losing virtually every engagement could not have contributed very much joy to their situation.  Within five years of that marriage, two children, John and Mary were born, and Napoleon determined that the time was ripe to invade England and end forever her opposition to his objections.  For that purpose he amassed an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men along the channel and prepared multitudes of flat homed boats which he planned to tow across the channel by warships.  He boasted that they could take them across within forty-eight hours and that once he was across, England would be his.

The British observed these preparations with great anxiety but that the greatest determination not to permit him to succeed.  Two hundred thousand men were called to the colors and these were matched by three hundred thousand volunteers from the fields and their homes.  Certainly among this number there must have been our man and perhaps his brothers and of course, neighbors.  For two years the men waited and watched for the sighting of the beacons which was to announce that the French had begun to cross the channel.  For two years the mothers and housewives guarded their little ones and prepared for the worst.  In the very height of this great anxiety, Sarah learned that in the spring she would have another baby, a baby which she was to name Thomas Henry.

Of course, Napoleon’s crossing never came off.  The tides and the weather never seemed to reach that point where he felt the attempt could be made and as news came to him of England’s increasing preparedness, he abandoned the plan.  He determined to get possession of the channel by concentration of a great fleet in the Straits of Dover.  England, by this time, was out of her doldrums and she sent Lord Nelson out to meet the French.  That result in the battle of Trafalgar which has often been called the greatest naval battle of modern times.  Before it was over, Napoleon’s last hopes of conquering the British lay on the bottom of the ocean.

Thomas Henry was less than six months old at the time and could have been little concerned with the exultation which filled all England, but as he grew up he could not have escaped being affected by it.  It was a high point in England’s history.  The patriotism and love of country engendered by Nelson’s historic “England expects that every man will do his duty” must have affected him.

As time passed, new events crowded in upon his world.  When he was seven years-old he must have heard his family talk of Napoleon’s march through Europe and of the final and disgraceful retreat of the Grand Army from the frozen wastes of Russia.  In that same year he would have heard the talk of England’s own war with her onetime colony, the United States of America.  Certainly he must have been chagrined to hear that the British Navy had suffered defeat after defeat the hands of the Americans.  Then, two years later when he was nine years-old, the greatest news of all came.  Napoleon had been defeated in Waterloo.  For the first time in twenty-three years and for the first time in his entire life, his country was at peace.

POST WAR CONDITIONS

Even though peace had come, the years following were not easy years.  True, England suddenly found herself, again the great commercial nation of the world.  The long years of war had resulted in the destruction of the fleets of other nations in Europe so that none but England could engage in oceanic commerce.  Besides, Englishmen had invented the steam engine and other machines and these permitted her to manufacture without the slow hand labor of the rest of the world.

For the manufacturer and the ship-owner and the government which taxed them both, those were prosperous years.  For the common people these were years of grinding poverty.  The old handcrafts of the people were no longer wanted and employment in the mills, the mines and the factories was often worse than slavery.  Trade unions were outlawed; wages were criminally low and hours as long as the human body could endure.  Moreover, the working people were crowded into miserable tenement districts where they lived in absolute wretchedness.

Perhaps the most unfair condition of all was for the children of England.  Boys and girls alike were sent into the mills and workshops at a very tender age and grew up without ever knowing anything of play and recreation and wholesome laughter.  Many were disposed of under the apprentice system, where they were doomed to years of virtual servitude, under a wicked master who had only taken them for a small payment.

There was one bright spot on the British horizon, however, a bright spot which was to mean more to Thomas Henry Clark than anything else that had ever happened in his country.  The long years of war with its huge losses and endless anxieties allowed by the suffering due to the industrialization had caused the people to turn to religion.  This was not a phenomenon which affected only certain individuals or certain levels of society.  The whole of England was affected by it.  The great work done by the Reformers began to bear fruit as never before.

THOMAS IS MARRIED

Such were the conditions prevailing in England in the years 1825 when we come to the next event in the life of Thomas Henry Clark.  He was twenty years old that year and he decided in get married.  He took as his bride a young lady by the name of Charlotte Gailey.

Unfortunately, the record is as silent regarding Charlotte as it is regarding most of Thomas’ life.  We know that she was the daughter of William Gailey and that she was two years older than Thomas but that is all.  We know nothing of her characteristics, nothing of her background.  We do not even know whether she was plain or pretty.

We do know that the young couple settled down at Bishop’s Frome where John, Elinor, Eliza, Hannah, Maria, Ann, Thomas and Sarah were born to them.  We do not know how they fared finally.  If we knew that line of work Thomas followed we might better picture conditions in their home but we do not.  Our only clue to the economic status of the Clark family is that as a young man Thomas was interested in athletics and was a “boxer great ability.”  This seemingly rules out complete poverty for the family, an assumption which is also borne out by the fact that Thomas had an education.  The poorest people had little or no opportunity for that.

HE TAKES UP THE MINISTRY

Sometime during this period, Thomas was affected by the upsurge in religious interest.  Seemingly he felt more strongly about it than most people for we have him taking up the work of the ministry.  Possibly he attempted theological seminary of some sort and graduated from it.  In any event, we know that for a number of years he traveled as a preacher for the Wesleyn Methodist Church.

After a time, we find Thomas becoming more and more dissatisfied with the Methodist religion.  He was becoming convinced that it did not follow the teaching of the Bible.  Many other people in his area began to feel the same way and eventually we find over six hundred of them breaking away from Methodism and organizing a church which they felt conformed more completely with the Scriptures.  This church then called the United Brethren.  Thomas Knighton presided over the church and Thomas Henry Clark was second in command.

CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN AMERICA

At the point it seems we should mention another religious event which had an effect upon Thomas far more profound than anything else that ever happened to him.  It began, not in England, but across the Atlantic Ocean in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on December 23, 1805, when Thomas was only six months old, there was born to a humble farmer and his wife a baby boy.  The father was Joseph Smith and the mother was Lacy Mack Short.  The boy was named Joseph after his father.

As a boy, Thomas probably never heard of Vermont and the boy Joseph; probably never heard of Herefordshire but they were destined to know each other and to this matter of religion in what both of them were to become totally interested.  How that meeting came about and the circumstances leading up to it is an important a story of Thomas.   The one fact in his life which raises him above the ordinary and makes him an ideal, a light for all those who are of his seed to follow.

WHY AMERICA IS IMPORTANT TO HIS STORY

The important question for us to consider here is why did Thomas have to look to America for the one big thing in his life?  Why with all the accomplishment and capabilities of the English, may it have been an American who answered that question.  We must look back to the darkest hour in the history of mankind, that hour which saw the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and was allowed by the persecution and death of the faithful disciples whom he had chosen.  Few people today realize that because of the death of these men whom God had sent to establish his church on the earth, that church was lost to mankind.  It was replaced, as even the most superficial study of history will reveal by a church which taught that pomp and splendor and power were the symbols of Christ’s church, not humility and service to the poor and downtrodden.

For over a thousand years that apostate church ruled unopposed on the earth, filling men’s minds with superstition and burdening their bodies with its demands for more and greater wealth.   Finally a few men with greater courage than any who had preceded them stood up to that great church and announced it as apostate and abominable.  Those men were known as the Reformers and their work brought about great changes for the better in both the religious and political life of Europe.  Unfortunately, the established church was determined to destroy the reformation at all costs.  This was followed by an age of the great turmoil.

When they discovered America.  It is also more than a coincidence that the men and women who had not been able to find peace either in the reformed or the unreformed churches and governments of Europe finally looked to America as their place for refuge.  In America’s uninhabited wilderness, the felt that at least they could find what they so sincerely sought.

The most important fact that we are concerned with is that American was thus founded and populated by the choice people of all Europe.  Some of them are wealthy, some were poor, some were Protestant, some are Catholic, and some were of other turns of mind, but they all had one thing in common.  They are desirous of finding something better as a way of life and they were willing to give up all they had known and to face the hardships of the unknown in order to achieve it.  There are no better people on earth than the people who will do that.        

In the light of all this, let us remember that the prophet Daniel foresaw that in the days when the great kingdom which would rule as iron would begin to be broken up, or in other words, in the days of the great Reformation, that the God of Heaven would set up his kingdom.  Is it not reasonable to assume then that if God were going to set up a kingdom that he would do it in a land away from all the turmoil of Europe and that he would want the choicest people of the whole world with which to do it?  Shall we not say, therefore, that God inspired those men and women to come to American in order that with them he might work out the establishment of his kingdom?

THE WORK OF JOSEPH SMITH  

It all began in the spring of 1820 when the boy, Joseph Smith, disturbed by a series of religious revival meetings, felt that he could not determine for himself which church he ought to join.  All seemed to teach that they were right and that others were wrong.  The boy became so confused he did not know what he should do.  It was while he was in this mental turmoil that he read in the Book of James the follows:

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”  James 1:5  

He says that never did a passage of scripture enter into the heart of man with more power that that entered into his.  At length he concluded that he must either remain in the darkness or do as James directed and ask of God.  This he determined to do and on the morning of a beautiful clear day he went into the woods near his home and knelt down to pray.  As he prayed he saw a light appear above his head and as it drew near to him he saw within it two personages who were brighter than the sun at noonday.  One of these personages spoke to him, calling him by name and said, pointing to the other, this is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!   

He immediately asked the Personage which of all the sects was right and which he should join.  To his surprise he was answered that he must join none of them, for they were all wrong.

This visitation was followed later by a visitation from John, The Baptist, who restored the Priesthood which he held and by the authority of which he baptized Jesus.  This priesthood had been lost to men during the corruption of the Dark Ages since God does not permit his Priesthood to be held by men who defy his laws.  Later Peter, James and John, who were placed at the head of Christ’s church before His Ascension, came and bestowed the higher Priesthood which they held, the authority to stand at the head of god’s church in the earth, the authority to bestow the gift to the Holy Ghost and all other gifts and powers which Christ said would follow them that believe.

On April 6, 1830, under commandment from God, the church and Kingdom of God, foreseen by Daniel and by all the prophets since the world began, was established.  This event took place in Fayette, Seneca County, New York and by divine revelation, was given the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

THE MESSAGE SENT TO ENGLAND    

On June 4, 1837, the event occurred which was to bring Thomas Henry Clark into that church.  In its seven brief years the Church had learned what it means to preach the Gospel of Peace in a world largely dominated by evil.  Persecution, apostasy and suffering had been its constant companions.

To make matter worse, the year of 1837 was marked by the worst financial panics in the history of America.  Many people, in all levels of society, found themselves wiped out financially.  A spirit of unbridled speculation had brought on the disaster and that spirit had affected a great many of the men and women who had joined the church.  When they found themselves destitute, many of them blamed the church and sought to use the prevailing circumstances to discredit the prophets, Joseph Smith and other church leaders.  It developed into such a period of apostasy, persecution and suffering that it became obvious to the leading brethren of the church that unless something was done, the work would be brought to an ignominious end.   

Thus it was that on the 4th day of June 1837, when conditions seemed the darkest, the Lord spoke to the Prophet and told him how the Church should be saved.  He commanded that Elders be sent to Great Britain to open the door of salvation to that nation.  In compliance with that revelation, Elders Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding, Isaac Russell, John Goodson and John Snyder were called to work.  They set sail from New York on the 23rd of June.  They arrived in Liverpool July 20 and proceeded at once to Preston, about 30 miles distant where Elder Fielding had a brother living.    

England, in the latter part of July of that year was in a state of great excitement.  On the 20th of June, the old King, William IV, had passed away.  He was not a capable King and was noted for little except his constant championship of slavery in the colonies of the empire.  When he died and was succeeded by the young Queen Victoria, the island was filled with jubilation.  This spirit was at its peak when the Elders arrived in England they found the streets of the English towns lined with banners and flags.  As they alighted from their coach in Preston, they looked above their heads to see a banner waving with these words inscribed upon it.  “Truth will prevail”.  All the brethren agreed that it was a good omen and they pursued their journey with increased enthusiasm.

They soon met Elder Fielding’s brother, Reverend James Fielding.  He was a pastor of a church in Preston and they attended services there the following Sunday which was July 3 during the meeting the Reverend invited the brethren to speak to his congregation and Brother Kimball and Brother Hyde gratefully accepted, thus preaching; the first sermons in the British Isles and subsequent meetings.  The Reverend invited the brethren to speak again, which invitation was also accepted and to his dismay the congregation began to speak to the American preachers about baptism.  He then closed his church to further preaching by them and began to oppose them in all their work.  It was too late, however, for they had already been an instrument in the establishment of the gospel in England and when the brethren preached in other towns, the people thanked them.  People were baptized by the brothers of the Church and had organized and firmly established their work.  

THOMAS MOVES TO AMERICA   

The next event of great importance which we must consider occurred a year later when another group of these missionaries consisting of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Theodore Tulley arrived in Liverpool.  A few days after these three arrived, they met in special council with Joseph Fielding ad Willard Richards who were already in Britain and decided upon their various fruits of labor.

During this council meeting, it was decided that Elder Wilford Woodruff should go to Staffordshire and commence to preach.  As soon as he arrived there he began to speak and continued to do so for all six weeks.  Ever night he would hold public meetings and two or three times on the Sabbath.  He was a powerful speaker and the people flocked to hear him.  One reason was that he had a message for the people – something the ministers of the day seemed not to have.  The people were universally impressed with him and many baptisms resulted.

In the midst of his sermon on the Sabbath Day, March 1, which also happened to be his birthday, the Spirit of the Lord whispered to him that his ministry there was finished and that he was to journey to the south of England.  Much to the surprise and consternation of his listeners he told them that that would be the last time they would hear him.  Two days later he left the area and journeyed to Herefordshire stopping at the home of a wealthy farmer by the name of John Benbow.

He informed Mr. Benbow that he had come from America and that he had been sent to preach the Gospel to him and to all the inhabitants of the land.  Mr. Benbow was pleased by this straight-forward young American and told him that he had come to the right place; that in that area were more than six hundred people who had broken away from the Wesleyn Methodist church and called themselves the “United Brethren.”  He said that they had 45 preachers and a number of meeting houses and that they were licensed according to the laws of England and that they were in search of the truth.

Mr. Benbow had a large hall in his mansion which he made available to Elder Woodruff and invitations were sent out to all the United Brethren to come and hear a message from America.  A great many of the people came and as the truths of the Gospel were unfolded to them, they brought others until the entire congregation was eagerly seeking to learn from Elder Woodruff about the restoration of the Kingdom of God.  In the space of a short time, every member of the United Brethren’s church was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the exception of one lone individual.  Who that individual was, we do not know.

What we do know is that Thomas Henry Clark heard the message; his wife heard it, his son, John, heard it, Elinor, Eliza, Hannah, and all the rest heard it.  They rejoiced in it because the Spirit of God bore testimony to them that it was true and they were baptized.  Soon afterward Thomas was ordained an Elder in the Church and sent forth to proclaim the restored gospel to his fellow Englishmen.  This he continue to do until April 6, 1841, when he, at the head of a group of Saints, left his native England and sailed to join the main body of the Church in America.

The Clark family left for the United States on a sail boat called Catherine.  It took two months to cross the ocean and they landed at New Orleans.  From New Orleans, they went to Florence, Nebraska, where they stayed for two or three weeks and then went on to Nauvoo, Illinois.  They arrived at Nauvoo 8 July 1841.

It is not known how long the Clark family lived in Nauvoo but both Thomas Sr. and Thomas Jr. worked on the Nauvoo Mansion.  Thomas Jr. was not very old at that time so he could not do too much work but he did the small chores.  He and a man named Benny Barrus herded cows for the Saints and they were paid in foodstuffs but not so very much; they remember that the family only had one thing to eat a day.

The Clark family lived in an old black smith shop which had no doors or windows.  They were witnesses to the mob violence at Nauvoo and were themselves forced to pack up and leave within 16 hours or the penalty was to be 30 lashes from each member of the mob, but a friend to the family let them hide in his corn patch all night and the next day helped them to cross the Mississippi River and they went on to Winter Quarters.  Later in the spring of the year 1852, they left Winter Quarters for the long journey across the plains.  The trip across the plains proved to be a long hard journey and there were many in the company who died.  The Clark family lost one and she was buried on the plains.  They arrived in Salt Lake City on 10 October 1852.  They lived in Salt Lake for a short time and then came to Grantsville.  When they arrived at Grantsville, there were only three other families living there.  They were the McBrides, Hudsons, and Severes.  They lived in what was called the old fort and they had a hard time, because of the cold and so little to do.

Thomas H. Clark Sr. was called to preside over the ward and Thomas Jr. was called to go to Echo Canyon to help fight the U.S. Army which they believed was coming to destroy the Saints.  This Army was called Johnson’s Army.  However, Thomas did not go because his brother John, who was older, thought he should go so Thomas was given a very hard job.  He was to ride all day and find the beef cattle so that he would know where they would be at night so when the word came he could go and get as many as was wanted.

Thomas H. Clark Jr. crossed the plains three times.  He went back to bring some of the Saints who had come to this country.  Among those he brought across the plains was Thomas Williams who he brought on to Grantsville, 17 September 1861.

In the year of the move, probably 1867, Thomas Jr. was left with two other men to protect the property from the Indians and if the soldiers forced themselves in, they were to set fire to everything.

For years Thomas Jr. took cattle for the people of Grantsville and herded them in the canyons.  He would ride all summer and look after them and in the fall he would bring them back. In later years, he did butchering of beef cattle and pigs for the people.  He has killed as many at 15 pigs in a day all dressed for use.

Thomas H. Clark Jr. was married to Margaret Quirk, daughter of Thomas Quirk and Mary Ann Cowley, in the year 1855.  He was the father of 12 children, two who are living today (1950); namely, Eddie Clark and Clara C Johanson.  His wife Margaret died 5 January 1889, at the age of 54.  His children’s names are Maggie, Mary, Lottie, Thomas, Emily, Alice, Ella, Eddie, Ada, Eva Vilate, and Clara.

Thomas H. Clark Jr. was custodian of the Meeting House in Grantsville under the Bishopric of August K. Anderson.  He held this position for about three years.  He was custodian when he died 6 February 1906.

BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS HENRY CLARK
TAKEN FROM THE GRANTSVILLE BULLETIN

Thomas Henry Clark, the subject of this sketch, was the son of Thomas Clark.  He was born on 7 Mary 1805, at Acton, Herefordshire, England.  As a young man he was an athlete and boxer of “great means ability.”  As he grew older, he joined a religious sect known as the Weslyan Methodist and became a minister of that church.  About 1825, he married Charlotte Gailey, daughter of William Gailey, who was born 27 January 1803.  The young couple made their home at Bishop Frome, Herefordshire, England, where two sons and five daughters were born to them.

Mr. Clark traveled through his neighborhood preaching the Methodist religion until 1840, when he, with many others, becoming dissatisfied with the Methodists, organized and called themselves, “The United Brethren.”  There were six hundred members and forty-five preachers.

In January 1840, Wilford Woodruff arrived in England as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and on March 1, received an intuition or presentment to go to the southern part of England where he would find many souls awaiting his message.  Therefore, on 4 March, he found himself at Hill Farm in Herefordshire and on, 5 March, he began to hold meetings.  At the end of thirty days, he had baptized the entire six hundred including the forty-five preachers.  Mr. Clark and his wife were among the number.  From that time forth, Mr. Clark became a traveling Elder for the Latter-day Saint Church.

On 6 April 1841, the family left their native land and immigrated to America, crossing the ocean on the ship Catherine.  After landing, they went directly to the City of Nauvoo, where they arrived, 8 July 1841.  Here Clark and his son, John W. found employment working on the building known as the Nauvoo mansion.  Their home was a blacksmith shop without windows or doors.  For their pay, they took produce but in such small quantities that the family were unable to have more than one kind of food each day.  To illustrate:  one day they would have corn meal, another day squash, and another meat, etc.  They passed through all the trying times and incidents of those days.  Two daughters died here, and two others were born.

At the time of the exodus from Nauvoo, a posse of men came to the Clark home and gave them sixteen hours to leave the state, under penalty of the Father being given thirty lashes by each man with a hickory stock.  The family was forced to go taking with them the few possessions they could collect in so short a time.  A gentile friend allowed them to stay in his corn field for the night and helped them across the Mississippi River, where they joined the Saints in winter quarters.

In the spring of 1846, Mr. Clark was sent as a missionary to Missouri, where he remained until 1847.  He then filled a mission to England remaining in the fall of 1849.  On Sunday, September 2, the ship James Fennel, with two hundred thirty-six Saints under the direction of Thomas H. Clark, sailed from Liverpool, England, for America.   They landed at New Orleans, October 22.  Leaving New Orleans, he joined his family at Florence, Nebraska, where they remained in the spring of 1852.  Then he with his family began their journey across the plains, Mr. Clark being a Captain of the Company.  The cholera broke out among the company of travelers and a large number of them died.  Elder Clark was stricken with the dreaded disease, but being a man of great faith, he was restored to health.  On 10 October 1852, they arrived in Salt Lake City.  From there he came directly to Grantsville, which continued to be the family home.

The following year, he was ordained as the first presiding Bishop of the Grantsville Ward, with Timothy Parkinson and James B. Walker as his counselors and served the people many years in that capacity.  He followed the occupations of farming and raising stock, and always worked for the uplift and advancement of the community.  He entered and patened the land where now stands the high school, the district school and the opera house.  He was a very devout man in his church duties.  He passed through many hardships and incidents pertaining to pioneer life, having at times little to subsist on.

The family consisted of nine children as follows:  John W., Eleanor, Eliza, Hannah, Ann, Thomas H., Sarah, May Ann, and Charlotte.  His posterity is numerous, numbering about five hundred (1923) who are scatted throughout the states of Utah, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and the Dominion of Canada.  The subject of this sketch died at Grantsville, 14 October 1873, his wife having preceded him, 18 April 1869.

HISTORY OF THOMAS HENRY CLARK

Thomas Henry Clark was born in Acton, Herefordshire, England, 7 May 1805-6, the son of Thomas Clark and Sarah Plain.  He spent his early life in Acton.

In 1825 he married Charlotte Gailey.  She, too, was born in Herefordshire where they continued to live.  Two sons and five daughters were born to them there.
The family belonged to the Methodist Church but in 1840, Thomas Henry, who was a minister, along with several hundred other Methodists became dissatisfied with that religion and they organized a group called The United Brethren.

In January 1840, Elder Wilford Woodruff, who was a Latter-day Saint missionary in England, had a presentiment that he should go to the southern part of England as there were many souls there waiting to hear his message.  In a short time, he baptized over 600 people into the “restored” church, the Clark family being among this group.  From that time on, Thomas Henry became a traveling Elder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints.

April 6, 1841, the Clark family left their native land, crossing the ocean on the ship Caroline with Thomas Clark as the company leader.  After the long ocean voyage and the travel from New Orleans up the Mississippi River, they reached Nauvoo, Illinois, 8 July 1844.  Their journey had taken three long months.

Their first home in Nauvoo was an old blacksmith shop without windows or a door.  Thomas Henry and his son, John William, worked on the Mansion House.  As payment for their labors, they had to take such produce as they could obtain and in small quantities.  The family was able to have but one kind of food each day.  During these days they endured many hardships.  However, the old blacksmith shop was made as warm and comfortable as possible.

There were both sorrows and joys for the struggling family while they were living in Nauvoo.  Two daughters, Anna and Sarah, died and were buried south of the Nauvoo Temple.  Two daughters were born in that place; Mary Ann on 28 March 1843, and Charlotte, 25 August 1845.

Following the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, the family left Nauvoo with the main group of those driven from their homes.  The Clarks were given 16 hours notice to leave under threat of lashing Thomas with a whip, thirty lashes by each member of the mob who was present.

The family took with them what few possessions they could on so short a notice.  They were very poorly prepared for the long journey ahead.  A non-Mormon friend allowed them to remain in his cornfield for the night, then helped them across the Mississippi River where they joined other Saints and finally arrived at Winter Quarters.

While there, Thomas and his two sons went to work in the hayfields to provide for the family.  Thomas was asked to fill a mission to the branches of the church in Iowa and Missouri; so John William, his son, only nineteen years-old, had to take full responsibility for providing for the family.  Thomas completed his mission, but was called on July 17, 1848, by Brigham Young to go to England to preach the gospel.  He labored in England and baptized a large group of Saints.  Upon his release, he was assigned to be President of the emigrating group.

Church Chronology by Andrew Jenson records:  “Sun. 2, 1849, the ship James Pennell sailed from Liverpool, England, with 236 Saints, under the direction of Thomas H. Clark, bound for the greater Salt Lake valley.  It arrived at New Orleans, October 22nd.”

Thomas reported to Orson Pratt that the company had a safe arrival in New Orleans, October 22, 1849.  As soon as possible, he was reunited with his family where they set about preparing for the journey to the Rocky Mountains.  Thomas and his son operated a ferry at Ferryville, Iowa.  They sold the ferry operation on 11 July 1852 to get funds and begin the long trip westward.

Thomas appointed captain of the ten wagons which made up his group of the wagon train.  The journey was a difficult one.  Cholera struck many of the travelers and a number died.  The train arrived in Salt Lake, October 10, 1852.

The Clarks went to Grantsville almost immediately where they made their home, being among the first families to settle there.  They joined together with others to build log houses in fort form, close together and facing each other because Indian raids were common and many cattle had been stolen.

On 27 March 1853, Thomas was sustained as President of the Grantsville Branch of the Church.  There was much despair in the years ahead.  There were unfavorable growing seasons and hordes of grasshoppers.  As President of the branch, Thomas was not only concerned with his own family’s needs, but of all the others as well.

In July 1857, news of the coming of Johnston’s Army reached the Saints and in the spring of 1858, the settlers obeyed the orders of the Church authorities to again vacate their homes and property and move south. A few men were left to take care of things.  They were under orders to burn every building and destroy all crops should Johnston’s Army persist in entering the valley.

The move south was a difficult one.  They lacked sufficient clothing and other necessities.  Some of the group, including the Clarks, settled between Santaquin and Payson in crude tents, wagon boxes, and sometimes on bare earth.  When the threat of Johnston’s Army was over, the family returned to Grantsville.

Thomas Henry always worked for the betterment of the community and taught his large family to do the same.  His occupation was farming and stock raising.  He made peace with the Indians and was noted for his kindness to them.

He died 14 October 1873 and was buried in the Grantsville Cemetery.  His wife, Charlotte, preceded him in death, 18 April 1869, and was also buried at Grantsville.