Horace F. Clark

Horace F. Clark
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 8th district
In office
March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861
Preceded byAbram Wakeman
Succeeded byIsaac C. Delaplaine
Personal details
Born(1815-11-29)November 29, 1815
Southbury, Connecticut, US
DiedJune 19, 1873(1873-06-19) (aged 57)
New York City, US
Political partyDemocratic
Anti-Lecompton Democrat
SpouseMaria Louisia Vanderbilt
Alma materWilliams College
Occupationlawyer, railroad executive

Horace Francis Clark (November 29, 1815 – June 19, 1873) was an American politician and railroad executive who served two terms as a U.S. representative from New York from 1857 to 1861.

Biography

Clark was born in Southbury, Connecticut on November 29, 1815,[1] the son of Reverend Daniel Atkinson Clark (1779-1840) and Eliza (Barker) Clark (1787-1864).[2] In 1833 Clark graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.[1] He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837, and commenced practice in New York City.[1] In 1848 he married Maria Louisa Vanderbilt, the daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and they were the parents of a daughter, Mary Louise, wife of Clarence Lyman Collins, a Wall Street cotton broker (and mother of Edith Lyman Collins, who became the Polish Countess Czaykowski in 1897,[3] and the French Marquise de Maleissye in 1911[4]). Mary Louise Clark Collins died in 1894.[1] As a result of his family connection to Vanderbilt, Clark became involved in several of Vanderbilt's business ventures, including shipping, banking, and railroads.[1]

Tenure in Congress

In 1856, Clark was elected to Congress as a Democrat, and he was reelected in 1858 as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat.[1] Clark served in the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1861).[1]

Later career

Clark returned to his business interests after leaving Congress, and served as president of the Union Trust Company, Union Pacific Railroad, Michigan Southern Railroad, and other businesses.[1] In addition, he served on the board of directors of Western Union, and the New York Central and New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroads.[1]

Death and burial

He died in New York City on June 19, 1873,[1] and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j America's Successful Men of Affairs, p. 143.
  2. ^ Memorials of a Century, pp. 106–112.
  3. ^ "MISS COLLINS WEDS RECHID BEY, The New York Girl the Wife of the Polish-Turkish Count" (PDF). New York Journal. 8 January 1897. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. ^ "MARQUISE MALEISSYE DIES IN FRENCH ALPS; Was Former Edith Lyman Collins, Descendant of Commodore Vanderbilt". The New York Times. 6 August 1930. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  5. ^ Where They're Buried, p. 234.

Sources

Books

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress