James Clark (Bible Christian)

Early life and career James Clark was born on 18 October 1830 in Bolton, Lancashire. He was christened in Bolton le Moors on 2 January 1831. Clark's family had a history of tuberculosis. Clark moved to Manchester as a youth and began work in a shipping house, where he later became a buyer. He also attended evening classes associated with the Bible Christian Church in King Street, Salford. Ministry and social reform In 1848, Clark became a teetotaller and worked for the Manchester Temperance Society. He adopted vegetarianism in 1851. He was ordained as a minister of the Bible Christian Church and became its pastor at Whitsuntide in 1858. The denomination, founded in 1809, required abstinence from intoxicants and meat. Personal life and death Clark married Cordelia Collier in 1854. Her brother Edwin served as a deacon of the Bible Christian Church and was vice-president and treasurer of the Vegetarian Society. James and Cordelia Clark had seven children: Ernest, Bertha, Maud, Harold, Ethel, Arthur, and Alfred. Arthur was also active in the vegetarian movement. Cordelia suffered a seizure in 1889 and died in 1893 at the age of 69. She was buried in Weaste Cemetery, Salford. == Legacy ==

Clark's memorial service was attended by representatives of several organisations, including the Vegetarian Society. Contemporary tributes referred to his work with the poor and his support for the Bible Christian Church, temperance, and vegetarianism. Two memorials were erected in his memory. Later accounts credited him with work for the Vegetarian Society during a period of difficulty for the organisation. == Publications ==

• Abstinence From Flesh: A Scriptural Doctrine and a Religious Duty (London: Frederick Pitman, 1877) • Testimony of Scripture (Manchester: Vegetarian Society, ) == See also ==