Samuel Clarke was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 Nonconformist

Nonconformism

Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...

 pastor and theological writer, known for his collection Promises of Scripture. He is not to be confused with his near contemporary Samuel Clarke

Samuel Clarke

thumb|right|200px|Samuel ClarkeSamuel Clarke was an English philosopher and Anglican clergyman.-Early life and studies:...

 (1675–1729), also a clergyman but an Anglican.

Life

He was born on 16 December 1684 at Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

 into an extended family of clergy. His father, Benjamin Clarke (1653–1722), was the youngest son of Daniel Clarke (1609–1654), vicar of Kirk Burton, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, a brother of Samuel Clarke (1599–1683)

Samuel Clarke (minister)

Samuel Clarke was an English clergyman and significant Puritan biographer.-Life:He was born 10 October 1599 at Wolston, Warwickshire, the son of Hugh Clarke , who was vicar of Wolston for forty years. Clarke was educated by his father till he was thirteen; then at the free school in Coventry; and...

, the Puritan biographer. His father married his cousin

Cousin marriage

Cousin marriage is marriage between two cousins. In various jurisdictions and cultures, such marriages range from being considered ideal and actively encouraged, to being uncommon but still legal, to being seen as incest and legally prohibited....

 Elizabeth (1656–1736), the daughter of another Samuel Clarke (1626–1701)

Samuel Clarke (annotator)

Samuel Clarke or Clark was an English Nonconformist clergyman known as an assiduous annotator of the Bible.-Life:He was the eldest son of Samuel Clarke , and was born at Shotwick, near Chester, on 12 November 1626...

, annotator of the Bible. After reading the works of the older Samuel Clarke, who was his great-uncle on one side and great-grandfather on the other, he went through a course of preparation for the ministry. Though offered preferment in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

, he declined it on conscientious grounds. He became the pastor of a Nonconformist congregation at St. Albans. The first charity school

Charity school

A charity school, also called Blue Coat School, was significant in the History of education in England. They were erected and maintained in various parishes, by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants, for teaching poor children to read, write, and other necessary parts of education...

 in connection with a dissenting congregation was instituted by Clarke, giving free education in reading, writing, and arithmetic to thirty boys and ten girls (see Dissenting academies

Dissenting academies

The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....

).

Clarke was on intimate terms with Philip Doddridge

Philip Doddridge

Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...

, Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...

, and Job Orton

Job Orton

Job Orton was an English dissenting minister.-Life:He was born at Shrewsbury. He entered the academy of Dr Philip Doddridge at Northampton, became minister of a congregation formed by a fusion of Presbyterians and Independents at High Street Chapel, Shrewsbury , received Presbyterian ordination...

, and of the same theological school. Doddridge was his special friend; it was in going to preach Clarke's funeral sermon that he supposedly caught the illness which caused his death (4 December 1750). It is said that Clarke suggested to Doddridge some of the books which he published; in particular, his Principles of the Christian Religion.

Works

Clarke published some sermons, but is remembered for his Collection of the Promises of Scripture, arranged systematically. It is a compilation, often reprinted, and was an enduring popular religious volume.

Family

Clarke married Sarah Jones, of St. Albans (1701–1757), by whom he had a son, Joseph (1738–1807), and other children.