Samuel Clark (January 1800 – October 2, 1870) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. representative for both

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(1833 to 1835) and Michigan (1853 to 1855).

Biography

Clark was born in

Cayuga County, New York Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Conf ...

. He attended Hamilton College in

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

and studied law in

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. In 1826 he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

Congress

He was elected as a Jacksonian from New York's 25th congressional district to the

Twenty-third 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, ...

, serving from March 4, 1833 to March 3, 1835. After leaving Congress, he resumed his practice at Waterloo. In 1842, he moved to

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, and began a law practice there and became recognized as one of the leading lawyers in the state. Clark was a member of the Michigan State Constitutional Convention in 1850. In 1852, he was elected as a Democrat from Michigan's 3rd congressional district to the Thirty-third Congress, serving from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855. He lost to Republican David S. Walbridge in the general election of 1854.

Later career and death

On July 17, 1856, President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

nominated Clark to be register of the land office in the northeastern land district of Minnesota Territory. He discontinued the practice of his profession and retired from political activities. He became greatly interested in agricultural pursuits. He died in Kalamazoo and is interred in Mountain Home Cemetery.

References

*
U.S. Congress. ''Senate Executive Journal''. 34th Congress. 1st session. 18 July 1856
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Samuel Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from Cayuga County, New York People from Waterloo, New York 1800 births 1870 deaths 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)