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James A. Clough

American architect (1850–1917)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ51648748 ↗
Source-derived summary

James Amasa Clough (January 24, 1850 – May 22, 1917), often referred to as James A. Clough or J. A. Clough, was an American architect, carpenter, and contractor, who was active in New England, especially prominent in Western Massachusetts, and whose work shaped much of the architectural landscape of Holyoke during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He would design several commercial blocks and public buildings there, such as the Holyoke Public Library, Canoe Club and the Mount Tom Summit House. The principal architect of the firm Clough & Reid, much of his work appeared under this name after 1890, when he made William B. Reid a partner- Reid having spent several years prior as Clough's draftsman. He remained principal of this firm until his retirement in 1907. One of Clough's other protégés, George P. B. Alderman, went on to establish his own architectural firm.

Personal life

Born in Chicopee on January 24, 1850, to James and Cordelia Clough (née Palmer), Clough attended school until the age of 15. With the emergence of the Civil War, he left the classroom and entered the service of Company B of the 39th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, seeing battle at the Siege of Petersburg. During the war, he endured a bout of black measles and sunstroke, and was at one point removed to a Newark hospital for treatment. He remained in the infantry for the duration of the war. He returned to Connecticut Valley and moved to Holyoke in 1870, a complete stranger with no money, and took up the trade of carpenter.

Editorial summary

“James A. Clough” enters the record as american architect (1850–1917). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what James, Clough and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1850, 1917, 1890, 1907—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1850-01-24. Its strongest next move is a source search built around James, Clough and American.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“James A. Clough” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, James, Clough and American provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q51648748. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1850, 1917, 1890 and 1907.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “James A. Clough”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow James A. Clough primary sources, James A. Clough archive and James research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James A. Clough”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “James A. Clough” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.