[2] In 1855, Clarke, who was known as old-line conservative and proslavery candidate,[4] was selected as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Kentucky.

[5] His opponent Charles S. Morehead, a former Whig U.S. Representative who ran with the Know-Nothing Party ran a campaign that focused on immigrants and vilified Catholics leading to bloody riots in Louisville.

Clarke had the support of John C. Breckinridge, who (successfully) ran to replace Morehead in the House of Representatives and would later serve as Vice-President of the United States from 1857 to 1861 under President Buchanan.

[9][10] Together, they were the parents of one son and three daughters (all of whom they named after the Virgin Mary), including:[1] After Mariah Louise Clark's death, he married Zenobia Turner.

Together, they were the parents of a son:[1] Beverly Clarke died of diabetes in Guatemala City on March 17, 1860, while serving as the U.S.