Ralfe Clench
Canadian politician
Ralfe Clench (c. 1762 – January 19, 1828) was a farmer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. His first name is also sometimes recorded as Ralph or Rudolf; his last name is sometimes recorded as Clinch.
Born in Schenectady, New York around 1762, he joined the British side during the American Revolution and fought with General John Burgoyne in 1777. He later served with Captain Henry Bird and then Butler's Rangers. After the war, he settled at Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) in Upper Canada. He accumulated a number of appointments to government posts in the Niagara District. He served in the local militia, eventually becoming colonel. With Isaac Swayze, he opposed wording in land deeds that they believed compromised people's ability to sell their own land; also with Swayze, he was elected to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th ridings of Lincoln in 1800. They were re-elected in 1804. Clench also represented the 2nd riding of Lincoln from 1812 to 1820.
The public source identifies “Ralfe Clench” as canadian politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ralfe, Clench and Canadian.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7287017. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1762, 1828, 1777 and 1800.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ralfe Clench” 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.