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John Clark (Georgia governor)

American politician

Summary

American politician

Field	Value
name	John Clark
image	John Clark.jpg
party	Democratic-Republican
order	31st Governor of Georgia
term_start	November 5, 1819
term_end	November 7, 1823
predecessor	Matthew Talbot
successor	George Troup
birth_date	February 28, 1766
birth_place	Edgecombe County, North Carolina
death_date	October 12, 1832 (aged 66)
death_place	St. Andrews Bay, Florida, US
resting_place	St. Andrews Bay,
relocated to Marietta National Cemetery
occupation	Planter, politician
spouse	Nancy Clark
relatives	Elijah Clarke (father), Edward Clark (nephew)

relocated to Marietta National Cemetery John Clark (sometimes spelled Clarke) (February 28, 1766October 12, 1832) was an American planter, politician, and slaveholder. He was the 31st Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia, from 1819 to 1823. As governor, he prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court case Ex parte Madrazzo, a dispute over whether a claim of ownership of a group of enslaved people could be enforced against the state. He also advocated for presidential electors to be elected by popular vote as seen in many of his bills, culminating in the 1824 Georgia Popular Vote Referendum.

Early life

Clark was born in 1766 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Along with his father, Elijah Clarke, Clark fought in the American Revolutionary War at the Battle of Kettle Creek and served in the Georgia militia.

He moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, in the early 1770s. He became a major general in 1796.

Political career

John Clark's gravestone at the Marietta National Cemetery, [[Marietta, Georgia

Clark served as a presidential elector in the 1816 presidential election. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives before he was elected to consecutive two-year terms as the 31st Governor, from 1819 to 1823. During his term, he successfully defended states' rights in a US Supreme Court case, Ex parte Madrazzo, over a Spanish citizen who claimed that he owned some of Clark's slaves.

Personal life

Clark resided at Woodville, a plantation in Milledgeville, Georgia. He was married to Nancy Williamson, the daughter of Col. Micahah Williamson (1744-1796) and Sarah Gilliam.

Death and legacy

Clark died of yellow fever in St. Andrews (Florida) a.k.a. Old Town, in 1832 in what was then Washington County (now Bay County) and was buried in that same city; however, his grave was relocated to Marietta National Cemetery in Georgia in 1923 by the Georgia State Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

Clarkesville, Georgia and Clarke County, Alabama are named after him.

References

Sources

"John Clark (1766–1832)," New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors
Georgia Secretary of State official website
John Clark House historical marker
G.M. West 1922
https://services.dar.org/members/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm

References

(1898). "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography". [[James T. White & Co.]].
"National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Westover, or Clark-Bentley House".
"Clarkesville".
"Clarke County: A Brief History". Clarke County Historical Museum.
(1922). "St. Andrews, Florida Historical notes upon St. Andrews and St. Andrews Bay, with Maps, and a portrait of Governor Clark". Panama City Publishing Co..

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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