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Chief Clerk

Creation of this Position

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Henry Remsen, Jr.
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Jul 27, 1789]
Termination of Appointment: Dec 31, 1789
Note: Served as Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs from Mar 2, 1784. Appointed Chief Clerk following passage of the Act of Jul 27, 1789, creating the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Roger Alden
State of Residency: Connecticut
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Jan 1, 1790]
Termination of Appointment: Jul 25, 1790

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Henry Remsen, Jr.
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Sep 1, 1790
Termination of Appointment: Mar 31, 1792

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: George Taylor, Jr.
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Apr 1, 1792]
Termination of Appointment: Feb 7, 1798

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Jacob Wagner
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Feb 8, 1798]
Termination of Appointment: Mar 31, 1807

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: John Graham
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Jul 1, 1807]
Termination of Appointment: Jul 18, 1817

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Daniel Brent
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Sep 22, 1817]
Termination of Appointment: Aug 22, 1833

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Asbury Dickins
State of Residency: North Carolina
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Aug 23, 1833]
Termination of Appointment: Dec 12, 1836

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Aaron Ogden Dayton
State of Residency: New Jersey
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Dec 13, 1836]
Termination of Appointment: Jun 25, 1838

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Aaron Vail
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 26, 1838
Termination of Appointment: Jul 15, 1840

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Jacob L. Martin
State of Residency: North Carolina
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Jul 16, 1840]
Termination of Appointment: Mar 5, 1841

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Daniel Fletcher Webster
State of Residency: Massachusetts
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Mar 6, 1841]
Termination of Appointment: Apr 23, 1843

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: William S. Derrick
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Apr 24, 1843]
Termination of Appointment: Apr 9, 1844

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Richard K. Cralle
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Apr 10, 1844]
Termination of Appointment: Mar 10, 1845

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: William S. Derrick
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Mar 11, 1845]
Termination of Appointment: Aug 27, 1845

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: Nicholas P. Trist
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Aug 28, 1845]
Termination of Appointment: Apr 14, 1847

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: William S. Derrick
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Apr 15, 1847]
Termination of Appointment: Jan 25, 1848

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: John Appleton
State of Residency: Maine
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Jan 26, 1848]
Termination of Appointment: Apr 25, 1848

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: William S. Derrick
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [Apr 25, 1848]
Termination of Appointment: May 15, 1852

Title: Chief Clerk
Name: William Hunter, Jr.
State of Residency: Rhode Island
Non-career appointee
Appointment: [May 17, 1852]
Termination of Appointment: May 7, 1855
Note: Continued to serve as Chief Clerk after the appointment of A. Dudley Mann as Assistant Secretary of State.

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Creation of Position: Section 2 of the Act of Congress of Jul 27, 1789 (1 Stat. 28) establishing a Department of Foreign Affairs, authorized the Secretary to appoint a Chief Clerk, who would have custody of the Department's records whenever the office of the Secretary should be vacant. From 1789 to 1853, when Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary of State, the Chief Clerk was the second-ranking officer of the Department of State, and was responsible for supervision of Department personnel, distribution of correspondence, and day-to-day operations. All Chief Clerks were designated, not commissioned. After 1853, the Chief Clerk's duties included at various times custody of archives, distribution of correspondence, and supervision of Department personnel and property. The office was abolished Jan 26, 1939, re-established Aug 6, 1942, as the Office of the Chief Clerk and Administrative Assistant, and abolished in the reorganization of Jan 15, 1944. Chief Clerks who were not second-ranking officers of the Department are not included here.

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