Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2020 20:29:42 -0500 From: Tracey Marcelo BEGIN I found a record for my ancestor Mary Robbins Clark today. I thought I'd share it with you guys because I think you could appreciate it. I thought it was fascinating. (I hope you'll humor me. :-) ) For context, Mary was born around 1770 and was the daughter of Daniel Robbins and Sarah Blatchley. I think this Daniel lived in Oxford twp. Sussex Co. in the 1773 tax list. She married John Clark around 1792, probably in NJ, and she, John, her widowed mother, and five of her siblings moved to the Niagara area of Ontario. I identified at least 8 of Mary and John Clark's children (7 sons and 1 daughter) who'd been born by the time John died of illness in during the War of 1812. Six of them were "under 16 in 1816" when she received a widows and orphans pension. The record I found today was a year after John died in December 1813. She applied for reimbursement of an incident of loss she sustained after the Battle at Buffalo. The record is at: https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-119.01-e.php?q2=33&q3=2816&sqn=814&tt=1352&PHPSESSID=nf5gb8qjdi09u45qfhi78sl726 But here's a transcription of it: (My Note - transcription of Records->Misc->30.205.jpg - MEL) ==================================== Claim of the Widow of John Clark of the township of Pelham, viz: (Loss claimed): 2 horses, slay [sleigh] & harness together with some wearing apparel taken from her by force by British Indians after their return from burning Buffalo- a part of which she received by paying money to the Indians but still lost money and sundry articles to the amount of L10 currency. Capt. Charles Askin can prove the above. Allowed L10. Mrs. Clark is a widow with 11 children in indigent circumstances - her husband died 4 Dec 1812 - nine days after being relieved from Militia duty at Chippawa. T. Clark ============================================== So now I know she had 11 children at the time John died!! Talk about hardship!!  I really wonder how she did it. I'm assuming her brothers and sisters and maybe even nieces and nephews helped her. In 1813, her oldest son would have just turned 18 (so obviously he had to have helped) and her youngest child was 1 year. She might have had some daughters before the eldest son. I now have 3 other children to try to identify! END