Henry Joseph Clarke (1833 - 1889)

Born 7 Jul 1833 in Donegal, Ireland

Husband of Ann Agnes (Hynes) Clarke — married before 1858 (to before 1871) in Montreal, Canada East

Husband of Maria (Merrick) Clarke — married before 1881 in California, United States

Died 13 Sep 1889 at age 56 in Gull Lake, Lacombe County, Northwest Territories [uncertain]

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Preceded by
Marc-Amable Girard

3rd Premier of Manitoba
March 14, 1872 – July 8, 1874

Succeeded by
Marc-Amable Girard

Biography

Henry Clarke is Notable.

Henry Joseph Clarke, a bilingual lawyer, is sometimes listed as the third premier of Manitoba. Other sources describe him as the government leader in the legislature from 1871 to 1874.

Born in Ireland in 1833, Henry was the eldest son of Francis Clarke, a Roman Catholic customs official. His family had emigrated to Montreal when Henry was three. After becoming a lawyer, he practised law in Montreal, becoming a QC in 1867. He moved to Manitoba in 1870 to assist the lieutenant governor in establishing a provincial government. The following year he was appointed attorney general. He was a controversial figure at this time, not only for his dealings with Louis Riel, but also for his personal life. He left his wife, Ann Hynes, for a married woman, Maria Merrick Sinclair, whom he later married.

After his electoral defeat in 1874, Clarke moved to California for a time. He returned to Winnipeg in 1877. He unsuccessfully contested the English-speaking riding of Rockwood in the provincial elections of 1878 and 1879. Although he had previously courted the French-speaking and Roman Catholic vote, he now supported the abolition of French as an official language and the adoption of an Ontario-style school system. However, after the 1885 North-West rebellion, he acted as lawyer for 25 of Riel’s followers.

He died in 1889 near Medicine Hat, Northwest Territories (Alberta), while travelling by train.

Sources

• Wikipedia:Henry Joseph Clarke

• Lovell C. Clark, “CLARKE, HENRY JOSEPH,” in EN:UNDEF:public_citation_publication, Volume 11, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 1982.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 13 April 2020), memorial page for Henry Joseph Clarke (7 Jul 1833–7 Sep 1889), Find A Grave: Memorial #5239113, citing Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, King County, Washington, USA ; Maintained by Carolyn Farnum (contributor 10411580) .
• Henry J. Clarke Dead: "Newspapers.com"
  The Montreal Star 14 Sep 1889, page 8
  Newspapers Clip: 115010702 (accessed 22 December 2022)
• Manitoba Matters: "Newspapers.com"
  The Brantford Daily Expositor 14 Sep 1889, page 4
  Newspapers Clip: 115010837 (accessed 22 December 2022) (died in Gull Lake, NWT)

• 1881 Census: "Canada Census, 1881"
  citing Henry Clarke, citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
  FamilySearch Record: MVXC-G4Y (accessed 22 December 2022)
  FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6LMC-SD3 Image number 00558
  Henry Clarke (46), married, Barrister, in Ottawa, Carleton, Ontario, Canada. Born in Ireland.