James Clarke Cribb was born 4 October 1856 at Ipswich, the son of Benjamin Cribb (a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly) and his second wife, Clarissa Foote (the sister of John Clarke Foote).

One of the ambitious projects of the church was the establishment of a Sunday School to educate both adults and children.

This required the construction of the large two-storey Congregational Sunday School (now known as the Uniting Church Central Memorial Hall and listed on the Queensland Heritage Register).

James Clarke Cribb was appointed superintendent of the Sunday School and by 1895 had 429 scholars and fifty-one teachers under his supervision.

[4] On 6 May 1893, James Clarke Cribb was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the electoral district of Rosewood; he held that seat until 21 March 1896.