William Clark (merchant)

William Clark (December 19, 1670 - July, 1742) was a merchant and town official in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Around 1713 he built a large house at North Square in Boston's North End.

William Clark's house, Garden Court Street, North End, Boston, built ca.1713, demolished 1833[1]

Biography
Detail of 1743 map of Boston, showing "Clark's Square" in the North End[2]

Clark was born in Boston in 1670 to physician John Clark; siblings included future speaker of the House, John Clark. In 1702 he married Sarah Brondson; their children included Robert Clark and Benjamin Clark.[3]

William Clark "held several minor town offices, as constable in 1700; overseer of the poor in 1704; ... tithing-man in 1713, 1715 and 1718; ... selectman of Boston from 1719 to 1723, and representative to the General Court, 1719-22, 1724 and 1725."[4] He attended Old North Church (i.e. Second Church), and was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.[5]

"His death in 1742 [was] attributed by some to the loss of forty sail of vessels in the French wars." Clark was buried "in his tomb at Copp's Hill, marked by a tablet bearing the family arms.".[6]

References
  1. Abbott Lowell Cummings. The Domestic Architecture of Boston, 1660-1725. Archives of American Art Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1971); p.10.
  2. Boston Street Laying-Out Dept. A record of the streets, alleys, places, etc. in the city of Boston. Boston: City Printing Dept., 1910.
  3. Roberts. 1895; p.316.
  4. Roberts. 1895; p.316-317.
  5. Roberts. 1895; p.317.
  6. Lee. 1881; p.349.

Further reading
  • Henry Lee. The Clark and Hutchinson Houses. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 18, 1881; p. 344+
  • Oliver Ayer Roberts. History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888; v.1 Boston: A. Mudge & Son, 1895; p. 316+
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