Editing Abraham Clark (section)

==Early life==
Clark was born in [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabethtown]] in the [[Province of New Jersey]]. His father, Thomas Clark, realized that he had a natural grasp for math so he hired a tutor to teach Abraham surveying. While working as a [[Surveyor (surveying)|surveyor]], he  taught himself law and went into practice. He became quite popular and became known as "the poor man's councilor" as he offered to defend poor men who could not afford a lawyer. He was a slaveholder.<ref name="WaPo 012022">{{cite news |last1=Weil |first1=Julie Zauzmer |last2=Blanco |first2=Adrian |last3=Dominguez |first3=Leo |title=More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2022/congress-slaveowners-names-list/ |access-date=30 January 2022 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=20 January 2022}}</ref><ref>Bogin, p. 116</ref>

Clark married Sarah Hatfield circa 1749,<ref>Bogin, p. 163</ref> with whom he had 10 children.<ref>Bogin, p. 166</ref> While she raised the children on their farm, Clark was able to enter politics as a clerk of the Provincial Assembly. Later he became high sheriff of [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]] and in 1775 was elected to the Provincial Congress. He was a member of the [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Public Safety]].