Rufus Wheelwright Clark (December 17, 1813 – August 9, 1886) was an American pastor and author.

Biography

Clark, son of Thomas M. and Rebecca (Wheelwright) Clark, was born in

Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

, Mass., December 17, 1813. At an early age he went to New York City as a clerk in a mercantile house, and while thus engaged became convinced of his duty to prepare for the ministry. He graduated from

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, ...

in 1838. He spent the year after graduation in the

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

, and the succeeding year in the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. He was ordained and installed as pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C, January 7, 1842, but resigned that charge in the following November, to accept a call to the North (Congregational) Church in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

, N. H., over which he was installed on the 16th of that month. He spent nine years in Portsmouth, leaving there in November, 1851 to remove to

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and dow ...

, Mass., where he was settled over the Maverick (Congregational) Church, on December 3 of that year. After a pastorate of five years and four months, he went to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, N.Y., where he was installed over the South Congregational Church, from April 14, 1857, to November 17, 1862. From December 10, 1862, until his resignation twenty years later, he held the pastorate of the First Reformed Church in Albany, N.Y. As a pastor he was widely known through his question books for

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

s and other numerous contributions to religious literature. The most important of his published works, aside from those of a distinctly religious character, was his ''Heroes of Albany'' (1866,

8vo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

, pp. 870), written in commemoration of the sacrifices of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. The degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

was conferred on him by the

University of the City of New York New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1862. After resigning his charge at Albany, in 1882, he made his home, in feeble health, with one of his sons, on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, N.Y. He went to Nantucket, Mass., for the summer of 1886, and died there, August 9, in his 73rd year. He married, June 14, 1843, Eliza, daughter of the Rev. William C. Walton, of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

, Va., and

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...

, Conn.; she died May 21, 1877, leaving five sons and one daughter. Four of the sons were clergymen.

External links

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Books by Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:clark, rufus wheelwright 1813 births 1877 deaths People from Newburyport, Massachusetts Yale Divinity School alumni Andover Newton Theological School alumni American Congregationalist ministers American religious writers American male non-fiction writers Yale College alumni 19th-century American clergy