Clay family
Encyclopedia
The Clays were an influential nineteenth century U.S. political and business dynasty.
List of Clays
- Brutus Junius ClayBrutus J. ClayBrutus Junius Clay was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born in Richmond, Kentucky, Clay attended the common schools and graduated from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He moved to Bourbon County in 1837 and continued former pursuits...
(1808–1878), U.S. Congressman from KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. - Cassius Marcellus Clay (abolitionist)Cassius Marcellus Clay (abolitionist)Cassius Marcellus Clay , nicknamed "The Lion of White Hall", was an emancipationist from Madison County, Kentucky, United States who served as the American minister to Russia...
(1810–1903), publisher, U.S. general, U.S. minister to Russia. - Clement Claiborne ClayClement Claiborne ClayClement Claiborne Clay was a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama from 1853 to 1861, and a C.S.A. senator from the Alabama from 1861 to 1863...
(1816–1882), U.S. Senator from AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. - Clement Comer ClayClement Comer ClayClement Comer Clay was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837.Clay was born in Halifax County, Virginia. His father, William Clay, was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, who moved to Grainger County, Tennessee, after the war. Clay attended public schools and...
(1789–1866), U.S. Senator from AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. - Green ClayGreen ClayGreen Clay was a United States politician and a soldier in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812....
(1757–1828), member of the VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
legislatures; Speaker of the Kentucky SenateKentucky SenateThe Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
. - Green Clay SmithGreen Clay SmithGreen Clay Smith was a U.S. soldier and politician. He served as a major general during the Civil War, was a congressman from Kentucky and was the Territorial Governor of Montana from 1866 to 1869. He also ran for President of the United States on the Prohibition ticket in 1876...
(1826–1895), U.S. Congressman from KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Territorial Governor of Montana. - Henry ClayHenry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
(1777–1852), U.S. Representative and Senator from KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
; Speaker of the House of Representatives; U.S. Secretary of StateSecretary of StateSecretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
. - Henry Clay, Jr.Henry Clay, Jr.Henry Clay, Jr. was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Congressman Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term...
(1811–1847), Lt. Col. in the Second Kentucky Regiment, killed in the Battle of Buena VistaBattle of Buena VistaThe Battle of Buena Vista , also known as the Battle of Angostura, saw the United States Army use artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army in the Mexican-American War...
. - Henry "Harry" Clay (1849–1884), ArcticArcticThe Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
explorer; candidate for Kentucky House of RepresentativesKentucky House of RepresentativesThe Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
. - James Brown ClayJames Brown ClayJames Brown Clay was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky....
(1817–1864), U.S. Chargé d'affairesChargé d'affairesIn diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
at LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal; U.S. Representative from Kentucky; member of the Peace Conference of 1861Peace conference of 1861The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of more than 100 of the leading politicians of the antebellum United States held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 that was meant to prevent what ultimately became the Civil War. The success of President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party in the...
; commissioned to raise a regiment for the Confederate States of America. - James Brown ClayJames Brown ClayJames Brown Clay was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky....
(1848–1906), aide-de-camp to Major General John C. BreckinridgeJohn C. BreckinridgeJohn Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
. - John Morrison ClayJohn Morrison ClayJohn Morrison Clay was a Kentucky thoroughbred breeder, a son of statesman Henry Clay, and a husband of Josephine Russell Clay and the brother of Henry Clay, Jr. and James Brown Clay. He was also called John M. Clay.Upon his father’s death, Clay inherited a portion of the large estate, Ashland...
(1821–1887), thoroughbredThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racer and breeder. - Josephine Russell ClayJosephine Russell ClayJosephine Russell Erwin Clay was one of the first significant woman thoroughbred horse breeders in America and a writer. She was also known as Josephine Deborah Russell, Mrs. Eugene Erwin, Josephine Erwin, Mrs. John M. Clay, and Josephine Clay.-Life as Mrs...
(1835–1920), thoroughbredThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
breeder and author. - Laura ClayLaura ClayLaura Clay , co-founder and first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, was a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement...
(1849–1941), a leader in the women's suffrageSuffrageSuffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
movement. - Mary Barr ClayMary Barr ClayMary Barr Clay was a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement. She also was known as Mary B. Clay and Mrs. J. Frank Herrick....
(1839–1924), president of the American Woman Suffrage Association. - Matthew ClayMatthew ClayMatthew Clay was a United States Representative from Virginia. Born in Halifax County , during the American Revolutionary War he entered the Ninth Virginia Regiment on October 1, 1776...
(1754–1815), U.S. Representative from VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. - Matthew ClayMatthew ClayMatthew Clay was a United States Representative from Virginia. Born in Halifax County , during the American Revolutionary War he entered the Ninth Virginia Regiment on October 1, 1776...
(c.1795-1827), member of the Alabama SenateAlabama SenateThe Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...
. - Nestor Clay (1799–1835), Texas pioneer; representative at the 1832 and 1833 Texas Conventions.
- Susan Clay SawitzkySusan Clay SawitzkySusan Clay Sawitzky was an American poet and art historian.She was born Susan Jacob Clay in Frankfort, Kentucky to Charles Donald Clay and his wife, the former Mariah Hensley Pepper. Susan was raised on her father's thoroughbred farm outside of Lexington, Kentucky and in the strict Victorian...
(1897–1981), U.S. poet. - Tacitus Thomas Clay (1824–1868), mayor of Independence, TexasIndependence, TexasIndependence is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Located twelve miles northeast of Brenham, it was founded in 1835 in Austin's colony of Anglo Americans. It became a Baptist religious and educational center of the Republic of Texas...
; Confederate army officer. - Thomas ClayThomas ClayTommy Clay was born 19 November 1892 in Leicester and died on 21 February 1949 in Southend. He was a professional footballer who played fullback for Leicester Fosse the original name of Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and England during the 1910s and 1920s.-Football career:Thomas Clay joined...
(b 1750), member of the first Kentucky Constitutional Convention. - Thomas C. McCreeryThomas C. McCreeryThomas Clay McCreery was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Kentucky.Born at Yelvington, Kentucky., McCreery graduated from Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky, in 1837. He studied law, passed the bar, and commenced practice in Frankfort, Kentucky...
(1816–1890), U.S. Senator from KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. - Thomas Hart Clay (1803–1871), U.S. minister to NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. - Thomas Jacob Clay (1853–1939) Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, who participated in the second capture of GeronimoGeronimoGeronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
. - William Claude Clay (1917–2004) member of 2677th Office of Strategic Services Regiment (United States)2677th Office of Strategic Services RegimentThis was a special infantry regiment that was seconded to the Office of Strategic Services as an operational armed force.The regiment was organized on 15 July 1944 at Algiers, North Africa, sponsored by the U.S. Fifth Army. It was transferred to Caserta, Italy, where it was absorbed into the Office...
and 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion (United States)2671st Special Reconnaissance BattalionThe 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion was organized at Caserta, Italy on 1 August 1944 under the sponsorship of U.S. 5th Army. It immediately was transferred to the Office of Strategic Services, where it remained for the duration of the war...
of the Office of Strategic ServicesOffice of Strategic ServicesThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, won various medals of valor.