John Fitzgerald Clarke (July 16, 1827 – April 19, 1887) was an

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

physician and political figure. He represented

Norfolk North Norfolk North was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It was created by the Br ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1871 to 1879. He was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1827, the son of a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister who was sent to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

as a missionary in 1837. He studied medicine at

McGill College McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University ...

and settled in Vittoria. He moved to

Simcoe Simcoe may refer to: Geography Canada * Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada * Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada * Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada * Simcoe North, a federal and pro ...

in 1851. He served on the town council and was the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

for Norfolk County from 1848 to 1870. Clarke was editor and owner of the ''Long Point Advocate''. He was later named sheriff for

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay. In 2016, the population was 146,048. The land area is ; the population density was . Most of ...

and moved to Port Arthur (later part of the city of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

), where he died in 1887. His brother William Fletcher Clarke was a minister and journalist.

External links

*
Transcription from ''Illustrated Historical Atlas of Norfolk County'' (1877)
1827 births 1887 deaths Canadian Methodists English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Coventry Canadian coroners {{Liberal-Ontario-MPP-stub