Myron H. Clark

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox officeholder Myron Holley Clark (October 23, 1806 – August 23, 1892) was an American politician from New York. He served as the 19th Governor of New York from 1855 to 1856.

Early life

Clark was born in Naples, Ontario County, New York on October 23, 1806.<ref name="nga"/> He was the eldest son of Maj. Joseph Clark (1782–1840) and Mary (Template:Nee Sutton) Clark (1782–1865). His grandfather, Col. William Clark, had migrated to Ontario County from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in 1790 after the American Revolution.<ref name="nysed">Template:Cite web</ref>

His education was limited and was in the common schools of New York.<ref name="nga">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

File:Myron H. Clark (portrait by Leon Bonnat).png

Gubernatorial portrait of New York Governor Myron H. Clark.

He served in the state's militia as a lieutenant colonel and then entered politics, first serving as President of the then-village of Canandaigua, New York, and eventually becoming Sheriff of Ontario County, New York.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (29th D.) from 1852 to 1854, sitting in the 75th, 76th and 77th New York State Legislatures. At the New York state election, 1854,<ref name="1854Arrival">Template:Cite news</ref> he was nominated as the Whig candidate,<ref name="1854Whig">Template:Cite news</ref> and was elected Governor of New York in the closest gubernatorial election in New York State history. He served as Governor from January 1, 1855, to December 31, 1856.

As Governor, Clark was noted for his meddling with militia appointments, causing the resignation of the state Adjutant General John Watts de Peyster.Template:Citation needed In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Clark the first Collector of Internal Revenue of in the Ontario County district.<ref name="MHCObit1892"/>

Clark made several attempts to effect prohibition in the state and signed a prohibition law while governor, but the law was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals. His steadfast advocating of temperance led to his nomination on the Prohibition ticket to run again for Governor at the New York state election, 1874.<ref name="1874Accepts">Template:Cite news</ref> He finished in third place, behind Democrat Samuel J. Tilden and the incumbent Republican Governor John Adams Dix.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

In 1830 Clark was married to Zilpha Watkins (1806–1877), a daughter of Andrew Watkins and Abigail (Template:Nee Stanley) Watkins.<ref name="Hughes1895">Template:Cite book</ref> Together, they were the parents of five children, one son and four daughters, including:<ref name="nga"/>

• Lorenzo Elijah Clark (1833–1917), a banker who married Elizabeth Sheley, a daughter of Alanson Sheley.<ref name="LECObit1917">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Cyclopaedia1967">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Zilpha Clark (1834–1915), who married Samuel D. Backus.<ref name="Williams1934">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Mary Lee Clark (1835–1923),<ref name="1923Obit">Template:Cite news</ref> who married prominent banker Frederick Ferris Thompson.<ref name="Redlich1951">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Charlotte Elizabeth Clark (1838–1929), who died unmarried.<ref name="Milliken1911"/>
• Abigail Stanley Clark (1843–1902), who married banker George Norton Williams, in 1866.<ref name="Milliken1911">Template:Cite book</ref>

Clark died in Canandaigua, New York on August 23, 1892. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua.<ref name="MHCObit1892">Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy

As a memorial to Clark, his daughter Mary presented a scenic and geologically significant tract of land to New York State in 1915 that is now part of Clark Reservation State Park. Comptroller Clark Williams was his grandson.

External links

• National Governors Association website
• Myron Holley Clark Papers, 1809-1899; bulk, 1829-1867 at the New York State Library