Frank Hamilton Clark Explained

Frank Hamilton Clark
Birth Date:September 26, 1844
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education:University of Pennsylvania
Occupation:Banker, railroad executive
Employer:E. W. Clark & Co.
Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad

Frank Hamilton Clark (September26, 1844November29, 1882) was an American railroad executive and banker.[1] He was the president of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad.

Early life

Clark was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clark was the fourth and youngest son of Sarah Crawford Dodge and Enoch White Clark. His father was the founder of the financial firm Clark, Dodge and Co., also known as E. W. Clark & Co., in Philadelphia in 1837 and by mid-century had become one of the city's 25 millionaires.[2]

In 1859, Clark entered the University of Pennsylvania to study science. He joined the Delta Psi fraternity[3] and left the school in 1860.

After the Civil War started, Clark enlisted in the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment as a first lieutenant on November 3, 1862. He served as an aide–de–camp for General David B. Birney. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 and was honorably discharged because of physical disability. He resigned his active commission on November 5, 1866.[4]

Career

After the war, Clark joined the family firm and became a banker.

His family also had railroad interests, and from 1871 to 1873, he served as the president of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad.

Personal life

Clark was elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1867.[5]

In 1871, Clark married Jessie Rice of St. Paul, Minnesota, daughter of lawyer, railroad president, and U.S. Representative Edmund Rice. She died within three years at the age of 24.[6]

In 1882, Clark died in Philadelphia, aged 38.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A committee of the Society of the alumni . 1894 . University of Pennsylvania. Biographical catalogue of the matriculates of the college, together with lists of the members of the college faculty and the trustees, officers, and recipients of honorary degrees. 1749–1893. . October 3, 2013 . University of Pennsylvania . 235 . 2027/mdp.39015036766767?urlappend=%3Bseq=283.
  2. Book: Vitiello, Dominic. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange and the City It Made. George E. Thomas. 2010. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia . 978-0812242249. 93. December 8, 2010. There is obviously some confusion by the source; Clark died in 1856. But the passage was directly about fellow financier Francis Drexel.
  3. Book: Psi, Fraternity of Delta . Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi . 1889 . en.
  4. History of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (1874) Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University. p. 142. via Google Books.
  5. 1867 . Elections in 1867 . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . 19 . 75, 243.
  6. Book: Empson, Donald . The Street Where You Live: A Guide to the Place Names of St. Paul . 2006 . U of Minnesota Press . 9780816647293 . 142 . en.