Clarke Lewis (November 8, 1840 – March 13, 1896) was an American educator,

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veteran, and politician who served two terms as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

from 1889 to 1893.

Biography

He was born in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. He moved with his mother to

Noxubee County, Mississippi Noxubee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, its population was 10,285. Its county seat is Macon. The name is derived from the Choctaw word ''nakshobi'' meaning "to stink". Geography According t ...

in 1844 where he attended the district schools and Somerville Institute and also engaged in teaching for several years.

Civil War

Lewis entered the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

in February 1861 and served until the close of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early career

After the war, he resumed teaching in 1865. He was also employed as a clerk in a store in 1866 and 1867 and engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits 1867–1879.

Congress

Lewis was a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

in 1878. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893).

Later career and death

After leaving Congress, he resumed agricultural pursuits. He died near

Macon, Mississippi Macon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,768 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County. History In 1817, Jackson's Military Road was built at the urging of Andrew Jackson to p ...

in 1896 and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Macon, Mississippi.

Notes

References

Speech of Hon. Clarke Lewis of Mississippi, Debate in the House of Representatives
in ''The Money Question of the 52nd Congress'' (March 22, 1892), accessed November 7, 2017.. 1840 births 1896 deaths Politicians from Huntsville, Alabama Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi People from Macon, Mississippi Military personnel from Huntsville, Alabama 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature {{Mississippi-politician-stub