Born on September 26, 1844, in Philadelphia, Clark was the fourth and youngest son of Enoch White Clark (1802-1856), who founded the financial firm E. W. Clark & Company in Philadelphia in 1837 and by mid-century had become one of the city"s 25 millionaires.
He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1859 and left in 1860. After the Civil War broke out, Clark fought for the Union side. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.
On November
3, 1864, he joined the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, another organization made up largely of the city"s social elite. He resigned his active commission on November 5, 1866. After the war, he joined the family firm.
As part of the business, he became president of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad.
Clark married Jessi Rice of Saint Paul, Minnesota, a daughter of Edmund Rice, a lawyer, railroad president, and United States. Representative. Clark died November 29, 1882, in Philadelphia.
A member of a socially prominent family, Frank Clark joined or participated in several organizations of the Philadelphia elite. He was a member of the Delta (UPenn) chapter of the Delta Psi fraternity. In 1867, he was elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, joining several members of his family and other notables such as Asa Whitney.
