On the southern shore of China Lake in the small cemetery behind the South China Community Church there is an aging white gravestone which commemorates the life of a young mother who died over 150 years ago—in 1843. Its simple inscription doesn't seem to be unique—it reads:
Marabah D. Clark
wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
Age 43 yrs
Genealogical records of the Clark and Burrill families show that Marabah Dexter Burrill was the daughter of Samuel Burrill and Esther Dexter Burrill. Her father, Samuel, was the great-grandson of John and Mary Humphrey Burrill of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and John Burrill was the great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden of Mayflower fame.
Marabah's husband, Thomas, a member of the pioneer Clark family of China, was the son of Ephraim and Olive Braley Clark, born in China on June 23, 1800. He became a member of the Second Baptist Church in South China where he served as deacon.
Marabah and Thomas had at least four children by the time of her death in 1843. One can imagine the Clark family's despair and anguish. Perhaps there was an epidemic because their daughter, also named Marabah, died later that year, on September 13. The younger Marabah was the third daughter to die. (Bethany, at age six months, died just before Christmas in 1832, and Elvira died on August 19, 1836). A child who did survive was a son, Joseph, born in 1823. Life was tough in the 1800s.
Travel now to the community of Center Vassalboro. Behind the small Baptist Church in that village is another old cemetery which dates back into the early 19th century. Located approximately one-third of the way into the yard is the grave of Deacon Thomas Clark. The stone is a tall pillar whose shaft supports a carved vase at the top. On the right, or south, side of the stone is engraved:
Meribah D.
Wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
At 43 Years
Except for the variation in the spelling of the name "Marabah," this is the same woman who, we believe, is buried in the cemetery in South China! Also engraved on the stone is the information about the deaths of the three Clark daughters. Here lies, if not the body of Marabah, the mystery of Marabah. Why, apparently, two graves? Or at least, why two inscribed stones?
Marabah D. Clark
wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
Age 43 yrs
Genealogical records of the Clark and Burrill families show that Marabah Dexter Burrill was the daughter of Samuel Burrill and Esther Dexter Burrill. Her father, Samuel, was the great-grandson of John and Mary Humphrey Burrill of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and John Burrill was the great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden of Mayflower fame.
Marabah's husband, Thomas, a member of the pioneer Clark family of China, was the son of Ephraim and Olive Braley Clark, born in China on June 23, 1800. He became a member of the Second Baptist Church in South China where he served as deacon.
Marabah and Thomas had at least four children by the time of her death in 1843. One can imagine the Clark family's despair and anguish. Perhaps there was an epidemic because their daughter, also named Marabah, died later that year, on September 13. The younger Marabah was the third daughter to die. (Bethany, at age six months, died just before Christmas in 1832, and Elvira died on August 19, 1836). A child who did survive was a son, Joseph, born in 1823. Life was tough in the 1800s.
Travel now to the community of Center Vassalboro. Behind the small Baptist Church in that village is another old cemetery which dates back into the early 19th century. Located approximately one-third of the way into the yard is the grave of Deacon Thomas Clark. The stone is a tall pillar whose shaft supports a carved vase at the top. On the right, or south, side of the stone is engraved:
Meribah D.
Wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
At 43 Years
Except for the variation in the spelling of the name "Marabah," this is the same woman who, we believe, is buried in the cemetery in South China! Also engraved on the stone is the information about the deaths of the three Clark daughters. Here lies, if not the body of Marabah, the mystery of Marabah. Why, apparently, two graves? Or at least, why two inscribed stones?
On the southern shore of China Lake in the small cemetery behind the South China Community Church there is an aging white gravestone which commemorates the life of a young mother who died over 150 years ago—in 1843. Its simple inscription doesn't seem to be unique—it reads:
Marabah D. Clark
wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
Age 43 yrs
Genealogical records of the Clark and Burrill families show that Marabah Dexter Burrill was the daughter of Samuel Burrill and Esther Dexter Burrill. Her father, Samuel, was the great-grandson of John and Mary Humphrey Burrill of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and John Burrill was the great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden of Mayflower fame.
Marabah's husband, Thomas, a member of the pioneer Clark family of China, was the son of Ephraim and Olive Braley Clark, born in China on June 23, 1800. He became a member of the Second Baptist Church in South China where he served as deacon.
Marabah and Thomas had at least four children by the time of her death in 1843. One can imagine the Clark family's despair and anguish. Perhaps there was an epidemic because their daughter, also named Marabah, died later that year, on September 13. The younger Marabah was the third daughter to die. (Bethany, at age six months, died just before Christmas in 1832, and Elvira died on August 19, 1836). A child who did survive was a son, Joseph, born in 1823. Life was tough in the 1800s.
Travel now to the community of Center Vassalboro. Behind the small Baptist Church in that village is another old cemetery which dates back into the early 19th century. Located approximately one-third of the way into the yard is the grave of Deacon Thomas Clark. The stone is a tall pillar whose shaft supports a carved vase at the top. On the right, or south, side of the stone is engraved:
Meribah D.
Wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
At 43 Years
Except for the variation in the spelling of the name "Marabah," this is the same woman who, we believe, is buried in the cemetery in South China! Also engraved on the stone is the information about the deaths of the three Clark daughters. Here lies, if not the body of Marabah, the mystery of Marabah. Why, apparently, two graves? Or at least, why two inscribed stones?
Marabah D. Clark
wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
Age 43 yrs
Genealogical records of the Clark and Burrill families show that Marabah Dexter Burrill was the daughter of Samuel Burrill and Esther Dexter Burrill. Her father, Samuel, was the great-grandson of John and Mary Humphrey Burrill of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and John Burrill was the great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden of Mayflower fame.
Marabah's husband, Thomas, a member of the pioneer Clark family of China, was the son of Ephraim and Olive Braley Clark, born in China on June 23, 1800. He became a member of the Second Baptist Church in South China where he served as deacon.
Marabah and Thomas had at least four children by the time of her death in 1843. One can imagine the Clark family's despair and anguish. Perhaps there was an epidemic because their daughter, also named Marabah, died later that year, on September 13. The younger Marabah was the third daughter to die. (Bethany, at age six months, died just before Christmas in 1832, and Elvira died on August 19, 1836). A child who did survive was a son, Joseph, born in 1823. Life was tough in the 1800s.
Travel now to the community of Center Vassalboro. Behind the small Baptist Church in that village is another old cemetery which dates back into the early 19th century. Located approximately one-third of the way into the yard is the grave of Deacon Thomas Clark. The stone is a tall pillar whose shaft supports a carved vase at the top. On the right, or south, side of the stone is engraved:
Meribah D.
Wife of Dea. Thomas Clark
Died May 30, 1843
At 43 Years
Except for the variation in the spelling of the name "Marabah," this is the same woman who, we believe, is buried in the cemetery in South China! Also engraved on the stone is the information about the deaths of the three Clark daughters. Here lies, if not the body of Marabah, the mystery of Marabah. Why, apparently, two graves? Or at least, why two inscribed stones?
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