Matthew Clarkson
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Matthew Clarkson (October 17, 1758 – April 25, 1825) was a colonial soldier and politician. Clarkson Street in
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and the town of Clarkson in
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
were both named after him.


Early life

Clarkson was born on October 17, 1758, at his father's residence on Whitehall Street in
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in the
Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
in what was then
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. He was the son of David Clarkson (1726–1782) and Elisabeth (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
French) Clarkson (1724–1808). His brother, Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson, was the grandfather of Thomas S. Clarkson, the namesake of Clarkson University. Clarkson was the great-grandson of Matthew Clarkson, who emigrated to New York and served as a patent official in the 1690s. His father, Clarkson's great-great grandfather, was Rev. David Clarkson (1622-1686), the English born
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
clergyman whose sermons included "''The Doctrine of Justification is Dangerously Corrupted by the Roman Church''." Through his mother, he was descended from Phillip French, the 27th
Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...
.


Career

At the age of 17, he entered the Army to serve in the Revolutionary War, first on Long Island, subsequently under
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...
. He was at Saratoga and, later, on the staff of General
Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrender ...
, was present at the surrender of Burgoyne, at
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(1779) and at the defense of Charleston (1780). He was also present at the surrender of Cornwallis. After the war, Clarkson was commissioned brigadier general of militia of Kings and Queens Counties in June 1786 and Major General of the Southern District of New York in March 1798. For a time, he was engaged in merchant business with John Vanderbilt under the company Vanderbilt & Clarkson. The firm was later closed and he worked with his brother at the firm S. & L. Clarkson & Co.


Political service

When the war ended, Lincoln became
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and Clarkson became his assistant. He served as a
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member of the 13th New York State Legislature in the
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for one term from 1789 to 1790, where he introduced a bill for the gradual abolition of slavery in the State. As a Regent of the
University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state governmental umbrella organization that oversees all educational institutions, including schools, libraries, and museums in New York State. It is governed by the Board of Regents. D ...
he was presented at the court of French King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
. From 1791 to 1792, he served as U.S. Marshal. In 1793, he was elected to fill the vacancy, in place of Philip Van Cortlandt, as State Senator in the 17th New York State Legislature representing the Southern District, which consisted of Kings, New York,
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, Richmond,
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and Westchester counties. He served until 1795 after being reelected to the 18th Legislature, and resigning before he completed his full four year term. He was also a member of the commission to build a new prison 1796-1797 and President of the New York (City) Hospital (1799). In 1802, Clarkson was the
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candidate for U.S. Senator from New York but was defeated by
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. He was President of the Bank of New York from 1804, succeeding Herman LeRoy, and serving until his death in 1825. He was succeeded by
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.


Philanthropy

Clarkson was one of the first trustees of New York's earliest savings bank established to serve laborers and the poor, The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York.Knowles, Charles, "History of the Bank for Savings in the City of New York," 1936. His son-in-law Peter Augustus Jay was one of the bank's founders.


Personal life

On May 24, 1785, Clarkson was married to Mary Rutherfurd (1761–1786), the daughter of Walter Rutherfurd and Catherine (née Alexander) Rutherfurd and the sister of U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd. Through her mother, she was the niece of William Alexander, Lord Stirling, and the granddaughter of James Alexander and Mary Alexander Provoost. Before her death in 1786, they were the parents of one child together: * Mary Rutherfurd Clarkson (1786–1838), who married her cousin Peter Augustus Jay (1776–1843), the eldest son of Chief Justice
John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...
and Sarah Van Brugh (née Livingston) Jay, in 1807. His second marriage was on February 14, 1792, to Sally Cornell (1762–1803), the daughter of Samuel Cornell (1731–1781) and Susan (née Mabson) Cornell (1732–1778). Among Sally's siblings were Hannah Cornell (wife of Herman LeRoy) and Elizabeth Cornell (wife of William Bayard Jr.). Together they had eight children, including: * Elizabeth Clarkson (1793–1820), who died unmarried. * Catherine Rutherfurd Clarkson (1794–1861), who married Jonathan Goodhue, son of U.S. Senator Benjamin Goodhue. * David Clarkson (1795–1867), who was
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, from 1837 to 1851, who married his cousin, Elizabeth Streatfield Clarkson, in 1822. * Matthew Clarkson, Jr. (1796–1883), who married Catherine Elizabeth Clarkson in 1821. * William Bayard Clarkson (1798–1875), who married Adelaide Margaret Livingston (1806–1885), daughter of Robert L. Livingston and granddaughter of
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Robert R. Livingston, in 1826. * Susan Maria Clarkson (1800–1823), who married James Ferguson de Peyster, brother of Frederic de Peyster, in 1822. * Sarah Cornell Clarkson (1802–1849), who married Rev. William Richmond in 1826.


Legacy

On April 2, 1819, the town of Clarkson was established by the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
and named in honor of General Clarkson. Although there is no evidence that he ever lived in Western New York, he reportedly owned a sizable amount of land there, and he gave 100 acres (405,000 m²) to the town, the rest of his interest was placed in trust for his children.


Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Mary, he was the grandfather of: John Clarkson Jay (1808–1891), a physician and noted conchologist, Catherine Helena Jay (1815–1889), who married Henry Augustus DuBois (1808–1884), in 1835. Anna Maria Jay (1819–1902), who married Henry Evelyn Pierrepont (1808–1888), in 1841, and Susan Matilda Jay (1827–1910), who married another of his grandchildren, Matthew Clarkson (1823–1913), the son of David Clarkson, in 1852.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Matthew 1758 births 1825 deaths American militia generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators Politicians from New York City American bankers Abolitionists from New York City 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature Candidates in the 1802 United States elections