This cabinet card shows Sidney Clarke, (1831-1900), an abolitionist from Lawrence, Kansas and supporter of the Free Soil Movement. Clarke began his career as a public servant when he enlisted, in 1859, as a volunteer with the Frontier Guard. Recognized for his effective leadership skills, Clarke was appointed in 1862 as Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers. The following year he became the Assistant Provost Marshal General for Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota. Clarke returned to Kansas shortly before the close of the Civil War and was elected, in 1864, to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican. He was reelected in 1866 and 1868, but was defeated in 1870 due to various scandals he was associated with. In 1878, Clarke resumed his political career when he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives as an independent. Clarke's career in Kansas politics came to an end, in 1880, when he was unable to win a seat in the Kansas Senate. His life as a politician was once again revived, when Clarke moved to Oklahoma in the 1880s and became an advocate for settlement and statehood in the territory. Clarke's tireless efforts became a reality, when Oklahoma became the forty-sixth state on November 16, 1907. Sidney Clarke passed away on June 18, 1909 in Oklahoma City at the age of seventy-eight.

Date: Between 1890s and 1900s