Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/257

 CLARKE

CLARKE

preaching there, Mr. Clarke — with two elders, Obadiali Holmes and John Crandall, who accom- panied him —was arrested and condemned to pay a fine of £30 " or else be well whipped." After an imprisonment of nearly a month his fine was paid by an unknown person and he was released. In November, 1651, he went to England with Roger Williams to obtain the revocation of Gov- ernor Coddington's commission, and after re- maining there for twelve years he succeeded in gaining for Rhode Island, in the charter of 1663, perfect religious freedom and advantages which the older and larger colonies did not possess. On his return home in July, 1664, he was a boundary comiuissioner, was elected to the general assem- bly, and was re-elected each year until 1669, being appointed in 1666 to codify the laws. He was deputy governor in 1669 and again in 1671. He left the bulk of his property in trust for reli- gious and educational purposes, and he estab- lished the first free school in America. He published in-X<'ws from Xeio England, or a Xarra- tive of Xeio England's Persecution (London, 1652). No adequate record of the life and times of John Clarke has been published; a sketch of him, how- ever, may be found in Backus's History, of Xew England xoith Special Beference to the Baptists (2d edition, 1871). See also a pamphlet by H. M. King, D.D. (1880), reviewing the visit to Lynn. He died in Newport, R.I., April 20, 1676.

CLARKE, John, governor of Georgia, was born in North Carolina in 1766. His father. Gen. Elijah Clarke, removed to Georgia in 1774; fought with bravery in the Indian and Revolutionary wars; in 1794 was accused of receiving pay and a commission from the French government and of urging the Creek nations to establish an indepen- dent government ; and died at his home in Wilkes county, Ga., Dec. 15, 1799. The son was a lieu- tenant in the Continental army when sixteen years old and fought under his fatlier at the siege of Augusta (1779) and the battle of Jack's Creek (1787). He gained rapid promotion and became major-general of the Georgia militia, command- ing the state troops in the defence of tlie seacoast of Georgia against the British in 1812. He was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1816. He was elected governor of Georgia in 1819 and re-elected in 1821, making a remarkable canvass of the state against George M. Thorjie at both elections. In 1827 he removed to West Florida, wliere lie died Oct. 15, 1832.

CLARKE, John Hopkins, senator, was born at Elizabeth, N.J., April 1, 1789; son of John and Amy (Hopkins) Clarke. His mother was a daughter of Commodore Esek Hopkins. He was graduated at Brown university in 1809, studied law in the office of Tristam Burges; and in 1812 was admitted to the bar. After serving one year as

clerk of the supreme court of Providence county, he entered into business in Cranston, R.I., re- maining there until 1824, when he became a manufacturer in Providence. He was a member of the Rhode Island house of representatives, 1836-37, and 1864-65, and of the state senate one year. In 1846 he was elected to the United States senate and served in that body from March 4, 1847, to March 4, 1853. He died in Providence, R.I., Nov. 23, 1870.

CLARKE, John Mason, geologist, was born in Canandaigua, N.Y., April 15, 1857; son of Noah Turner and Laura Mason (Merrill) Clarke. He was graduated at Amherst in 1877, receiving the degree of A.M. from that college in 1882. He was instructor in geology at Amherst and after spending some years in Germany in the study of the natural sciences, he' was appointed to the chair of geology and mineralogy at Smith college, Northampton, Mass., which he filled from 1881 to 1884. He then became professor of the same branches at the Massachusetts agricultural col- lege at Amherst. In 1886 he received the ap- pointment of assistant jmleontologist of the state of New York, and in 1896 was made assistant state geologist and paleontologist. He was ap- pointed in 1894 professor of geology and mineral- ogy in the Rensselaer polytechnic institute at Troy, N. Y., and in 1899 was acting state geologist and paleontologist of New York. He was elected a member of various European and American scientific societies. He is the author of numerous scientific papers and collaborator with Prof. James Hall in Paleontology of Xew York.

CLARKE, John Sleeper, actor, was born in Baltimore, Md.. Sept. 3, 1833. He was intimate with the Booth family, and married Asia Booth. He made his first appearance in Boston in 1851, as Frank Hardy in Paid Pry, and for thirty years tliereafter he was almost continuously on the stage, in America or in Great Britain, plajing a wide variety of comedy parts. He also managed several theatres. He died near London, Eng- land, Sept. 24, 1899.

CLARKE, John Thomas, jurist, was born in Putnam county, Ga,, Jan. 12, 1834 ; son of James and Permelia T. (Wellboi-n) Clarke. At the age of three years he removed with his parents to Lumpkin. Stewart county, Ga. He was gradu- ated at Mercer university in 1853 ; was admitted to the bar in 1854. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1858, but was judge of the superior courts of Pataula circuit in 1863-'68. He was a j)residential elector in 1868 ; a state senator in 1878 ; and in 1882-'90 was again on tlie bench. He was for many j'ears a memlier of the board of trustees of Mercer univer- sity, and president of the board of trustees