Gerardus Clark (January 20, 1786 – August 23, 1860) was an American lawyer from New York City.

Early life

Gerardus Clark was born on January 20, 1786, in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...

, to Annis (née Bostwick) and William Clark. He attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and was

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...

who was then writing ''Travels in New England and New York''. He graduated in 1804.

Career

Following graduation, Clark moved to New York City and studied law in the office of John G. Bogert. He was admitted to the bar in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1813. He continued practicing law in New York City for the remainder of his life. He was at one time president of the

Board of Education of the City of New York The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

. While in that role, he wrote a paper defending the use of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...

Personal life

In 1825, Clark married Ann Maria Bogert of New York. They had two children. He lived on 9th Street and Broadway in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 1850, Clark moved to

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

. He was a vestryman of Trinity Church in New Rochelle. Clark died on August 23, 1860, in New Rochelle. He was buried in New Milford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Gerardus 1786 births 1860 deaths People from New Milford, Connecticut People from New Rochelle, New York Lawyers from Manhattan Yale University alumni New York (state) lawyers New York City Department of Education 19th-century American lawyers