Evelyn Clark Colfax (1823 in Argyle,

Washington County, New York Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The county seat is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. Washington County is part of the Glen ...

– July 10, 1863 in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

) was the first wife of

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the House ...

, an American politician who later became Speaker of the House of Representatives and

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

serving as the first vice president of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. She was the daughter of Col. Ralph Clark and the granddaughter of Ebenezer Clark, who was elected to the

1st New York State Legislature The 1st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from September 9, 1777, to June 30, 1778, during the first year of George Clinton's governorship, first at Kingston and later at P ...

and then the 2nd, 12th, 13th, 15th, and 20-25th state legislatures. On October 10, 1844, Evelyn married her childhood friend Schuyler Colfax at her family home in Argyle, which was officiated by the Rev. Joel Wood.Ancestry.com. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. They then moved to

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. Schuyler and Evelyn had no children during the marriage and for several years before her death, she suffered from poor health. She was buried at City Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana near her husband Schuyler. The inscription on her grave reads, "The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colfax, Evelyn Clark 1823 births 1863 deaths 19th-century American women People from Argyle, New York Colfax family