Of the ancient Anglo-Norman family De Clisbe, we learn from the researches of John Fries, chronicler and antiquarian of the Scottish Border, that this house was originally of the Chateau De Clisbe, Val de Loire, Normandy.
In the suite of William the Conqueror, three knights of the family — Richard, Robert and John De Clisbe — passed over to England, where, for distinguished valor in the battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066), they were granted crown lands upon the Scottish border, south of Berwick Demesne.
These they still held in the time of Henry V., when at the battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415) one of the house, Lee Ira De Clisbe, commanding the Northumberland Archers, two thousand in number, having charged on and routed the left wing of the French army, was, at the close of the battle, highly commended by King Henry in the presence of the assembled knights of the whole army. And the king presented him with a shield of gold bearing the family's ancient armorial quarters, and a new motto: "Sans Peur" — in Norman French, signifying "without fear."
In the time of Charles I. (1625), the family by lopping the prefix "De" from their name thenceforth was anglicized to Clisbe. This is also borne in the deeds and charters of the Manor of Yeardly, and Manor of Nechells Green granted them by Henry V. On these estates they lived in opulence and high respect, up to the time of the revolution in 1642, when Robert Clisbe was so severely wounded in a cavalry charge upon a body of His Majesty's horse (probably at the battle of Edgehill, October 23, 1642) that he died on the field. On account of his participation in this action, two of his sons — and heirs — Ira and John Clisbe, were cited before a military commission in the court of Bromwick, Warwickshire, to take an oath of submission and allegiance to the king's officers in the Midland counties. This the two brothers defiantly refused to do, averring, that rather than submit to the arbitrary dictum of a self-elected, unconstitutional court, they would leave the country for foreign lands forever. Being hence heavily mulcted in money and estates, they immediately took their departure from the old Manor of Nechells Green, Warwickshire, and thence from Bristol, England, accompanied by Henry Clinton, Knight of Warwick, and several eminent yeoman families, neighbors, set sail for the Colonial Province of York (New York). This branch left at home at the old Manor, an uncle, named Ira Clisbe, noted for having brought over to England, while serving the Commonwealth as consul at Tangiers, Morocco, six thoroughbred Arabian stud horses, which, crossing the fine hunting stock of the time, produced some of the fastest racers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and from which blood has descended the races Hamiltons and Lexingtons of Kentucky. As the grand jury of Warwickshire, subsequent to the emigration of the brothers, Ira and John, ordered a restitution of the fines which had been imposed upon them for "contumacy" in the court of Bromwick, severely censuring that court for its arbitrary sentence and execution, the Clizbes were granted lands by a royal commission upon what was called the York Grant (1664) in the states of New York and Connecticut. This is described in an old manuscript found by Anthony Barclay, of Barclay street, New York, British consul-general, among a number of old British government papers entitled "Records of the Blood Stock-Colonial Families." There is also another old manuscript history of the family which proved that more recently a branch settled in the state of Michigan. The paper was handed to Colonel Clizbe, of the ordnance department, Britain, many years ago by a distinguished gentleman, General Cass, of Detroit, Michigan, and these two documents, connecting the Clizbe family in America with that of that ancient name in England, were deposited in the archives of Aston Hall, county of Warwick, in the possession of James Watt, Lord of Manor of Aston.
(I) James, son of either Ira or John Clizbe (Clisbe), was born about 1670, died before 1712. He was of Newark, New Jersey, in 1694. "At Newark Town meeting March 5, 1693-4, James Clizbe and nine others were admitted as Plantee" (Newark Town Records). He was of the family heretofore described and came from Scotland or the Border country of England, in company with Robert Young and Samuel Nesbit to Newark about 1685. He married Elizabeth Burrell and had a son James and a daughter Mary, and probably other children.
(II) James (2), son of James (1) and Elizabeth (Burrell) Clizbe, was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1696. He married and, reared a family, among them a son Samuel, see forward.
(III) Samuel, son of James (2) Clizbe, was born May 8, 1721, it is thought in Newark, New Jersey, died in September, 1774. He married Jane Baldwin, born in 1722, died May 12, 1809. Children:
- James (3), married Lucy Crane; died October 24, 1787.
- Samuel, married Elizabeth ————; died August 20, 1816, "aged 61 yr 9 m 15 d." (from tombstone).
- Jonathan.
- Rhoda.
- Hannah.
- Mary, born about 1749, died 1795; married Deacon Isaac Ailing.
- Rachel, born about 1752, died 1777; married Jonathan Crane.
- Joseph, see forward.
- Eunice, born 1760, died 1764.
Up to and including this generation the family had been farmers of Essex county, New Jersey. They next appear in the Mohawk Valley.
(IV) Joseph, son of Samuel and Jane (Baldwin) Clizbe, was born in Newark, New Jersey, June 27, 1756, died near Amsterdam, New York (at a suburb called Rockton, now ward eight of that city), January 27, 1840. He served in the revolution as private of the Essex County Regiment New Jersey Militia, as did others of the family. Many years after his marriage he left Newark, and in 1799, with his family, sailed up the Hudson to Albany, from whence by land they proceeded to Amsterdam, where they settled on Chuctenunda creek at Rockton, where some years previous his brother-in-law had established a mill. Here he lived the remainder of his days. With the aid of one or two others of the same faith he organized the second United Presbyterian Church of Amsterdam and almost the first in the county. They erected a church and his descendants have usually adhered to the tenets of the Presbyterian creed. He was a Whig politically. He married, in Newark, New Jersey, Hannah Roberts, born December 23, 1756, died June 15, 1829. Children, all born in New Jersey:
- Jonathan, September 16, 1779; married Hannah Haas (or Hass), born June 29, 1789. They went into the northwest territory and were pioneer settlers of Michigan, where they died.
- Delilah, October 5, 1781; married Volkert Vedder, an early settler of Montgomery county.
- Cornelia, February 20, 1784; married Barney Stiles, of Amsterdam, where they lived and died.
- Darius, see forward.
- Ira, October 30, 1788, died November 14, 1840; married Eliza M. Camp. He was a practicing attorney in western New York.
- Clarissa, October 9, 1793; married Rev. Marcus Ford, who for over forty years was a Presbyterian minister of the Gospel in Broome county, New York.
- Ellis, April 2, 1797, died December 13, 1878; married (first) Ruth Gillette, born August 7, 1797, died January 12, 1859; children:
- Ellen, born November 13, 1824, died September 13, 1855;
- Celia, born November 19, 1825, died December 24, 1889; married Charles Bartlett; children: Ellen and Nellie, unmarried, of Poughkeepsie, New York;
- Robert N., born June 13, 1832, died April 29, 1861;
- Rev. Ira Jay, born June 16, 1836, professor of Theology and Bible History at Alma College, Alma, Michigan;
- Eliza M., twin of Rev. Ira J., died December 22, 1875. He married (second) Eunice Hayward, born September 14, 1833, died January 8, 1909; children;
- Emily, born December 23, 1861, died April 12, 1862;
- Charles S., born May 30, 1863, a machinist and musician of local note; married, June 30, 1896, Minnie Neff, born July 18, 1866; children:
- Helen N., born June 18, 1904, and
- Charles S., born May 8, 1906;
- Ellis H., born June 3, 1868, died May 12, 1909, unmarried; for some years a prominent house furnisher under contract, and a well known genealogical researcher;
- Avery K., born June 4, 1870, teller in the City National Bank of Amsterdam; married Mazie G. Almy, born October 2, 1882.
(V) Darius, fourth child of Joseph and Hannah (Roberts) Clizbe, was born in New Jersey, November 8, 1786, died November 20, 1869, at his residence on the farm near Amsterdam. He was a successful farmer; his estate was situated in Amsterdam, and is now the property of his son Samuel J. He served in the American army during the war of 1812-14 and afterward received a pension for his services. He married Mary Jones, born January 17, 1790, died June 7, 1854. Children:
- Marcus W., born May 15, 1814, died March 3, 1896; married, December 10, 1844, Emily Van Dyke, born January 11, 1822, died March 26, 1897.
- Hannah M., born August 9, 1817, died in April, 1893; married, February 6, 1845, James F. Birch, born February 17, 1819, died November 6, 1905.
- Cyrus, born March 14, 1819, died April 26, 1836.
- William, born June 2, 1821, died December 14, 1838.
- Louise J., born August 6, 1823, died December 24, 1880; married, in October, 1846, Alexander Scott, born in Scotland, October, 1815, died September 4, 1885.
- Charlotte, born July 13, 1827, died December 7, 1838.
- Samuel J., see forward.
(VI) Samuel J., youngest son of Darius and Mary (Jones) Clizbe, was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery county, New York, February 1, 1831. He succeeded to the ownership of the farm on which he has since lived and cultivated. Like his ancestors he is a Presbyterian in religion. Politically he is a Republican, which has been the family politics since the organization of that party; previously they were Whigs and Abolitionists. He married, in Jersey City, New Jersey, December 18, 1860, Mary Antoinette Chamberlin, born in Glenville, Schenectady county, New York, January 27, 1837, died near Amsterdam, September 4, 1889. She was a woman of fine education and for many years an instructor in the schools. She was a daughter of Lewis and Rachel (Van Dyke) Chamberlin, both born in New York state of Dutch ancestry, and granddaughter of John and Lucretia (Sutphen) Chamberlin, of Dutchess county, New York. There were nine children in the Chamberlin family, two of whom are yet living — Mrs. Rebecca Ely, of Schenectady, New York, and Mrs. Lucretia Bloomingdale, of Green Bush, Rensselaer county, New York. Children of Samuel J. and Mary A. Clizbe:
- Ida, born June 12, 1863; married William Hugo, born November 17, 1860; children:
- Neva, born July 22, 1887, wife of Bert Sheley, born March 8, 1881, and mother of a daughter, Thursa Sheley; they reside in Brockton.
- Thursa;
- Ollie, died.
- Clara, born March 2, 1870; was educated in public and private schools of Amsterdam; she is unmarried and since the death of her mother is mistress of the home.
- Electa, born January 16, 1873, died August 23, 1908, unmarried.
- George H., born November 27, 1879, unmarried, and his father's assistant in the cultivation of the home farm.