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My 3x gt grandfather John Clark left his wife and 9 children sometime after 1801. The children were all baptised at St John the Baptist Church Croydon. I am trying to find out where and when John died. I thought I had found him in the 1841 census but when his son William re married in 1840 the marriage certificate described his father as 'deceased'. Should I take this statement at face value?

You can never take these things as true !

If John left his wife and children when they were very young they may well have been told he was dead....

His family might have 'believed' he was dead or just wanted to disown him, even if he were alive.

There could be many explanations but unless you can find a death and prove it is the correct John Clark you can never be sure.

Dea x

when was john clark born and where? was his wife called martha

PS I do not know where John was born, maybe Essex. Think it was around 1760.
C

this could be john

John Clark
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
birth: 1764
christening: 1764 SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, CROYDON, SURREY, ENGLAND
residence: 1764 Croydon, Surrey, England
father: George Clark
mother: Elizabeth

there is this death

Deaths Mar 1838 (>99%)
Clark John Croydon 4 45