Samuel M. Clark

Samuel Mercer Clark (October 11, 1842 – August 11, 1900) was a two-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district at the end of the 19th century. He was the first Iowa-born member of Congress.

Early years

Born near Keosauqua in the portion of Iowa Territory that would later become the State of Iowa, Clark attended the public schools and the Des Moines Valley College, in West Point, Iowa. He went on to study law in the office of Judge (and future U.S. Senator) George G. Wright^[1] and was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1864. However, he did not practice extensively.

Career

He was editor of the Keokuk Daily Gate City in Keokuk, Iowa, for 31 years. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1872, 1876, and 1880.

He was appointed commissioner of education to the Paris Exposition in 1889. He served as Keokuk's Postmaster from 1879-1885. He was a member of the Keokuk Board of Education from 1879–1894, and served as the Board's president from 1882 until 1894.

In 1894, Clark was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 1st congressional district (in southeastern Iowa) in the Fifty-fourth Congress. He replaced John H. Gear, whom the Iowa General Assembly had chosen to serve as a U.S. Senator. Two years later Clark won re-election, and served in the Fifty-fifth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1898. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1895 to March 3, 1899. After returning to Iowa, he resumed his editorial duties in Keokuk.

Death

He died in Keokuk on August 11, 1900, aged 57. He was interred in Oakland Cemetery.

References

• Samuel M. Clark at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa 1st W. Thompson Miller Henn A. Hall S. Curtis J. F. Wilson McCrary Stone McCoid B. Hall Gear Seerley Gear S. Clark Hedge Kennedy Kopp Eicher Martin Schwengel Schmidhauser Schwengel Mezvinsky Leach Nussle Braley Blum 2nd Leffler L. Clark J. P. Cook Thorington Davis Vandever Price Smyth W. Wolf Cotton Tufts Price Farwell Murphy Hayes G. Curtis Lane Rumple Wade Dawson Pepper Vollmer Hull Letts B. Jacobsen W. Jacobsen Talle L. Wolf Bromwell Culver Blouin Tauke Nussle Leach Loebsack 3rd Allison Donnan Ainsworth Burdick Updegraff Henderson Birdsall Pickett Connolly Sweet Robinson Willford Gwynne Gross Grassley Evans Nagle Lightfoot Boswell Latham Young 4th Grinnell Loughridge Walden Pratt Deering Weller Fuller Sweney Butler Updegraff Haugen Biermann Talle Le Compte Carter Kyl Bandstra Kyl N. Smith Ganske Latham King 5th Kasson G. Dodge Palmer J. Wilson R. Clark W. G. Thompson J. Wilson Frederick Kerr J. Hamilton Cousins Good Cole Thruston Le Compte Cunningham N. Smith Scherle Harkin Lightfoot Grandy Latham King 6th A. Hubbard Pomeroy Orr Loughridge Sampson Weaver Cutts J. C. Cook Cutts J. C. Cook Weaver Lacey White Lacey D. Hamilton Kendall Kirkpatrick Ramseyer Dowell Utterback Dowell Goodwin Cunningham Gilchrist J. I. Dolliver Coad Hoeven Greigg Mayne Bedell Grandy 7th Kasson Cummings E. Gillette Kasson H. Smith Conger Hays Hull Prouty Dowell Wearin Jensen Hansen Scherle 8th McDill Sapp Hepburn Anderson Flick Hepburn Jamieson Towner Evans Thurston Gilchrist Hoeven 9th Orr Oliver Carpenter Pusey Lyman Reed Bowman Hager McPherson W. Smith Green Vincent Swanson G. Gillette Harrington Narey 10th Holmes J. P. Dolliver Conner Woods Dickinson Gilchrist 11th Struble Perkins Thomas E. Hubbard Scott Steele Scott Boies Campbell AL Hastings and Leffler Terr Chapman A. Dodge

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.