John Henry Clifford (1809 - 1876)

Born 16 Jan 1809 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 2 Jan 1876 at age 66 in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA

Preceded by
George S. Boutwell

Governor of Massachusetts
1853 - 1854

Succeeded by
Emory Washburn

Biography

John Clifford is Notable.

John Henry Clifford was born 16 Jan 1809 in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Benjamin Clifford and Achsah (Wade) Clifford. ^{[1][2] [3]} He was the sixth of thirteen children. ^[4] He was graduated from Brown University in 1827,^[5] read law with Timothy Coffin in New Bedford, Massachusetts and Theron Metcalf in Dedham, Massachusetts, and then opened a law practice in New Bedford. He maintained that practice, sometimes with partners, for the rest of his life. ^[6]

On 16 Jan 1832, John Henry Clifford married Sarah Parker Allen, the daughter of William Harland Allen and Ruth (Parker) Allen.^[7] Ruth (Parker) Allen was the daughter of Hon. John Avery Parker and Averie (Standish) Parker (a descendant in the sixth generation from Capt. Miles Standish). ^[4] The couple had nine children: ^{[4] [8] [9]}

• Ruth Clifford, b 1833; d 1833 ^[9]
• Mary Clifford, b 1836; d 1842 ^[9]
• Anna Clifford, b 1838; d 1909 ^[9]
• Edward Everett Clifford, b 1840; d 1842 ^[9]
• Robert Winthrop Clifford, b 1842; d 1843 ^[9]
• Charles Warren Clifford, b 1844; d 1923 ^[9]
• Ellen Clifford, b 1846; d 1930 ^[9]
• Walter Clifford, b 1849; d 1912 ^[9]
• Arthur Clifford, b 1852; d 1881 ^[9]

John Henry Clifford was an American lawyer and politician from New Bedford, Massachusetts. He served as the state's attorney general for much of the 1850s, retaining the office during administrations dominated by three different political parties. A Whig, he was elected the state's 21st governor, serving a single term from 1853 to 1854. He was the first governor of Massachusetts not born in the state. ^{[8] [4]}

As attorney general Clifford gained fame by leading the prosecution in one of the most sensational trials of the 19th century, the Parkman–Webster murder case. The case, where both victim and assailant were from the upper crust of Boston society, featured the first use of forensic dentistry to secure a conviction. During the American Civil War Clifford supported the Union cause, and was involved in unsuccessful maneuvers to prosecute Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the war. ^[8]

In his later years he served as president of the Harvard University Board of Overseers,^{[8] [3]} and later as president of the Boston and Providence Railroad. ^{[4] [3] [4]}

John Henry Clifford died on the morning of 2 Jan 1876 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, of heart disease. He was survived by his wife, two daughters - Anna and Ellen, and three sons - Charles Warren Clifford, Walter Clifford, and Dr. Arthur Clifford. ^{[4] [9]}

John's estate passed probate on 10 May 1865.^[10] He left his estate to his beloved wife Sarah Parker Clifford for the education and support of their children.

Sources

Footnotes:

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "Rhode Island and Pawtucket, Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Index, 1800-1855"
   Rhode Island State Archives; Providence, Rhode Island; 1800-1855, Rhode Island Births
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61781 #5645 (accessed 17 January 2023)
   John Henry Clifford birth 16 Jan 1809 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, child of Benjamin Clifford & Achsah Clifford.
2. ↑ Nicely, Charlotte A.E.. The Clifford Family and A Few Allied Families (Published Privately, Dover, New Hampshire, 1973, 33 pages) - See Person No. 32, Page 3
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Dow, Joseph. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire (Salem, MA, 1893) Vol. 2 (581-1104): genealogical and biographical; Page 639
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6} Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1883). History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 1. Philadelphia, PA: J. Lewis & CO. page 12, 13
5. ↑ College Student Lists. Worcester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2207 #321573 (accessed 17 January 2023)
   Name: John H Clifford; Publication Year: 1830; Publication State: Rhode Island; School Name: Brown University; Residence: Providence, Rhode Island; Title: Sixty-first annual commencement of Brown University, September 1, 1830.
6. ↑ Reno, Conrad (1901). Memoirs of the Judiciary and the Bar, Volume 2. Boston: Century Memorial Publishing.
7. ↑ Marriage: "Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899"
   Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636-1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Page number: 284
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 3897 #6471296 (accessed 17 January 2023)
   John H Clifford marriage to Sarah Barker Allen on 16 Jan 1832 in New Bedford.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Wikipedia - John H Clifford
9. ↑ ^{9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10} Find A Grave Memorial# 36434857 for John Henry Clifford (1809 - 1876) buried in Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol Co., Massachusetts, USA
10. ↑ Probate: "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991"
    Probate Records 1687-1916; Index, 1687-1926 (Bristol County, Massachusetts); Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Bristol County); Probate Place: Bristol, Massachusetts
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9069 #416153 (accessed 17 January 2023)
    John H Clifford probate on 10 May 1865.

• Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography; Volume: Vol. I
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61360 #3657 (accessed 17 January 2023)
  Name: John Henry Clifford; Birth Date: 16 Jan 1809; Birth Place: Providence, Rhode Island; Death Date: 2 Jan 1876; Death Place: New Bedford, Massachusetts; Occupation: Governor Of Massachusetts.
• Memoir of the Hon. John H. Clifford, LL.D.: Prepared Agreeably to a Resolution of the .. by Robert Charles Winthrop, Massachusetts Historical Society', 1877, Volume 15, pp 1, archive.org (accessed 17 January 2023)
• Wikidata: Item Q175757

Source Citations:

• Nicely, Charlotte A.E.. The Clifford Family and A Few Allied Families (Published Privately, Dover, New Hampshire, 1973, 33 pages) - See Person No. 32, Page 3

• Source S39 Dow, Joseph. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire (Salem, MA, 1893) Vol. 2 (581-1104): genealogical and biographical; Page 639

• Wikipedia - John H Clifford

• Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1883). History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 1. Philadelphia, PA: J. Lewis & CO. page 12, 13

• Reno, Conrad (1901). Memoirs of the Judiciary and the Bar, Volume 2. Boston: Century Memorial Publishing.

• Find A Grave Memorial# 36434857 for John Henry Clifford (1809 - 1876) buried in Rural Cemetery, New Bedford, Bristol Co., Massachusetts, USA

Acknowledgements

• This person was originally created through the import of fitzmaster032511.ged on 27 March 2011.