Abraham Clark (15 February 1726 – 15 September 1794) was a member of the US House of Representatives from New Jersey's at-large congressional district from 4 March 1791 to 15 September 1794, succeeding Lambert Cadwalader and preceding Aaron Kitchell. He was a member of the Federalist Party.
Biography[]
Abraham Clark was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1726, and he worked as a surveyor before becoming a lawyer. He offered to defend poor men when they could not afford a lawyer, and he became quite popular; in 1775, having served as a clerk of the Provincial Assembly and as High Sheriff of Essex County, he became a member of the Provincial Congress.
In 1776, he was one of the patriot delegates sent to represent New Jersey at the Continental Congress, with the dominant American loyalists in the delegation being recalled. Clark voted for the US Declaration of Independence, and two of his sons served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, being captured and tortured by the British. In 1778, Clark left Congress to become a member of the New Jersey Legislative Council.
From 1791 to 1794, he represented New Jersey in the US House of Representatives, and he died of sunstroke at his home while still in office. He was buried in the Rahway Cemetery.