James Clarke

Who was James Clarke?

James Clarke was the third Governor of Iowa Territory from November 18, 1845 until December 3, 1846, being appointed to the office, as a Democrat, by President James Polk.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Clarke was secretary of Iowa Territory from 1839–1841 and mayor of Burlington, Iowa from 1844-1845. Clarke was the son-in-law of Henry Dodge. Clarke County, Iowa was named after him. He died in Burlington.

Iowa’s statehood was still a year away when Clarke was appointed the third governor of the Iowa Territory in 1845. Clarke already was well known in political circles since he had been territorial secretary to Iowa’s first territorial governor, Robert Lucas.

Clarke was a printer by trade when in 1836 he moved to Belmont, the new capital of the Wisconsin Territory. He married Christiana Dodge, the daughter of territorial governor Henry Dodge, and became territorial librarian.

When the territorial capital moved from Belmont to Burlington Clarke and his family followed, and he founded the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser, a newspaper, on July 10, 1837.