William Clark, Jr. (1798–1871)

William Clark, Jr. (April 14, 1798 – January 3, 1871) was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a legislator in the Republic of Texas. He is sometimes confused with his son, a Texas state legislator, who was also known as William Clark, Jr.

William Clark, Jr., was born in North Carolina on April 14th 1798. He is famous for being a soldier, legislator, and one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Not much of him was known until he married Martha B. Wall in the 1820’s. He was living in Georgia at the time of his marriage. He and his wife had a son named William Clark Junior in 1828. He and his family moved to Sabine County in 1835, where he became a very successful and wealthy merchant. William S Clark Junior and James Gaines both traveled to the Convention of 1836. This Convention was brought together to discuss a possible secession and war with Mexico. This created the Texas Declaration of Independence, with both Clark and Gained signed. Following the convention, interim President David G Burnet of the Republic of Texas, was assisted by Clark by creating a system to collect supplies and other goods for the army to fight against the invading Mexican army. He briefly served as a representative of Sabine County in the House of the Second Congress in 1837 and left in 1838 due to illness. Following the war, and after recovering from his illness, he stayed in Sabine County until he purchased the Planter Hotel in Nacogdoches in 1859, located in East Texas. He managed the property until he died on January 3, 1871. In 1936, the Texas Centennial Commission built a marker on the last Clarks’ home as well as on the graves of Clark and his wife Martha.

William S Clark Junior had a son named William Clark Junior. William Clark Junior followed in his father’s footsteps, as he was elected to the state legislature in 1859, and helped Texas in the Secession Convention of 1861, leading Texas into the American Civil War.

External links

Handbook of Texas Online, Cecil Harper, Jr., "Clark, William, Jr. [1798-1871]," accessed November 16, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcl18.


Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. "Declaration of Independence of Texas, 1836." Declaration of Independence of Texas, 1836 | TSLAC. March 17, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/republic/declaration.html.


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