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John Clarke (1609-1676)

 

 
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John Clarke (1609-1676)
 
 
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John Clarke (8 October, 1609– 20 April, 1676) was a medical doctor, Baptist
Baptist

A Baptist is a member of a Christian denomination characterized by the rejection of infant baptism in favor of believer's baptism by Baptism#Immersion....
 minister, co-founder of the colony of Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
 and author of its charter, and a leading advocate
Advocate

An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person, especially in a legal context. It is used primarily in reference to the system of Scots law, Anglo-Dutch law, Scandinavian law and Law of Israel....
 of religious freedom in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.

Clarke was born at Westhorpe
Westhorpe, Suffolk

Westhorpe is a linear village and civil parish in the Suffolk countryside, thirteen miles from Bury St. Edmunds, eight miles from Stowmarket and a mile from the villages of Wyverstone and Finningham....
 in the county of Suffolk
Suffolk

Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 on October 8, 1609, to Thomas and Rose (Kerrich) Clarke. He was one of eight children, six of whom moved to America and settled in New England.

According to the well known genealogical work One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families,by John Osborne Austin (Salem, Massachusetts 1893), Clarke's first wife was Elizabeth Harges, daughter of John Harges.






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John Clarke (8 October, 1609– 20 April, 1676) was a medical doctor, Baptist
Baptist

A Baptist is a member of a Christian denomination characterized by the rejection of infant baptism in favor of believer's baptism by Baptism#Immersion....
 minister, co-founder of the colony of Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
 and author of its charter, and a leading advocate
Advocate

An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person, especially in a legal context. It is used primarily in reference to the system of Scots law, Anglo-Dutch law, Scandinavian law and Law of Israel....
 of religious freedom in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.

Clarke was born at Westhorpe
Westhorpe, Suffolk

Westhorpe is a linear village and civil parish in the Suffolk countryside, thirteen miles from Bury St. Edmunds, eight miles from Stowmarket and a mile from the villages of Wyverstone and Finningham....
 in the county of Suffolk
Suffolk

Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 on October 8, 1609, to Thomas and Rose (Kerrich) Clarke. He was one of eight children, six of whom moved to America and settled in New England.

According to the well known genealogical work One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families,by John Osborne Austin (Salem, Massachusetts 1893), Clarke's first wife was Elizabeth Harges, daughter of John Harges. John Clarke was married three times according to this source. His second wife was Jane Fletcher, a widow, and his third wife was Sarah Davis, widow of Nicholas Davis.

The source of Clarke's education remains unknown (though some say the University of Leiden), but before arriving in America he had studied theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
, languages, and medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. He first immigrated to Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Bay

Massachusetts Bay is one of the large headlands and bays of the Atlantic Ocean that form the distinctive shape of the coastline of the U.S. state of Massachusetts....
 in 1637. Clarke and other settlers purchased land from the American Indians on the island of Aquidneck, and established Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Portsmouth is a New England town in Newport County, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,149 at the United States Census, 2000....
 in 1638. Clarke is one of the signers of the Portsmouth Compact
Portsmouth Compact

The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island....
.

In 1639 he helped found the city of Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island....
, and established a Baptist church there. At about the same time, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)

Roger Williams was an England theology, a notable proponent of religious toleration and the separation of church and state and an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans in the United States....
, Clarke's compatriot in the cause of religious freedom in the New World, established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States....
. "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking." Therefore, both Roger Williams and John Clarke are variously credited as being the founder of the Baptist faith in America.

In 1651, John Clarke, John Crandall and Obadiah Holmes were arrested and imprisoned in Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An older industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park....
 for conducting an illegal worship service. This event (and others like it) served as the basis for Clarke's Ill Newes from New England, or a Narrative of New England's Persecutions (1652).

In 1652, Clarke traveled to London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 with Roger Williams to secure a new charter for the colony of Rhode Island. Williams returned to Rhode Island in 1654, but Clarke stayed in England until the charter was granted. On July 8, 1663 Charles II of England
Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
 granted John Clarke a Royal Charter
Royal Charter

A royal charter is a charter granted by a Monarch to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies . In the United Kingdom legal tradition a royal charter is in the form of letters patent....
 to Rhode Island. That charter remained the foundation of government in Rhode Island until 1842.

Clarke and Williams continued to labor together for the cause of religious liberty. Williams remains the more well-known of the two, but Clarke was more important to the history of Baptists in New England. Williams left the Baptists to become a Seeker
Seeker

Seeker and similar may refer to:* Seekers, a 17th-century British religious group* Seekers , a fan-created name for some Transformers toys/characters...
. During his years in Rhode Island, John Clarke was pastor of the church in Newport. He practiced medicine as a means of financial support. He also served on the General Assembly from 1664 to 1669, and three terms as deputy governor (1669-1672). Clarke died in Newport on April 20, 1676. His will set up a trust to be used "for the relief of the poor or bringing up of children unto learning from time to time forever." This trust is generally considered to be the oldest educational trust fund in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

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