Clarke, William J. (William John), 1819-1886

William J. Clarke of New Bern and Raleigh, N.C., was a businessman, Confederate officer, and postwar Republican leader. Clarke married poet and novelist Mary Bayard (Devereux) Clarke (1827-1886).

From the description of William J. Clarke papers, 1838-1881 (bulk 1850-1880). WorldCat record id: 22486162

William J. Clarke was born in Raleigh, N.C., the only child of Ann Maria Robadeau and William F. Clarke. In 1841, Clarke graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina. He went on to be one of the organizing members of the alumni society in 1843, and he received a M.A. degree in 1844. In addition, Clarke also read law. On 9 April 1847, he was commissioned captain of Company I of the 12th United States Infantry, and he served in Mexico during the war with Mexico. Clarke was severely wounded at the Battle of National Bridge and later promoted to major for his gallantry. His unit was disbanded 25 July 1848. After the war on 6 April 1848, Clarke married Mary Bayard Devereux of Raleigh, who was living on a sugar plantation for the benefit of her health. They became the parents of two sons and a daughter.

Clarke practiced law in Raleigh and in 1849 was a candidate for a seat in Congress from the Sixth District, which he lost to John R. J. Daniel. From 1850 to 1855, Clarke was state comptroller. In 1857, Clarke moved his family to San Antonio, Tex., because of his wife's health. There he became president of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad. When the Civil War began, Clarke was made colonel of the 14th North Carolina Regiment (later redesignated the 24th) and served in that rank throughout the war. Clarke was highly acclaimed as an officer, and at one time he was recommended for promotion to brigadier general. A petition submitted by his commanding officer, M. W. Ransom, and signed by many others was placed before Jefferson Davis. Davis never made the appointment, however, and Clarke is said to have been bitterly disappointed. During the battle at Drewry's Bluff in Virginia on 15 May 1864, Clarke's shoulder was shattered by a shell fragment, and he never returned to his regiment. On his way home from Virginia, Clarke was ambushed, captured, and kept prisoner at Fort Delaware from January to July 1865.

After the war, Clarke and his family lived at Boon Hill (now Princeton) in Johnston County, N.C., where he managed his interests in a lumber mill, the Selma Iron Works, and a mine in Greensboro. Clark shortly moved his family to New Bern where he became a trustee and later principal of New Bern Academy, serving there from 1868 to 1870.

Now a Republican, Clarke was elected to the state senate from Craven County, but resigned before taking his seat a few days before Governor William Holden appointed him judge of the superior court. Clarke continued to support the Republican Party, and in Raleigh on 24 December 1879 he began publishing The Signal, a weekly newspaper that supported that Party's candidates. His wife contributed materials of interest to women as well as some of her own poetry. However, he published the newspaper for only a brief time when the Republican State Committee of North Carolina took control of the paper in July 1880. Afterwards, Clark devoted himself to his law practice with his son in New Bern.

William Clarke died in New Bern on the 23 January 1886 and was buried there in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

From the guide to the William J. Clarke Papers, 1838-1881, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)