Major William H Clark

William Clark is widely remembered as an explorer and for his role as co-leader during the Corps of Discovery, commonly referred to as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His early adult years were spent as a militia solider which led to his being part of the Corps of Discovery. After the successful conclusion of the Corps expedition, Clark went on to serve as brigadier general of the militia in the Louisiana Territory from 1807, governor of the Missouri Territory 1813-1820 and U.S. Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1822 until his death in 1838.[2]

Early Life
William Clark was born in Caroline County, Virginia, on August 1, 1770, the ninth of ten children of Jonathan Christopher Clark IV (1725-1799) and Ann (Rogers) Clark (1728-1798). His parents were natives of King and Queen County, and were of English and possibly Scots ancestry. The Clarks were common planters in Virginia, owners of modest estates and slaves, and members of the Anglican Church.

Little detail is known of Clark's schooling. His was likely the common education, mostly tutored at home as was usual for Virginian planters' children of the period. Becoming a planter, he was taught to survey land. About 1785 the family relocated and most of his youth was spent in pre-statehood Kentucky, where his family remained. It was here that William learned many of the important wilderness skills, from his famous older brother George Rogers Clark, that would prove indispensable later.[3]

During his childhood, Clark was provided a slave boy named York (abt.1770-bef.1832) as companion. No doubt York also learned the same wilderness skills as William. As adults, York was William's manservant and accompanied him during the Corps expedition.[4]

Military Career

Young Clark (unknown)[5]
In 1789, 19-year-old William Clark joined a volunteer militia force under Major John Hardin. In 1790, he was commissioned by General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, as a captain in the Clarksville, Indiana militia. In 1791, Clark served as an ensign and acting lieutenant with expeditions under generals Charles Scott and James Wilkinson. In 1795, Clark was dispatched on a mission to New Madrid, Missouri. During these assignments Clark began a life-long habit of journal keeping, to which posterity owes great debt.[6]

Clark and Lewis
As an experienced army officer, among his soldiers was Ensign Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) whom he befriended. Meriwether Lewis later became the personal secretary to President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). When the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, an exploratory expedition in the new lands was of vital national importance, both to map what is now the Western United States, and to assert American claims to the Pacific Northwest. This military campaign required a leader, and Jefferson selected Lewis to not only organize the expedition party, but to manage the daily operations. Lewis in turn persuaded his friend William Clark to accompany him. Clark was to be the Military leader and cartographer of the expedition. Calling on his Planter's training, during the trip he made numerous maps and drawings, as well as, keeping journals of his experiences.[6]

Post Corps of Discovery
After the expedition, Clark returned to his family home in Louisville, before traveling to Virginia in hopes of wooing Julia Hancock, which he did successfully. The government awarded him 1,600 acres of land and $1,228 in back pay. Clark was named Brigadier General of the Louisiana militia.[7]

Clark by Caitlin 1832
The death of Meriwether Lewis in 1809 left a vacancy in the governorship of Louisiana. Clark was suggested for that, as well as recommended for the governorship of the Illinois territory. Clark initially declined both offers, but later did assume the governorship of Louisiana, which became the Missouri territory in 1812. He also became the superintendent of Indian Affairs there. Clark governed almost until his death. He lost the governorship when Missouri obtained statehood, but remained the superintendent of Indian Affairs.[7]

Another impact of Lewis's death on Clark was the responsibility of organizing, editing, and publishing the journals and scientific discoveries from the expedition. After much persuasion, he convinced Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844) of Philadelphia to undertake the task, as he felt his own grammar skills were insufficient to publish a book. He continued in his other capacities as well as more or less facilitating the publication of the book, which finally came out in 1814.[7]

Marriage
Clark married Julia Hancock in January 1808. Julia bore him at least five children, but died in 1820, and his daughter Mary soon after. He lost his son, Julius, in childhood as well. Clark married Julia's first cousin* Harriet Kennerly Radford in 1821, who bore him more children, one of whom died at less than one year old. The second Mrs. Clark died in 1831.

Judith Julia Hancock (1791-1820) m. 5 Jan 1808, Fincastle, Botetourt, Virginia[8]
Elisha Clark (1798-1870)
Isaac Clark (1801-1898)
William Clark (1804-1865)
Andrew Clark (1805-)
Abraham Clark (1805-)
Meriwether Lewis Clark Sr (1809-1881)
William Preston Clark (1811-1840)
Mary Margaret Clark (1814-1821)
George Hancock Clark (1816-1858)
John Julius Clark (1818-1831)
Harriet (Kennerly) Radford (1788-1831) m. 28 Nov 1821, St. Louis, Missouri[9]
Jefferson Kearny Clark (1824-1900)
Edmund Clark (1826-1827)
Harriet Clark (1828-1829)

• Julia was the daughter of George Hancock (1754-1820) and Harriet the daughter of Mary Talbot (Hancock) Kennerly (1759-bef.1815), George's sister.

Death

Clark Obelisk and Memorial
William Clark moved from the Missouri countryside to St. Louis City to live with his son Meriwether Lewis Clark in 1838, and died on September 1st, 1838. He was buried in a family plot at his nephew's farm two days later.

In the 1850s his remains, along with other family members, were moved to Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1904 during the centennial of the expedition a memorial obelisk was erected with funds donated by Clark’s youngest son, Jefferson Clark. The memorial was rehabilitated 100 years later with funds from Clark descendants, and a rededication ceremony held on May 21, 2004, the bicentennial of the start of the expedition.[10]

Legacy
Clark County can be found in six U.S. states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana (Lewis and Clark County), and Washington.
Posthumously promoted to grade of Captain by President Clinton in 2000[11]
Biographical Resources
Journals and Writings
University of Nebraska (Lincoln): Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition The site features the full text of the journals, and the index enables a user to search the journals using modern spellings of names and to be able to locate all instances of the word.
Kansas Historical Society: Items from Clark's role as Superintendent of Indian Affairs William Clark's Diary and other documents and images.
Biographical Works
Buckley, Jay H. William Clark: Indian Diplomat. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8061-3911-1.
Foley, William E. Wilderness Journey: The Life of William Clark. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8262-1533-5.
Jones, Landon Y. William Clark and the Shaping of the West, New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. ISBN 0-8090-9726-5.
Miller, Robert J. (2006). Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 108. ISBN 978-0275990114.
Sources
↑ On June 4, 1812, the Territory of Louisiana was renamed to the Territory of Missouri to avoid confusion with the newly admitted state of Louisiana formed from the Territory of Orleans.
↑ Cushing, Thomas. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (A. Warner & Co., Chicago, 1889, Part 2: p. 773)
↑ Kinkead, Ludie. "How the Parents of George Rogers Clark Came to Kentucky in 1784-1785" in The History Quarterly. Vol. 3, No.1 (October 1928).
↑ Betts, Robert B, and James J. Holmberg. In Search of York: The Slave Who Went to the Pacific with Lewis and Clark. Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press, 2000. Print.
↑ Missouri Historical Society Photo of Missing Portrait https://franceshunter.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/young-william-clark/
↑ 6.0 6.1 Buckley, Jay H.. "William Clark". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Jan. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Clark. Accessed 3 February 2021.
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Seefeldt, Doug, et al. “Biography of William Clark.” The Roots of Lewis and Clark, University of Virginia, 2003, http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/lewisandclark/biddle/biographies_html....
↑ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRJL-SRL : 29 January 2020), William Clark, 1808.
↑ "Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2D8-2MH : 18 January 2020), William Clark, 1821.
↑ National Parks Service: Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Bellefontaine Cemetery
↑ National Parks Service: Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail William Clark Officially Made Captain
See also:

Wikipedia: William Clark
Wikidata: Item Q355348, en:Wikipedia help.gif
Find A Grave: Memorial #202
Discovering Lewis and Clark: William Clark
... under the title of the Louisiana Purchase, President Jefferson organized an exploring expedition " to trace the Missouri to its source, to cross the highlands, and follow the best water communication which offered itself from thence to the Pacific Ocean."* Captain Meriwether Lewis was given command of the expedition, with First Lieutenant William Clark as his associate. Fourteen soldiers of the United States army, nine young men from Kentucky and two Canadian voyageurs, all of whom were enlisted for this special service, composed the body of the expeditionary party. Later it was increased to thirty-two persons, including five Canadian hunters, guides and inter- preters, an Indian woman (the wife of one of the interpreters), her young child and a negro servant belonging to Lieutenant Clark. The expedition left the Mississippi, above St. Louis, Mo., on May 14, 1804, Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, by American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, v. 1 & 2, p. 176 https://archive.org/details/recordsofamerica01ameruoft/page/176/mod...