Thomas J. Clarke (Alabama politician)

Thomas J. Clarke was a farmer, state legislator and constable in Alabama.

Clarke was born in South Carolina 1842/3. ^[1] In August 1872, he was nominated to run for the house as a Radical Republican. ^[2] He represented Barbour County, Alabama in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1872 to 1874. ^[1] In 1885 and 1886, he served as a constable in Lincoln, Alabama (Talladega County). ^[1]

His election victory was contested, but a House committee determined he and others were legitimately elected. ^[3] He and other Alabama state legislators protested the election of George Goldthwaite as U.S. senator. ^[4] In 1874, he was serving as Barbour County tax assessor. ^[5]

See also

• African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900

References

1. Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press 1996 page 46
2. "New Item: The Radicals of Barbour". The Henry County Register. 9 August 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
3. Ragland, P. (1873). Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Alabama Session 1872-'73. Mongtomgery: Arthur Bingham, State Printer. p. 96.
4. "Forty-Second Congress. First Session". The Congressional Globe. 1871-03-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
5. Reports of Committees of The House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Forty-Third Congress 1874-'75. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1875. p. 1244.