Beverly Leonidas Clarke

Beverly Leonidas Clarke (February 11, 1809 – March 17, 1860) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and later United States Minister to Guatemala and Honduras. A member of the Democratic Party, he was known in his own day for his “sterling integrity, gentlemanly manners, and polished oratory,” and he served one term in Congress during a significant period in American political history, representing the interests of his Kentucky constituents in the national legislature.

Clarke was born on February 11, 1809, at Winterfield in Chesterfield County, Virginia, near modern-day Midlothian. Winterfield was a 210‑acre plantation that included a horse racetrack and was later subdivided in the 1870s into 65 lots. Although later residential developments—Winterfield Station (2004), Winterfield Park (2016), and Winterfield Crossing (2018)—preserve the name of the old plantation, they are not located on its original land. Clarke attended the common schools in Virginia before moving with his family to Kentucky in 1823, a relocation that would shape the remainder of his personal and professional life.

After settling in Kentucky, Clarke pursued legal studies in Franklin, Kentucky. He studied law there and subsequently attended the Lexington Law School, from which he graduated in 1831. Two years later, in 1833, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Franklin. His legal career provided the foundation for his entry into public life and helped establish his reputation as an able advocate and orator in Kentucky’s legal and political circles.

Clarke’s formal political career began in state government. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1841 and 1842, participating in the legislative affairs of the Commonwealth at a time of evolving party alignments and sectional tensions. As a Democrat, he aligned with the old-line conservative wing of the party, and his legislative service in Frankfort marked his emergence as a figure of statewide prominence.

Clarke was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress, serving as a U.S. Representative from Kentucky from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. His single term in the House of Representatives coincided with a transformative period in American history, including the Mexican–American War and the debates over the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories. During this time he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing his Kentucky district in the national forum. After leaving Congress, he continued his involvement in public affairs and served as a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention of 1849, which addressed the structure and powers of the state government.

In 1855 Clarke became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Kentucky. Known as an old-line conservative and proslavery candidate, he faced Charles S. Morehead, a former Whig U.S. Representative running under the banner of the American, or Know-Nothing, Party. The campaign was marked by intense nativist sentiment, with Morehead’s supporters focusing on anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic appeals that contributed to bloody riots in Louisville. Although Clarke himself was not a Catholic, his first wife was, and her faith was used against him in the campaign. Clarke enjoyed the support of prominent Democrat John C. Breckinridge, who successfully ran to replace Morehead in the U.S. House of Representatives and later served as Vice President of the United States from 1857 to 1861 under President James Buchanan. In the gubernatorial election, Clarke was defeated by Morehead, who received 69,816 votes to Clarke’s 65,413, and Morehead served as governor until 1859.

Clarke’s national service resumed in the diplomatic sphere under the Buchanan administration. On January 7, 1858, President Buchanan appointed him United States Minister to Guatemala, and on January 14, 1858, he was also appointed United States Minister to Honduras. He presented his credentials in Guatemala on July 13, 1858, and in Honduras on August 10, 1858. In these dual diplomatic posts he represented U.S. interests in Central America during a period of regional instability and growing American commercial and strategic engagement. After moving to Guatemala, Clarke converted to Roman Catholicism, a step that attracted local attention. He was confirmed by Bishop Bernardo Piñol, with Guatemalan statesman Pedro de Aycinena y Piñol serving as his godfather, an event reported as having pleased many in Guatemala.

Clarke’s private life reflected both his Virginia and Kentucky family connections and his wife’s Catholic faith. He first married his cousin Mariah Louise Clarke (1818 – c. 1848), a devout Roman Catholic. Together they had one son and three daughters, all of whom they named in honor of the Virgin Mary: George W. Clarke; Mariah “Pauline” Clarke (1837–1876); Maria “Delia” Clarke; and Mary Clarke. Their daughter Pauline married John Singleton Mosby (1833–1916) on December 30, 1856, and moved with him to Brentmoor in Warrenton, Virginia. Mosby later gained fame as a Confederate cavalry battalion commander during the American Civil War and subsequently served as American consul to Hong Kong and as an official in the U.S. Department of Justice. After the death of Mariah Louise Clarke, Beverly Clarke married Zenobia Turner, with whom he had one son, Thomas H. Clarke. Through his daughter Pauline, he became the grandfather of nine grandchildren, six of whom survived to adulthood.

Beverly Leonidas Clarke died of diabetes in Guatemala City on March 17, 1860, while serving as United States Minister to Guatemala and Honduras. Initially buried in Guatemala, his remains were later returned to Kentucky and interred in the State Cemetery at Frankfort pursuant to an act of the Kentucky Legislature, reflecting the esteem in which he was held in his adopted state. His career as lawyer, legislator, congressman, gubernatorial candidate, and diplomat, together with his reputation for integrity and polished oratory, secured him a lasting place in Kentucky and national political history.