1. Powell Foulk Clayton was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 9th governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871, as a Republican United States Senator for Arkansas from 1871 to 1877 and as United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1897 to 1905.
Powell Clayton was active in the Arkansas Republican Party and became governor after military rule was lifted and the Arkansas state constitution was ratified by Congress.
Powell Clayton was viewed as a carpetbagger and implemented martial law in Arkansas for four months due to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and violence against African-Americans and Republicans.
Powell Clayton was elected to the US Senate for Arkansas in March 1871.
Powell Clayton returned to Arkansas from Washington, DC, where he remained active in the Republican National Committee.
Powell Clayton helped William McKinley receive the Republican nomination for president in 1896.
In 1882, Powell Clayton established a home in the developing resort town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Powell Clayton was president of the Eureka Springs Improvement Company and worked to develop commercial and residential properties.
Powell Clayton died in Washington, DC, in 1914 and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Powell Foulk Clayton was born in Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, to John and Ann Clayton.
The Powell Clayton family was descended from early Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania.
Powell Clayton's ancestor William Powell Clayton emigrated from Chichester, England, was a personal friend and associate of William Penn, and was appointed as one of nine justices who sat at the Upland Court in 1681.
Powell Clayton attended the Forwood School in Wilmington, Delaware and the Pennsylvania Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Powell Clayton entered politics when he successfully ran for the office of city engineer in Leavenworth, Kansas, in either 1859 or 1860.
In May 1861 Powell Clayton was formally mustered into the US Volunteers as a captain of Company E in the 1st Kansas Infantry.
Powell Clayton was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 5th Kansas Cavalry in December 1861 and to colonel in March 1862.
At the Battle of Helena in Arkansas on July 4,1863, Powell Clayton was in charge of the cavalry brigade on the right flank of the Union forces.
Powell Clayton received commendations for his actions during the battle.
In October 1863, Powell Clayton commanded federal troops occupying Pine Bluff, Arkansas, using the Boone-Murphy House as his headquarters.
Powell Clayton made several forays around Little Rock, including to support Steele during the Camden Expedition in the spring of 1864.
Powell Clayton was idolized by his men and respected by his enemies.
Powell Clayton was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers on August 1,1864.
Powell Clayton acquired enough funds to purchase a plantation in Jefferson County, Arkansas, where he resided after the war.
In 1867, Powell Clayton participated in the formation of the Arkansas Republican party.
Powell Clayton entered Arkansas politics due his belief that Unionists needed additional protection after several confrontations with ex-Rebels on his plantation.
The state was readmitted to representation in Congress when Powell Clayton was inaugurated as Governor on July 2,1868.
An agent of Powell Clayton was killed by a group of men led by Dandridge McRae and Jacob Frolich, the leaders of the White County, Arkansas chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Powell Clayton responded aggressively to the emergence of the Klan in Arkansas by declaring martial law in fourteen counties for four months in late 1868 and early 1869.
Powell Clayton organized the state militia and placed General Daniel Phillips Upham in charge to help suppress violence throughout the state.
The Powell Clayton administration established Arkansas Industrial University, the Arkansas School for the Deaf, and relocated the Arkansas School for the Blind.
Powell Clayton served as chairman on the Committee on Enrolled Bills and on the Committee on Civil Service Retrenchment.
Parker, the legendary "Hanging Judge," along with US Attorney Powell Clayton, are credited with bringing law and order to the region.
In 1877, Powell Clayton lost his Senate seat since the legislature, now dominated by Democrats elected one of their own to the Senate.
Powell Clayton moved back to Little Rock, Arkansas where he resumed his law practice and supported economic development.
In 1882, Powell Clayton established a home at the developing resort town of Eureka Springs in Carroll County in northwestern Arkansas.
In 1883, Powell Clayton became the president of the Eureka Springs Railway, which provided service to the resort community until 1889, when it was merged into what became the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad.
Powell Clayton became a member of the Republican National Committee in 1872 and was still consulted to fill federal patronage positions through 1912.
Powell Clayton led the Republican speakers' bureau for the East Coast.
Powell Clayton was appointed as the first ambassador to Mexico by President McKinley when that post was elevated to an embassy post and served until 1905.
Powell Clayton continued to do this, as well as preserving his status in the Republican party.
Powell Clayton died in Washington, DC, on August 25,1914, and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
On December 14,1865, Powell Clayton married Adaline McGraw of Helena, Arkansas.
Two of Powell Clayton's daughters married diplomats from Belgium and England.
On September 9,1868, Powell Clayton lost his left hand while hunting outside Little Rock when his rifle discharged.
Powell Clayton had disputed the election results of a Congressional race with Democrat Clifton R Breckinridge and was shot through the window of the boarding-house where he was staying.