Individuals >> Clark, Horace Francis (1815-1873)

Banker, Politician.

Horace Clark's association with Pfaff's is unclear, but he is described as one of Thomas Dunn English's "associates" at Pfaff's in "Our New York" (English, "The Club" 202). After receiving his education from Williams College, Clark worked as a lawyer in New York City. In 1856 he ran for a seat in Congress. His bid was a success, as was his reelection campaign. At the end of his political career, Clark returned to the world of law but quickly dismissed it in favor of business opportunities within the growing railroad industry. He worked as a director of the New York & Harlem Railroad while continually increasing his interests in other rail companies, including the Union Pacific Railroad Company where he would eventually become president. His acquisition of railroads gave him a great deal of power: "His railroad holdings were so large that his operations exerted an influence upon the New York Stock Exchange, the term 'Clark Stock' being applied to those companies in which his holdings were the largest" (J. Frederick).

References & Biographical Resources

English, Thomas Dunn. "That Club at Pfaaf's [sic]." The Literary World. 12 Jun. 1886: 202. [more about this work]

English dissociates himself from Clark, mentioned as one of English's "associates" at Pfaff's in "Our New York." [pages: 202]

Frederick, John H. "Horace Francis Clark." Dictionary of American Biography. Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC. [more about this work]

Stylus. "Our New York Letter." The Literary World: A Monthly Review of Current Literature. 20 Feb. 1886: 64-65. [more about this work]

Mentioned in reference to the Bohemian Club, which may be a post-Pfaff's group of journalists, even though they are described here as frequenting "Pfaaf's" [sic]. See Thomas Dunn English's "That Club at Pfaaf's [sic]." [pages: 64]