Part I 



Biographical Outline 



of Alvan Clark and His Sons 



Alvan Clark was a characteristic New England Yankee. 1 To all his 

 pursuits he brought common sense, perseverance, and a desire for per- 

 fection. From childhood he was interested in the mechanical workings 

 of things. His visual perception, which was unusually keen, enabled him 

 to align rifle sights precisely, paint striking likenesses of people, and 

 detect minute errors in the figure of a lens. Alvan Clark's personal 

 habits were plain. Always God-fearing, he was never a church mem- 

 ber. He voted Republican but was disinterested in politics. And although 

 friendly to those who sought him out, his efforts to seek society were 

 reserved. 2 



Clark was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, in 1804, the fifth of ten 

 children of Abram and Mary Bassett Clark. Little is known of Abram 

 Clark other than that he was descended from a Mayflower passenger, 

 Thomas Clark; that he owned and operated a rocky farm, a sawmill, 

 and a gristmill in Ashfield; and that he left Alvan a patrimony of fifty 

 dollars. Alvan received his formal education, such as it was, at a small 

 grammar school located on the family farm. He was described as "a 

 dreamy, absent-minded boy, not showing any particular talent." 3 At 



1 Autobiography of Alvan Clark published, among other places, in Sidereal Mes- 

 senger, vol. 8 (1889), pp. 109-117. Unless otherwise noted, most biographical data 

 are from this. 



2 It was frequently noted that Cambridge residents seldom knew the Clarks, or 

 even where the Clark workshop was located. See Charles Palmer, "Two Hours 

 with Alvan Clark, Sr.," Popular Astronomy, vol. 35 (1927), pp. 143-145. 



3 Frederick G. Howes, History of the Town of Ashfield (Ashfield, Mass., n.d.). p. 327. 



