Apparently, from historical records, any way you like. Through the years, county clerks, lawyers, and even family members have struggled to spell the Roark name. The only consistency has been inconsistent spelling. The following is a list of the different spelling of the name encountered in historical documents in the search for family history. Each spelling referred to an ancestor (with 95% certainty) or to a related family member. The number with each spelling

identifies the document in the Roark Conner History Data File in which the spelling occurs.

 

 

 

 

The "O" in the name was prevalent in northern Virginia until about 1760 after which the other spellings occurred. "Rowark" followed "Roark" chronologically and was used first by cousins in Grayson County, Virginia, in about 1790. From Claiborne County, Tennessee, in about 1834 until the present, the spelling, with minor variations has been the modern version. This possibly can be attributed to the fact that most of our ancestors could then spell their name for the clerk.