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Clarke was born in Southampton in Hampshire Countiy in western [[Massachusetts]], a son of Oliver Clarke and the former Elizabeth Strong.  In infancy, he moved with his family to Springfield in Clark County in western [[Ohio]], where he was subsequently educated in public schools. After working for a time as a produce dealer in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, Clarke and his friend, George Steele, purchased a sugar plantation on Bayou Teche near Patterson in St. Mary Parish, an area now part of Bayou Vista. Clarke and Steele named the plantation "Lagonda" after Lagonda Creek in Springfield, Ohio.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php|title=Clarke, Lewis Strong |work=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' |publisher=Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.com)|accessdate=December 21, 2010}}</ref>​

Clarke was born in Southampton in Hampshire Countiy in western [[Massachusetts]], a son of Oliver Clarke and the former Elizabeth Strong.  In infancy, he moved with his family to Springfield in Clark County in western [[Ohio]], where he was subsequently educated in public schools. After working for a time as a produce dealer in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, Clarke and his friend, George Steele, purchased a sugar plantation on Bayou Teche near Patterson in St. Mary Parish, an area now part of Bayou Vista. Clarke and Steele named the plantation "Lagonda" after Lagonda Creek in Springfield, Ohio.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php|title=Clarke, Lewis Strong |work=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' |publisher=Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.com)|accessdate=December 21, 2010}}</ref>​

 

In 1878, George Steele and Oliver Clarke, Lewis Clarke's younger brother, died in a [[yellow fever]] [[epidemic]]. With his partner gone, Lewis Clarke became sole owner and operator of Lagonda. In the late 1880s, as part of his sugar-refining operation, Clarke established one of the first effusion plants in Louisiana.<ref name=lahist/>​

In 1878, George Steele and Oliver Clarke, Lewis Clarke's younger brother, died in a [[yellow fever]] [[epidemic]]. With his partner gone, Lewis Clarke became sole owner and operator of Lagonda. In the late 1880s, as part of his sugar-refining operation, Clarke established one of the first effusion plants in Louisiana.<ref name=lahist/>​

 

On February 28, 1888, at the age of 50, Clarke married 23-year-old Lillian Keener Lyons (born 1865), daughter of Dr. Johnson J. Lyons and the former Frances Augusta Equen. Their six children were Lewis Strong Clarke, Jr. (born 1889), George Steele Clarke (born 1890), Elizabeth Clarke (born 1891), Walter Lyons Clarke (born 1894), Oliver Lyons Clarke (born 1897), and Frank Delmas Clarke (born 1900).<ref name=lahist/>​

On February 28, 1888, at the age of 50, Clarke married 23-year-old Lillian Keener Lyons (born 1865), daughter of Dr. Johnson J. Lyons and the former Frances Augusta Equen. Their six children were Lewis Strong Clarke, Jr. (born 1889), George Steele Clarke (born 1890), Elizabeth Clarke (born 1891), Walter Lyons Clarke (born 1894), Oliver Lyons Clarke (born 1897), and Frank Delmas Clarke (born 1900).<ref name=lahist/>​

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