Walter Clarke (governor)

Walter Clarke
Walter Clarke grave medallion
6th, 13th and 17th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 1676–1677
Preceded by	William Coddington
Succeeded by	Benedict Arnold
In office 1686–1686
Preceded by	Henry Bull
Succeeded by	Edmund Andros under the Dominion of New England
In office 1696–1698
Preceded by	Caleb Carr
Succeeded by	Samuel Cranston
11th and 15th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 1679–1686
Governor	John Cranston Peleg Sanford William Coddington, Jr. Henry Bull
Preceded by	James Barker
Succeeded by	John Coggeshall, Jr.
In office 1700–1714
Governor	Samuel Cranston
Preceded by	John Greene, Jr.
Succeeded by	Henry Tew
Personal details
Born	1640 Newport, Rhode Island
Died	May 23, 1714 Newport, Rhode Island
Resting place	Clifton Burying Ground, Newport
Spouse(s)	(1) Content Greenman (2) Hannah Scott (3) Freeborn (Williams) Hart (4) Sarah (Prior) Gould
Children	Mary, Content, son, Hannah, Catharine, Frances, Jeremiah, Deliverance
Occupation	Deputy, assistant, deputy governor, governor
Religion	Quaker

Walter Clarke (1640–1714) was an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the first native-born governor of the colony. The son of colonial President Jeremy Clarke, he was a Quaker like his father. His mother was Frances (Latham) Clarke, who is often called "the Mother of Governors." While in his late 20s, he was elected as a deputy from Newport, and in 1673 was elected to his first of three consecutive terms as assistant. During King Philip's War, he was elected to his first term as governor of the colony. He served for one year in this role, dealing with the devastation of the war, and with the predatory demands of neighboring colonies on Rhode Island territory during the aftermath of the war.

While voted out of office in 1677 by the "War Party," he was soon back in office as deputy governor, serving continuously in this capacity from 1679 to 1686, until once again being elected governor. His time in office was very short, because the new English king, James II put most of the American colonies under a single royal governor, Edmund Andros, and Rhode Island fell under the Dominion of New England for three years. The flight of King James II to France in 1689, and the subsequent ouster of Andros from New England, brought about the restoration of Rhode Island's government under the Royal Charter of 1663, but Clarke refused to serve as governor. Eventually, following the death of Governor Caleb Carr in 1695, Clarke once again accepted the governorship.

His final two years as governor were marred with jurisdictional issues from the crown, and following the threat of impeachment, he resigned as governor in the spring of 1698, being succeeded by his nephew, Samuel Cranston. Always with public service in his heart, he nevertheless became deputy governor of the colony in 1700, and served in this capacity every year until his death in 1714.

Clarke had a total of four wives, the second of whom was a niece of Anne Hutchinson and the third of whom was a daughter of Roger Williams. Two of his sisters married colonial Rhode Island governors.