Horace F. Clark

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,Template:Sfn the son of Reverend Daniel Atkinson Clark (1779-1840) and Eliza (Barker) Clark (1787-1864).Template:Sfn In 1833 Clark graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.Template:Sfn He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837, and commenced practice in New York City.Template:Sfn 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, and the French Marquise de Maleissye in 1911). Mary Louise Clark Collins died in 1894.Template:Sfn As a result of his family connection to Vanderbilt, Clark became involved in several of Vanderbilt's business ventures, including shipping, banking, and railroads.Template:Sfn

Tenure in Congress

File:Horace Clark Grave 1024.jpg

The mausoleum of Horace Clark

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

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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Death and burial

He died in New York City on June 19, 1873,Template:Sfn and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.Template:Sfn