Lincoln Clark

Who was Lincoln Clark?

Lincoln Clark was a lawyer and one-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district. His life began and ended in the same small town in western Massachusetts, but included service in every branch of Alabama state government, the U.S. Congress, and the Iowa General Assembly.

Born in Conway, Massachusetts, Clark attended the district and private schools. He was graduated from Amherst College in 1825. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1831 and commenced practice in Pickensville, Alabama. He served as member of the Alabama House of Representatives in 1834, 1835, and 1845. He moved to Tuscaloosa in 1836. Clark was elected Alabama Attorney General by the Legislature in 1839. He delivered an oration in Tuscaloosa in 1845 commemorating Andrew Jackson. Clark was appointed circuit judge by Governor Benjamin Fitzpatrick in 1846.

Clark moved to Dubuque, Iowa, in 1848. Two years later, in 1850, he was elected as a Democrat to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district, defeating Whig candidate John Parsons Cook by only 150 votes out of over 15,000 cast. Clark served in the Thirty-second Congress, from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853.