Author: Clarke, Thomas C.
Biography:
CLARKE, Thomas C. (c. 1801-74: ancestry.com)
It is likely that Clarke was simply the editor and not himself a contributor to the Collection of Poems issued by his press in Philadelphia in 1824, but to be on the safe side he is entitled to a headnote. Thomas Cottrell Clarke was born in Rhode Island, where he was baptised on 12 Feb. 1801, the fifth child (at least) of Job and Judith Clarke. His mother’s birth name is not known. He first appears as a printer and publisher in Philadelphia with this collection of poems. In 1826 he issued a prospectus and advertised around the country for a new periodical, The Album and Ladies’ Weekly Gazette; he also offered cash prizes for the best poems, essays, and stories submitted. The Gazette lasted until 1830. His final publication in Philadelphia appears to have been the American Pocket Library of Useful Knowledge (1841). About 1830—no public record has been found—he married Julia A. Paul (b 1805), with whom he had three children. She may also have come from a publishing family. By the time of the 1850 Census the family had settled in Camden NJ. In 1852 he published with S. C. Paul of Philadelphia a compilation of historical documents, The Mission of America. Some time between the 1850 and 1860 Censuses he was widowed, but he continued to live with his children, one daughter keeping house and the one son working as a lawyer. Clarke was still identifying himself as an editor and publisher in 1870, when he declared his personal wealth as $2000. No record of the death or burial of his wife has been found. He died in Philadelphia on 22 Dec. 1874 and was buried in Woodlands Cemetery there on 26 Dec. (ancestry.com 19 Dec. 2023; findmypast.com 19 Dec. 2023; American Advocate [Hallowell ME] 20 May 1826; United States Telegraph [Washington DC] 30 Nov. 1826)