Janet Marion Clarke (née Snodgrass; 4 June 1851 – 28 April 1909) was an Australian socialite and philanthropist. She was known to the general public as Lady Clarke, a title which she assumed after her husband's elevation to the baronetage in 1882.
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Early life and marriage
Janet Marion Snodgrass was born at Doogalloook, a station on the Goulburn River near Yea, Victoria. She was the daughter of Charlotte Agnes (née Cotton) and Peter Snodgrass. Her father, who died when she was 16, was an affluent landowner and a member of parliament. Her paternal grandfather was Colonel Kenneth Snodgrass, a Scottish-born British Army officer who became a colonial administrator in New South Wales, while her maternal grandfather – the owner of Doogallook – was the naturalist John Cotton. Her sister was Eva Hughes, one of the five women with whom Clarke co-founded the Australian Women's National League. She also had a brother Evelyn who became a canon in the Church of England.
In 1873, aged 21, Janet married William Clarke, 41-year-old widower for whom she had previously worked as a governess. She was stepmother to the four children from his first marriage, and bore an additional eight children herself (two of whom died young).