Matthew St. Clair Clarke (1790 Greencastle,

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932 Its county seat is Chambersburg. Franklin County comprises the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

- May 6, 1852

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) was an American journalist, book author and politician. He was for seven terms

Clerk of the United States House of Representatives The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House. Along with the other House officers, the Clerk is elec ...

Life

He was admitted to the bar in 1811, and practiced in Greencastle. Later he removed to Washington, D.C. On December 3, 1822, he was elected on the 11th ballot Clerk of the House of Representatives in the

17th United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Clerk Thomas Dougherty. He was re-elected five times, serving throughout the

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

, 19th, 20th, 21st and

22nd United States Congress The 22nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1831 ...

es, and opened the proceedings in the House of the

23rd United States Congress The 23rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1833, ...

on December 2, 1833, when he was succeeded by Walter S. Franklin. On May 31, 1841, Clarke was again elected Clerk of the House of Representatives in the

27th United States Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. between March 4, 1 ...

. Clarke opened the proceedings of the

28th United States Congress The 28th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1843 ...

on December 4, 1843, but was defeated for re-election by Caleb J. McNulty two days later. Clarke was co-publisher with

Peter Force Peter Force (November 26, 1790 – January 23, 1868) was an American politician, newspaper editor, printer, archivist, and early American historian. He was twice elected the twelfth Mayor of Washington D.C. During his lifetime he ama ...

of the latter's ''American Archives'', a nine volume work of archives which was ultimately sold to the Library of Congress for 100,000 in 1867. Dictionary of American Biography, Volume 3, 1964, pp.512–513 Peter Force library, Library of Congress, 2016 In 1843, he was appointed Sixth Auditor of the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

and remained in office until 1845. In 1852, his daughter Anna L. Clarke married Gen. William B. Franklin, the son of Clerk of the House Walter S. Franklin who had succeeded Clarke in 1833.

Works

*''The Life and Adventures of Colonel David Crockett'' (novel, 1833)
''Cases of Contested Elections in Congress 1789 to 1834''
compiled by Matthew St. Clair Clarke and David A. Hall (

, 1834, on line version)

References

Sources

Clerks of the House
at House History
''Niles' Register''
(edition of December 7, 1822; pages 219 and 224)
Obit
transcribed from the ''

Daily National Intelligencer The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri ...

'' originally published on May 7, 1852 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Matthew Saint Clair 1790 births 1852 deaths People from Franklin County, Pennsylvania Writers from Washington, D.C. Clerks of the United States House of Representatives