Occupation Planter, politician | Name John Clark Role American Politician | |
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Died October 12, 1832, St. Andrews Bay, Florida, United States | ||
John Clark (sometimes spelled Clarke) (February 28, 1766 – October 12, 1832) was an American planter and politician.
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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 Georgian militia.
He moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, in the early 1770s. He became a major general in 1796.
Political career
Clark served in the Georgia House of Representatives prior to being 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, 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.
Death and legacy
Clark died of yellow fever in St. Andrews Bay (Florida) 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 Daughters of the American Revolution.
Clarke County, Alabama is named after him.