Captain William Clarke

• American

William Clarke was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, in June, 1776, and began a career as a carriage maker in Pittsfield, Mass. Settling in Utica, Clarke became a leader of the Community, being elected President of the Village of Utica in 1824 and again in 1828. This was during a period when Utica was experiencing rapid growth. Clarke was a Director, appointed by the State, in the Bank of Utica. Appointed as a Commissioner of the New York State Lunatic Asylum in 1827, Clarke had superintended the erection of the Bleeker House which became part of Bagg's Hotel, and had designed and built two brick structures on Genessee Street. His death occurred in 1841.