James S. Clarkson

James S. Clarkson

James Sullivan Clarkson (born May 17, 1842 in Brookville , Indiana , †  May 31, 1918 in Newark , New Jersey ) was an American politician and from 1890 to 1892 chairman of the Republican National Committee , the party organization of the Republicans .

Professional career

As a boy, James Clarkson learned the printing trade at his father's print shop, who worked in the newspaper industry in Indiana. In 1855 the family moved to Grundy County , Iowa , where their father bought prairie land and set up a farm. During the Civil War , Clarkson tried twice to join the Union Army , but was refused each time for physical reasons. From 1866 he worked in Des Moines, initially as a typesetter at the Des Moines Register , and later as a local editor. In 1869 he was appointed editor-in-chief of this newspaper as the successor to Congress- elected Francis W. Palmer . Shortly thereafter, the register became the property of his father's company.

In the course of this development, James Clarkson developed into a well-known businessman in the city. He used his influence to make Des Moines a destination for several railroad lines including the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and the Wabash Railroad .

politics

In Des Moines, Clarkson began to be politically active. In 1868 he became chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa. The year before, US President Ulysses S. Grant had offered him the position of envoy in Switzerland , which he declined. In later years he refrained from diplomatic missions offered to him twice. He became Des Moines postmaster in 1871, and held the post for six years before resigning due to a conflict with President Rutherford B. Hayes . From 1889 to 1890, he was first assistant postmaster general on appointment by President Benjamin Harrison .

As a delegate from Iowa, Clarkson attended the Republican National Conventions in 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, and 1896. He was one of the organizers of the ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign of James G. Blaine in 1884 . Between 1880 and 1896 he was a member of the Republican National Committee , whose chair he took over from Matthew Quay in 1890 and held for two years. Between 1891 and 1893 he also served as President of the Republican League of the United States .

Later CV

After Clarkson sold his shares in the Des Moines Register in 1891 , he moved to New York City , where he became President of the New York and New Jersey Bridge Company . 1902 President called him Theodore Roosevelt customs inspectors ( Surveyor of Customs ) for the New York Harbor , which he remained, until 1910.

James Clarkson spent his late years at Sleepy Hollow Farm in Tarrytown . He died at his son's home in Newark.

Web links

• James S. Clarkson in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• State Historical Society of Iowa
• James S. Clarkson at The Political Graveyard