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Simpson line

Clement Simpson

Standard profile
Profile evidence
Proof-based profile
Last reviewed
4 June 2026

Clement Simpson was a Delaware-born member of the Mispillion Hundred Simpson family who moved to Ohio, where records place him in the Pickaway County community before his widow and children continued west into Indiana.

Life Story

Clement Simpson was born in Kent County, Delaware, in the late 1770s. Family tradition preserved in Pete Simpson-derived material gives his birth as 28 April 1778, while J. Thomas Scharf’s nineteenth-century history gives 1779.1, 2 Clement was the son of John Simpson and Mary Hilford. Mary was a daughter of Matthew Hilford; a 1772 Kent County deed by Matthew Hilford’s heirs names John Simpson and Mary, his wife, among the Hilford heirs and places the family within the Mispillion Hundred Simpson-Hilford network.3

Clement grew up in the Delaware Simpson community centred in Mispillion Hundred, Kent County. Early nineteenth-century tax lists place him among John, Thomas, Robert, Reuben, and other Simpsons who formed part of the local family cluster.4, 5 They reinforce his place within the local Simpson network described by later family and county-history accounts.

On 12 June 1804, Clement Simpson and Hilla D. Stayton entered a Delaware marriage bond for Clement’s marriage to Comfort Dutton.6 Comfort was a daughter of Abel Dutton and Priscilla Cade Dutton. On 22 July 1802, Comfort petitioned the Sussex County Orphans’ Court to choose Joshua Morris as guardian, stating that she was a minor daughter of Abel Dutton, aged 15 years and 11 months.7 The same day, Minta Dutton made a parallel petition, identifying herself as a minor daughter of Abel Dutton, aged about 14 years and 4 months.8 Their maternal grandmother, Priscilla Cade, later named “Comfort Simpson” and “Minty Dutton” together in her will, confirming Comfort’s marriage into the Simpson family and placing both women in the Cade-Dutton family group.9

Clement later married Aminta, also called Minty, Dutton. The exact marriage date and circumstances have not been found. The marriage occurred after 13 July 1812, when Minty was still recorded under the Dutton surname in a guardian account naming Clement Simpson as her “natural guardian.”10 Clement was not Minty’s father. His role in that account is best explained by his connection to the Dutton family through his marriage to Minty’s sister Comfort, and perhaps by Minty’s presence in the Simpson household before her later marriage to Clement. Family tradition places Clement’s marriage to Minty in 1813, and Aminta’s later gravestone in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, identifies her as the wife of Clement Simpson.1, 11

Clement was enumerated in Mispillion Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, in 1810. His household included one adult male aged 26-44, one adult female aged 26-44, one younger adult female aged 16-25, and four children or young people under 16.12 Scharf later stated that Clement and his brother John emigrated to Ohio in 1818.2 Clement has not yet been located as a head of household in the 1820 federal census, and no Delaware or Ohio land record has been found for him.

Ohio records place Clement in the Pickaway County area by the mid-1820s. In 1824, he received a license from the Pickaway County Court of Common Pleas to vend merchandise in Circleville.13 Tax records from Harrison Township in the 1820s show Clement with taxable personal property, including animals and other movable property, but not land.14, 15 These records suggest that Clement was economically active in the local community, but they do not show him as a substantial landowner.

In 1830, Clement was living in Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio. His household included a man aged 50-59, a woman aged 30-39, four younger males, and three younger females.16 In 1834, Clement Simpson of Harrison Township signed a memorial to Congress protesting President Andrew Jackson’s actions toward the Second Bank of the United States; the petitioners described themselves as Whigs and connected national policy to falling prices for their crops and goods.17 The last direct record found for Clement is an 1836 Pickaway County Common Pleas entry listing him as a witness in William H. Richardson v. James W. Brown and Zachariah Pritchett.18

Family tradition gives Clement’s death as June 1838 in Ohio.1 No direct death, probate, or burial record has been found. By 1840, Aminta and members of the Simpson family appear to have relocated to Wayne Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.19

Research Notes

Birth Date

Clement’s exact birth date is not proven by a contemporary record. Pete Simpson-derived family material gives 28 April 1778, while Scharf gives only the year 1779.1, 2 The 1830 census places Clement in the 50-59 age bracket, consistent with a birth between 1770 and 1780.16 The specific date should be treated as family tradition unless a Bible record or other original source is found.

Wives

Comfort Dutton’s marriage to Clement is directly supported by the 1804 Delaware marriage bond.6 Aminta or Minty Dutton’s marriage to Clement is supported by family tradition and by her gravestone identifying her as the wife of Clement Simpson.1, 11 The exact marriage record for Clement and Aminta has not been found.

The 1812 guardian account predates Clement’s marriage to Minty because the record still identifies her as Minty Dutton. It does not prove whether Comfort Dutton Simpson was living or deceased at that date. Clement’s role as Minty’s “natural guardian” should be used as a pre-marriage anchor for Minty, not as proof of Comfort’s death.10

Comfort and Minty were sisters, daughters of Abel Dutton and Priscilla Cade Dutton. Their 1802 Sussex County Orphans’ Court petitions directly identify each as a minor daughter of Abel Dutton.7, 8 The will of Priscilla Cade and the Abel Dutton probate/orphans’ court material reinforce the family group.9, 20, 21

Children

No birth records have been found for Clement’s children. The children attributed to Clement and Minty are supported unevenly.

Jane Simpson, Priscilla Simpson, John Dutton Simpson, and Abel or Able Simpson are currently known only from online family-tree traditions. No contemporary records have yet been located for them.

Thomas Simpson, Emery Dutton Simpson, Comfort Simpson, Mary Simpson, Nelson Simpson, and Amelia Simpson are supported by a broader indirect case involving the 1830 Clement Simpson household in Pickaway County, Ohio; the 1840 Simpson household in Wayne Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana; later Indiana and Iowa records; family clustering; and descendant DNA evidence.16, 19, 22 Nelson Simpson’s parentage belongs primarily in the separate proof argument for Nelson, but much of that reasoning also supports the larger sibling group.

1820 Census and Land

Clement has not been located in the 1820 federal census. Searches in federal and local records have not produced a land patent or deed for him. The Ohio tax records found to date show personal property rather than land.14, 15 He may have been living in another household during the 1820 enumeration, may have been missed, or may have lived in a place where the surviving census record does not identify him as head of household.

Y-DNA Evidence

Y-DNA testing of direct male-line descendants from two separate sons or branches of William Simpson supports the documented paternal line back to William Simpson of Kent County, Delaware. That evidence does not by itself prove every intermediate relationship, but it supports the broader placement of Clement’s descendants within the Delaware Simpson line.22

Death

Family tradition gives Clement’s death as June 1838. No direct death, probate, or burial record has been found.1 His last direct record is the 1836 Pickaway County Common Pleas witness entry, and his widow, Aminta, appears to have relocated with family members to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, by 1840.18, 19

Evidence Timeline

  1. Birth in Kent County tradition

    Family tradition gives 28 Apr. 1778; Scharf gives 1779, so the exact date remains unproven.

  2. Mispillion Hundred family context

    Hilford, tax-list, and county-history evidence place Clement in the Delaware Simpson-Hilford network.

  3. Marriage bond to Comfort Dutton

    The Delaware marriage bond directly supports Clement's marriage bond for Comfort Dutton.

  4. Minty Dutton context

    A 1812 guardian account names Clement as Minty's natural guardian; family tradition places his later marriage to Minty in 1813.

  5. Mispillion Hundred household

    The federal census places Clement as a Delaware household head before the Ohio migration.

  6. Circleville vendor license

    Pickaway County Common Pleas licensed Clement and Jacob W. Guthrie to vend merchandise in Circleville.

  7. Harrison Township tax records

    Tax records show Clement with taxable personal property but not land.

  8. Harrison Township household

    The 1830 census supports household reconstruction for Clement, Aminta, and their probable children.

  9. Community and court records

    Clement signed a Harrison Township Whig memorial in 1834 and appeared in a Pickaway County witness list in 1836.

  10. Family-tradition death date

    No direct death, probate, or burial record has been found.

  11. Indiana relocation context

    A Wayne Township, Tippecanoe County Simpson household supports the post-Clement relocation of Aminta and family members.

Family Group Sheet

Parents
  • John Simpson - father; Mispillion Hundred landholder
  • Mary Hilford
Spouse / family connection
Comfort Dutton - first wife; married by bond in 1804; Aminta "Minty" Dutton - later wife; marriage inferred from later evidence and family tradition
Children and direct-line notes
  • Jane Simpson - family-tree tradition only
  • Priscilla Simpson - family-tree tradition only
  • John Dutton Simpson - family-tree tradition only
  • Abel or Able Simpson - family-tree tradition only
  • Thomas Simpson - indirectly supported
  • Emery Dutton Simpson - indirectly supported
  • Comfort Simpson - indirectly supported
  • Mary Simpson - indirectly supported
  • Nelson Simpson - direct paternal line; proof-based relationship
  • Amelia Simpson - indirectly supported

Places in Clement Simpson's Life

These markers are curated historical place references. Most are historical-hundred, city-centre, township, or cemetery-context markers rather than exact household, farm, property, business, or burial locations.

Documentary Base

Sources

family tradition

[1] Pete Simpson family-tree material: Clement Simpson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Pete Simpson family-tree material, formerly hosted at Genealogy.com, "Clement Simpson" page; original source not identified.

Access: Previously available online; used here as family tradition rather than as an independent record.

Supports:
  • Provides family-tradition dates for Clement Simpson's birth, marriage to Minty Dutton, and death.
  • Useful as a clue source, but not treated as independent proof.

county history

[2] J. Thomas Scharf, History of Delaware, biographical sketch of Clement Cecil Simpson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: J. Thomas Scharf, History of Delaware, 1609-1888, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1888), 1174, biographical sketch of Clement Cecil Simpson; Internet Archive.

Access: Internet Archive.

Supports:
  • States that Clement and his brother John emigrated to Ohio in 1818.
  • Provides a secondary account connecting Clement to the Delaware Simpson family.
  • Gives Mary's surname as Milford, but other Delaware records support Hilford.

deed

[3] 1772 Kent County deed naming Matthew Hilford's heirs

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, deed records, vol. S1-T1, deed of Matthew Hilford's heirs, 1772; Kent County Recorder of Deeds; FamilySearch, "Kent, Delaware, United States records," image 637 of 671, Image Group Number 008577928.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Names John Simpson and Mary, his wife, among Matthew Hilford's heirs.
  • Supports Mary Hilford's identity as wife of John Simpson and daughter of Matthew Hilford.
  • Does not name Clement Simpson and predates his birth.

tax record

[4] 1803 Mispillion Hundred tax list

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, tax lists, Mispillion Hundred, 1803; Delaware Levy Court Commissioners; FamilySearch, "Kent, Delaware, United States records," image 628 of 654, Image Group Number 008465913.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Places Clement Simpson within the Mispillion Hundred Simpson cluster.

tax record

[5] 1817 Kent County tax list

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, tax lists, 1817; Delaware Levy Court Commissioners; FamilySearch, "Kent, Delaware, United States records," image 270 of 1041, Image Group Number 008664127.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Supports the continued presence of the Simpson family cluster in Kent County before the Ohio migration.

marriage record

[6] 1804 marriage bond for Clement Simpson and Comfort Dutton

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Delaware Public Archives, Marriage Records, 1744-1912, RG 1325.003.004, vol. 16, p. 278, marriage bond of Clement Simpson and Hilla D. Stayton for Clement Simpson and Comfort Dutton, 12 June 1804; database and image, Ancestry, "Delaware, U.S., Marriage Records, 1744-1912," image 31091_177945-00083.

Access: Ancestry database and image.

Supports:
  • Directly supports Clement Simpson's marriage bond for marriage to Comfort Dutton.

orphans court

[7] 1802 guardian petition of Comfort Dutton

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Orphans' Court records, petition of Comfort Dutton to choose guardian, 22 July 1802; FamilySearch, "Georgetown, Sussex, Delaware, United States records," image 548 of 618, Image Group Number 007834358.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Identifies Comfort Dutton as a minor daughter of Abel Dutton.
  • States that Comfort was fifteen years and eleven months old on 22 July 1802.
  • Records Comfort's choice of Joshua Morris as guardian.
  • Identifies Minta Dutton as another minor daughter of Abel Dutton on the same page.
  • Reports that Comfort's estate was valued at about seventy dollars.

orphans court

[8] 1802 guardian petition of Minta Dutton

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Orphans' Court records, petition of Minta Dutton to choose guardian, 22 July 1802; FamilySearch, "Georgetown, Sussex, Delaware, United States records," image 548 of 618, Image Group Number 007834358.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Identifies Minta Dutton as a minor daughter of Abel Dutton.
  • States that Minta was aged fourteen years and four months on 22 July 1802.
  • Records Minta's choice of Joshua Morris as guardian.
  • The same-day petitions identify Comfort Dutton as another minor daughter of Abel Dutton.

probate

[9] Will of Priscilla Cade

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Register of Wills, will of Priscilla Cade, dated 21 March 1805, proved 17 October 1811; FamilySearch, "Georgetown, Sussex, Delaware, United States records," image 431 of 462, Image Group Number 007652948.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Names Comfort Simpson and Minty Dutton together.
  • Shows that Comfort had married into the Simpson family by 21 March 1805.
  • Shows that Minta still used the Dutton surname in 1805.
  • Supports the Cade-Dutton relationship and the sisterly association of Comfort and Minta when correlated with Richardson Cade's will.

orphans court

[10] 1812 guardian account for Minty Dutton

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Orphans' Court, guardian account of Clement Simpson, natural guardian of Minty Dutton, minor daughter of Abel Dutton, returned 13 July 1812; FamilySearch, "Sussex, Delaware, United States records," image 545 of 715, Image Group Number 007652953.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Identifies Minty Dutton as a minor daughter of Abel Dutton.
  • Places Clement Simpson in a formal guardian or fiduciary relationship to Minty by 13 July 1812.
  • Shows that Minty still used the Dutton surname on that date.
  • Establishes that any marriage between Clement and Minty occurred after 13 July 1812.

cemetery

[11] Aminta Simpson gravestone, Pretty Prairie Cemetery

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Find a Grave, memorial 51752301, Aminta Simpson, gravestone photograph, Pretty Prairie Cemetery, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

Access: Find a Grave memorial and gravestone photograph.

Supports:
  • Identifies Aminta Simpson as wife of Clement Simpson.
  • Reports her death on 24 December 1844.
  • Places her burial in Pretty Prairie Cemetery, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
  • Provides the surname form Aminta Simpson.

census

[12] 1810 census of Clement Simpson, Mispillion Hundred

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: 1810 U.S. census, Mispillion Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, Clement Simpson household; National Archives microfilm publication M252; FamilySearch, "Kent, Delaware, United States records," image 37 of 262, Image Group Number 005157121.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Places Clement Simpson as head of household in Mispillion Hundred in 1810.
  • Supports household reconstruction before the Ohio migration.

court record

[13] 1824 Pickaway County license to vend merchandise

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Pickaway County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas minutes, vol. 8, June Term 1824, license to Clement Simpson and Jacob W. Guthry or Guthrie to vend merchandise in Circleville; FamilySearch, "Pickaway, Ohio, United States records," image 455 of 789, Image Group Number 008704584.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Places Clement Simpson in Pickaway County, Ohio, by 1824.
  • Associates him with small-scale commerce in Circleville.

tax record

[14] 1826 Harrison Township tax record for Clement Simpson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Pickaway County, Ohio, tax record, Harrison Township, 1826, Clement Simpson; FamilySearch, "Pickaway, Ohio, United States records," image 92 of 173, Image Group Number 004849199.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Places Clement Simpson in Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio.
  • Shows taxable personal property but not land.

tax record

[15] 1829 Harrison Township tax record for Clement Simpson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Pickaway County, Ohio, tax records, Harrison Township, 1829, Clement Simpson; FamilySearch, "Pickaway, Ohio, United States records," image 111 of 195, Image Group Number 004849200.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Continues Clement Simpson in Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio.
  • Shows taxable personal property but not land.

census

[16] 1830 census of Clement Simpson, Harrison Township

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: 1830 U.S. census, Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, Clement Simpson household; National Archives microfilm publication M19; FamilySearch, "Pickaway, Ohio, United States records," image 148 of 812, Image Group Number 005156961.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Places Clement Simpson in Harrison Township in 1830.
  • Records a female aged thirty through thirty-nine, consistent with Aminta's estimated age.
  • Records seven younger household members consistent with a large family.

petition

[17] 1834 Harrison Township Whig memorial to Congress

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: U.S. Congress, House, 23rd Congress, 1st session, memorial of sundry inhabitants of Harrison Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, 27 June 1834; Library of Congress, serial set PDF.

Access: Library of Congress digital PDF.

Supports:
  • Names Clement Simpson among Harrison Township petitioners.
  • Places him in the local political and economic community in 1834.

court record

[18] 1836 Pickaway County Common Pleas witness list

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Pickaway County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, vol. 3, Appearance to April Term 1836, William H. Richardson v. James W. Brown and Zachariah Pritchett, witness list including Clement Simpson; FamilySearch, "Pickaway, Ohio, United States records," image 184 of 717, Image Group Number 008198786.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Provides the last direct record currently found for Clement Simpson.
  • Places him in Pickaway County court records in 1836.

census

[19] 1840 Simpson household, Wayne Township, Tippecanoe County

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: 1840 U.S. census, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Simpson household; National Archives microfilm publication M704, roll 95; FamilySearch database entry for Simpson, Wayne Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

Access: FamilySearch database entry.

Supports:
  • Supports post-Clement relocation of Aminta and Simpson family members to Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
  • Used as part of the indirect reconstruction of Clement and Aminta's children.

orphans court

[20] Orphans' Court case file for Abel Dutton

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Orphans' Court, case file for Abel Dutton, in Orphans' Court case files, Dunning, A.-Eldridge, O., image 102 of 509; "Sussex, Delaware, United States records," digital images, FamilySearch; citing Delaware Public Archives, Dover; FamilySearch Image Group Number 103877568.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Supports the Abel Dutton family structure.
  • Useful for placing Comfort and Minty Dutton among Abel Dutton's children.

probate

[21] Will of Abel Dutton

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Sussex County, Delaware, Register of Wills, will of Abel Dutton, dated 29 August 1801, proved 8 December 1801, image 168 of 462; "Georgetown, Sussex, Delaware, United States records," digital images, FamilySearch; citing Sussex County (Delaware), Register of Wills; FamilySearch Image Group Number 007652948.

Access: FamilySearch digital image.

Supports:
  • Names Minty Dutton as a daughter of Abel Dutton.
  • Names Abel's wife Unise or Eunice and Aminta's siblings and half-siblings.
  • Establishes Abel's death between 29 August and 8 December 1801.
  • Shows that Eunice was Abel's later wife; other records identify Priscilla Cade as Aminta's mother.

dna evidence

[22] Y-DNA confirmation for the Simpson line

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Paternal relationship confirmed by Y-chromosome DNA test results on FamilyTreeDNA. Davis Simpson, FTDNA kit B24208, and Lee Simpson, FTDNA kit 436237, match with 6 Big Y STR differences, supporting their direct paternal lines back to their most recent common ancestor, William Simpson. Both belong to haplogroup R-FGC39762. Citation generated by DNA Confirmation app, version 3.09, updated 25 February 2026.

Access: FamilyTreeDNA test results and WikiTree DNA Confirmation app citation.

Supports:
  • Supports the broader documented Simpson line back to William Simpson.
  • Does not by itself prove every intermediate parent-child relationship.