Beverly L. Clarke

Beverly Leonidas Clarke (February 11, 1809 – March 17, 1860) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. He was known for his "sterling integrity, gentlemanly manners, and polished oratory."

Clarke was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849). He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1849. was selected as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Kentucky. His opponent Charles S. Morehead, a former Whig U.S. Representative who ran with the Know-Nothing Party ran a campaign that focused on immigrants and vilified Catholics leading to bloody riots in Louisville. Although Clarke himself was not a Catholic, his wife was and that was used against him. Clarke had the support of John C. Breckinridge, who (successfully) ran to replace Morehead in the House of Representatives and would later serve as Vice-President of the United States from 1857 to 1861 under President Buchanan. On January 14, 1858, he was also appointed as U.S. Minister to Honduras. He presented his credentials in Guatemala on July 13, 1858, and in Honduras on August 10, 1858, serving until his death in Guatemala on March 17, 1860.

Personal life Clarke was married to his cousin Mariah Louise Clarke (1818), a devout Roman Catholic. Together, they were the parents of one son and three daughters (all of whom they named after the Virgin Mary), including: and moved to Brentmoor in Warrenton, Virginia. Mosby, a Confederate army cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War, served as the American consul to Hong Kong and in the U.S. Department of Justice. Maria "Delia" Clarke Mary Clarke

After Mariah Louise Clark's death, he married Zenobia Turner. Together, they were the parents of a son: He was first buried in Guatemala but later was interred in the State Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky, after an act of the Kentucky Legislature.

Descendants Through his daughter Pauline, he was the grandfather of nine grandchildren of whom six survived.