Peleg Clarke, Jr. papers

Frank J. Williams was born on August 24, 1940 in Richmond, Rhode Island. Williams’s fascination with Abraham Lincoln began while he was in the sixth grade. Instead of purchasing food, Williams used his lunch money to buy books about Lincoln. This early interest inspired Williams to study law. After earning his undergraduate degree from Boston University, he obtained his law degree from Boston University School of Law. He also went on to earn a master’s degree in taxation from Bryant University. Later, he also served as a U.S. Army captain from 1962-1967 in Germany and Vietnam. During Williams’s legal career, he served as town moderator and town solicitor for Richmond, Rhode Island. He also was appointed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1995, and in 2001 he was elevated to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He also served from 2003-2009 as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Military Commissions under George W. Bush’s administration. Over the course of his career, Williams never lost his love for Lincoln studies and continued to collect books, artifacts, and memorabilia – a collection that is now valued at over $3 million. Williams has also published and co-authored books on Lincoln such as Judging Lincoln (2002), Lincoln as Hero (2012), The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views (2008), and the coedited book, The Mary Lincoln Enigma (2013). He is also the founding chair of the Lincoln Forum and served as president of both the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Lincoln Group of Boston.

Over the years, collecting Lincoln has become a family affair. His wife, Virginia Williams, assists in the collecting of Lincoln artifacts and books. V. Williams was born in Texas and graduated from North Texas State University. Working for the U.S. Department of Defense, she served as a teacher overseas and met F. Williams during his time serving in the military. She was a kindergarten teacher in Rhode Island for Cranston Public Schools for almost three decades and has been intimately involved with the Lincoln Forum since its inception. Together, Frank and Virginia Williams have amassed a large and impressive collection made up of more than 15,000 book volumes and 10,000 artifacts. These items were donated to Mississippi State University in 2017. To date, the couple continue to add to the collection and a large portion of these objects are on view at the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana Gallery at Mitchell Memorial Library on Mississippi State University’s campus.

References

Allison Matthews, “Frank and Virginia Williams of Rhode Island gift extraordinary Lincoln and Civil War Collection to Mississippi State University,” Mississippi State University, Last Modified June 20, 2017.

“Frank Williams,” OAH: Organization of American Historians, Accessed April 2, 2019.

Peleg Clarke Jr. was born on December 25, 1819 in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. He was the son of Peleg and Fanny Clarke, who farmed extensively in Stonington, Rhode Island. In 1835, Clarke Jr. moved to Westerly, Rhode Island in hopes of mastering a trade and eventually became apprentice to a carpenter and joiner. Soon after, Clarke Jr. began a contracting business, which saw success in attracting significant contracts including a number of prominent sites in Westerly (e.g., the Stone Mill at Potter Hill, the White Rock Mill and Village, and the Dixon House). In 1843, Clarke Jr. entered the lumber business and built a planing mill and sash and a blind factory. However, in 1854, Clarke Jr. moved to Virginia as a representative for the Melville Gold Mining Company of New York. He worked in this position for five years while concurrently establishing a trade in lumber in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He then spent time in Philadelphia from 1862 to 1863, but eventually returned to Westerly and his previous vocation as a builder. During this time, he also worked with Babcock & Moss, builders of mills and hotels, and also dabbled with engineering and surveying. Later in 1869, Clarke Jr. became the director of the Pawcatuck National Bank and its president in 1870. Over the course of his career, he also served as a director of the Westerly Gas Light Company and an incorporator of the River Bend Cemetery.

In addition to his career, Clarke Jr. enjoyed a family. He married Mary T. Clarke (1821-1888) of Newport, Rhode Island in 1839. The couple had four daughters: Mary Estelle (wife of Henry S. Mowry), Maria Arabella (wife of Perry R. Dellinger), Francis Virginia (wife of William S. Briggs), and Martha B. (wife of William S. Eaton). Mary lived until May 9, 1988. Clarke Jr. later married Maria Ledward (1835-1917). Clarke Jr. died on October 18, 1899. He is buried in River Bend Cemetery in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Reference

J. R. Cole W.W.Preston & Co. Biographical Sketches of Westerly. History of Washington and Kent Counies, Rhode Island. Accessed September 14, 2019. http://theusgenweb.org/ri/washington/Bios/we1.html