[2] Clark studied at St. John's College, but left after three years due to ill health.

[1][2] Clark settled in Federalsburg, Maryland, and served as president of the town council in 1888 and as county health officer from 1892 to 1896.

He was elected as a Democrat to the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Caroline County, and served in 1896.

[1][2][3] His service on the Public Institutions Committee made Clark interested in state hospital work.

He was appointed superintendent of Springfield State Hospital for the Insane in Sykesville in 1899, after George H. Rohe's death.