John Clarkson was born in Enderly, England, where he died in 1878. He was by trade a blacksmith. He married Susanna Butler; children: Rebecca, Betsey, Annie, Mary, Marie, Jane, Ellen, Butler, see forward. With the emigration to the United States of Butler Clarkson the family began their American existence, and with his marriage to a daughter of the Lansings an alliance was made with one of the oldest Dutch families in New York.
(II) Butler, son of John and Susanna (Butler) Clarkson, was born in Enderly, near Horn Castle, England, July 30, 1830, died in Troy, New York, December 21, 1903. He was well educated, and for seven years worked as apprentice and clerk in an apothecary shop. About 1850 he came to the United States. He settled in Troy, and after his marriage engaged in the meat business in Troy in company with his brother-in-law. He was considered a good business man and one of the best in his line. He was in business for a great many years and was successful in a financial way. He was a member of the Episcopal church, and in politics a Republican. He married, in Lansingburg, New York, September 25, 1867, Alida Lansing, born March 22, 1843, a direct descendant of Abraham Jacob Lansing, founder of Lansingburg in 1771. Children:
- Nellie, born August 5, 1868; died at the age of sixteen.
- John, June 30, 1870; he continues the same line of business as his father in Lansingburg, to which he has added a grocery store; married Alma Abuel; children: an infant, deceased, Florence and Ruth.
- Lizzie M., November 22, 1872.
- An infant, early deceased.
- William, 1876; married Marie Mortensen; children: Earl, Howard, Lansing, Elmer, Raymond, Alida.
- Lillian, December 21, 1878; married Harvey Sheppard; child Ethel. Mrs. Butler survives her husband and resides in Lansingburg, New York, near her surviving children. She is a daughter of Abraham Jacob Lansing (2). Her descent from Abraham Jacob Lansing, founder of Lansingburg, is shown as follows: also from the founder of the family in America, Gerritt Frederick Lansing. Her name, Alida, was the name of the mother of Helena Pruyn, wife of Jacob H. Lansing, of the third generation in America.
(The Lansing Line)
The Clarkson-Lansing families, one of Dutch descent, Lansing, dates to an early period in the history of the Mohawk Valley, the other, of English ancestry and recent residence, are connected by the marriage of Butler Clarkson and Alida Lansing. The Lansings (also spelled Lansingh and Lansinck) were founded in America by Gerritt Frederick Lansing, son of Frederick, of the town of Hassel, Province of Overyssell, who was born in Holland and came to New Amsterdam with three sons and three daughters, all born before leaving Hassel. The family of Lansing has been settled in Albany, New York, from its earliest period, and it is probable that Gerritt Frederick Lansing is the progenitor of all the Lansings in the United States, certainly of all the New York families. He settled in the ancient town of Rensaelaerwyck [i.e., Rensselaerwyck] about 1650, and died about 1679. His sons were Gerritt (2), Johannes Gerritt and Hendrick Gerritsen Lansing.
(II) Hendrick Gerritsen, son of Gerritt Frederick Lansing, was born in Hassel (probably), died in Albany, New York, July 11, 1759. His wife was Lysbeth and they had two sons and three daughters. The line descends through the eldest son, Jacob H.
(III) Jacob H., son of Hendrick Gerritsen and Lysbeth Lansing, was born in Albany, New York, died and was buried near his house, October 17, 1756. He married, September 27, 1701, Helena, daughter of Frans Janse and Alida Pruyn, who bore him ten children. The line follows through Abraham Jacob, the ninth child and sixth son, ancestor of the Troy and Lansingburg families.
(IV) Abraham Jacob, son of Jacob H. and Helena (Pruyn) Lansing, and founder of Lansingburg, was baptized April 21, 1720, died October 9, 1791. His wife, Catherine Leverse, died the previous day, aged sixty-nine. In June, 1763, Robert Wendell sold to Abraham Jacob Lansing for three hundred pounds a tract of land near the present city of Troy, New York. As the county began to fill up with settlers, Lansing, believing that his property would soon form the site of a thriving village, in 1771 had a portion of it surveyed and laid out into lots, with streets and alleys, which he called Lansingburg. This is now the thriving city of Lansingburg, Rensselaer county, New York. When the inhabitants of Lansingburg became aware that relations between the mother country and her American colonies were becoming strained almost to the point of rupture, they showed their patriotism by subscribing to a document dated June 15, 1775, in which they "Resolved: Never to become slaves" "and do associate ourselves under all the ties of Religion, honor and love of country," etc. The first name on the list of signers is Abraham Jacob Lansingh. The children of Abraham Jacob and Catharine (Leverse) Lansing were: Levinius, first, second, third; Cornelius; see forward.
(V) Cornelius, son of Abraham Jacob and Catharine (Leverse) Lansing, was born July 6, 1752. He was interested in the plans and enterprises of his father, and was prominent in public and business affairs. He was one of the founders of Lansingburg Academy, and a supervisor of Rensselaer county at the time the first court house was built. His private business was largely operating as well as owning a large tannery, which was an important business in the new town. He married Helen Vander Heyden. Children:
- Derrick C.
- Abraham C.
- Jacob C.
- Catherine, married Gardner Tracy.
- Alida, married David Russell.
- Hester, married Alexander Seymour.
- Helen, married Elisha Alvord.
- Elizabeth, married David Allen.
(VI) Jacob Cornelius, son of Cornelius and Helen (Vander Heyden) Lansing, was born in Lansingburg, New York. He married Eliza Rutherford, of Lansingburg; fifteen children, eight of whom grew to mature years as follows: John R., James, Cornelius, William, Abraham Jacob, Elizabeth, Charles and Derrick.
(VII) Abraham Jacob (2), son of Cornelius and Eliza (Rutherford) Lansing, was born at Lansingburg, New York, October 18, 1821, died there May 10, 1887. He was educated in the schools of that town, and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to a carpenter with whom he learned that trade. He continued in that business all his life, being an expert mechanic. He became a contracting builder and erected many of the public buildings and private residences in the town and surrounding county. He was a member of the Baptist church, and held fraternal fellowship with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Sarah Clark, born 1822, at Thetford, Vermont, died in Lansingburg, January 2, 1888. They were the parents of Alicia, widow of Butler Clarkson.