Frank Hamilton Clark (September 26, 1844 – November 29, 1882) was an American railroad executive and banker. He was president of the

Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad is the name for two different railroads in Minnesota. Historic railroad The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad (LS&M) was the first rail link between the Twin Cities and Duluth and came into existence ...

Early life

Clark was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Clark was the fourth and youngest son of Sarah Crawford Dodge and

Enoch White Clark Enoch White Clark (November 16, 1802 – August 4, 1856) was the founder of E. W. Clark & Co., a prominent financial firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that helped the U.S. government finance the Mexican–American War. In 1857, Clark was ...

. His father was the founder of the financial firm Clark, Dodge and Co., also known as E. W. Clark & Co., in Philadelphia in 1837 and by mid-century had become one of the city's 25 millionaires. There is obviously some confusion by the source; Clark died in 1856. But the passage was directly about fellow financier Francis Drexel. He entered the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

to study science in 1859 and left in 1860. There, he was a member of the

Delta Psi St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectaria ...

fraternity.''Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi'' (1889)
New York City: St. Anthony Club. via Google Books. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

started, Clark enlisted in the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment as a first lieutenant on November 3, 1862. He served as an aide–de–camp for General

David B. Birney David Bell Birney (May 29, 1825 – October 18, 1864) was a businessman, lawyer, and a Union general in the American Civil War. Early life Birney was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the son of an abolitionist from Kentucky, James G. Birney. The Bir ...

. He was severely wounded in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

in May 1863 and was honorably discharged because of physical disability. He resigned from his active commission on November 5, 1866.
History of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
' (1874) Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University. p. 142. via Google Books.

Career

After the war, he joined the family firm and became a banker. He became president of the

from 1871 to 1873.

Personal life

Clark was elected a member of the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

in 1867. In 1871, Clark married Jessie Rice of

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, daughter of

Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

who was a lawyer, railroad president, and U.S. Representative. She died in 1874 at the age of 24. In 1882, Clark died in Philadelphia.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Frank Hamilton 1844 births 1882 deaths Clark banking family University of Pennsylvania alumni St. Anthony Hall People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War E. W. Clark & Co. American railroad executives