William T. Clark (1842-–1888)

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1842, William T. Clark was a former private in the 13th Massachusetts who was working in the Quartermaster’s Department in 1865. When he came back to his room on April 15, 1865, after spending the night out, he was informed of the president’s death. Following the assassination, he welcomed Albert Berghaus, the artist for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, into his room to draw a depiction of Lincoln’s last night. He, along with William Petersen, Henry Safford, Henry Ulke, Julius Ulke and Thomas Proctor, all boarders at the home, attested to the image’s accuracy. Clark later worked as a bank clerk and real estate agent before dying from a heart attack on April 4, 1888.