John M. Clayton (Arkansas)

John M. Clayton
John Middleton Clayton
United States House of Representatives
Personal details
Born	(1840-10-13)October 13, 1840 Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 29, 1889(1889-01-29) (aged 48) Conway County, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting place	Bellwood Cemetery
Political party	Republican

John Middleton Clayton (October 13, 1840 – January 29, 1889) was a Republican Congressman-elect in post-Civil War Arkansas. He may be best remembered for his mysterious assassination in 1889. The identity of his assassin remains unknown.

Clayton and his twin brother, William (W.H.H. Clayton), were born on a farm near Chester, Pennsylvania to John and Ann Glover Clayton. His father was an orchard keeper and carpenter. His parents had ten children, but six died in infancy. Clayton later married a woman named Sarah Ann with whom he had six children. During the Civil War, he served in the Army of the Potomac where he engaged in several campaigns in the east. In 1867, he and his family moved to Arkansas where he managed a plantation owned by older brother, Powell Clayton, who would become the Governor of Arkansas the next year.

In 1871, Clayton was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives representing Jefferson County, his brother, Powell, starting his term in the United States Senate the same year. In 1873, he served in the Arkansas Senate representing Jefferson, Bradley, Grant and Lincoln Counties, also serving as Speaker of the Senate pro tempore for part of his term. He served on the first board of trustees of Arkansas Industrial University, today the University of Arkansas, when it was chartered in 1871. Two years later, Clayton helped Pine Bluff, Arkansas secure the Branch Normal College, today the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He became involved in the Brooks-Baxter War of 1874 which was fought over the disputed election for the governor's office between Joseph Brooks and Elisha Baxter. Clayton, a supporter of Brooks', raised troops in Jefferson County and marched them to Little Rock, Arkansas where they fought Baxter supporters. He remained loyal to Brooks to the end of the conflict when President Ulysses S. Grant declared Baxter the rightful governor.