Powhatan Hughes Clarke was born in 1893 at Fort Custer, Montana, the only child of Elizabeth Clemens Clarke and Powhatan Henry Clarke. The elder Clarke, who was a friend of the artist Frederic Remington, drowned when his son was three months old. Mrs. Clarke soon left Fort Custer for her former home of St. Louis, taking her boy with her. Powhatan Hughes Clarke entered Saint Louis University at the age of twelve and completed the collegiate course in 1913. In 1916 he garnered the LL.B. (Bachelor of Law) from the same school and shortly thereafter was admitted to the Missouri bar. On April 16, 1917, he volunteered for the Officers' Reserve of the Signal Corps, Aviation Section, U.S. Army. In January, 1918, he shipped out for France with the 21st Aero Squadron. Clarke received further flight training in France but in June 1918 was detached from the Air Service. Clarke sailed for the United States on September 25th, 1919. He was discharged at Camp Dix, New Jersey on October 25th, and he returned to St. Louis. In June 1920 he traveled with his family to Gloucester, Massachusetts for a summer vacation, but developed lung trouble after two weeks there. He died on August 30th, 1920. Doctors attributed his death to a tubercular condition that had remained dormant from his youth until exacerbated by his wartime activities.
From the description of Clarke family manuscript collection, 1540-1926. (Saint Louis University - Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 761105105
