Henry Tefft Clarke Sr. (April 26, 1834 – February 3, 1913) was an American businessman, pioneer, and politician from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Born in Greenwich, New York, he was educated in the local schools. He moved to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

and eventually to

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

, where he built railroads and bridges. Eventually, he opened a retail drug company and helped platted

Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue ( French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 census, ...

. In 1862, he served in the Nebraska Territorial House of Representatives and in 1864, he was elected to the Nebraska Territorial Council. He also served on the

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Board of Education also during this time. His children include lawyer Henry Clarke, football coach and oil businessman

Maurice Gordon Clarke Maurice Gordon Clarke (May 2, 1877 – June 5, 1944) was an American college football and college baseball player and coach. The Omaha, Nebraska native served as head football coach at the University of Texas at Austin in 1899, at Western Reserve ...

, and philanthropist

Gertrude Clarke Whittall Gertrude Clarke Whittall ( – ) was an American philanthropist. She donated five musical instruments built by Antonio Stradivari to the Library of Congress, and the Library's Whittall Pavilion is named for her. Early life and education Gertru ...

. He died in

Excelsior Springs, Missouri Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay and Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 10,553 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately northeast of central Kansas City, Miss ...

Notes

People from Bellevue, Nebraska People from Greenwich (town), New York American city founders Businesspeople from Nebraska Members of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature School board members in Nebraska 1834 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople {{Nebraska-politician-stub