Early Life
Born in New Lisbon, Ohio, Clarke was the third child and only son of John Clarke, a lawyer and judge, and his wife Melissa Hessin. He attended New Lisbon High School and Western Reserve College, where he became a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1877. Clarke did not attend law school but studied the law under his father's direction and passed the bar exam cum laude in 1878.
After practicing law in New Lisbon for two years, Clarke moved to Youngstown, where he purchased a half-share in the Youngstown Vindicator. The Vindicator was a Democratic newspaper and Clarke, a reform-minded Bourbon Democrat, wrote several articles opposing the growing power of corporate monopolies and promoting such causes as civil-service reform. He also became involved in local party politics and civic causes. His efforts to prevent Calvin S. Brice's renomination as the party's candidate for the United States Senate in 1894 ended in failure, but he worked successfully to oppose the election of a Republican candidate for mayor of Youngstown who was a member of the American Protective Association. A "gold bug" in 1896, Clarke's opposition to William Jennings Bryan's nomination as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate was so great that he bolted the party and participated in the subsequent "Gold Bug" convention in Indianapolis that nominated Senator John M. Palmer later that year.
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