Green Clay (August 14, 1757 – October 31, 1828) was an American businessman, planter, military officer and politician in Virginia and Kentucky.[1] Clay served in the American Revolutionary War and helped form the new state of Kentucky after representing its Madison County in the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 and in the Virginia House of Delegates which ultimately authorized creation of the new state of Kentucky. He also served in Kentucky's constitutional convention and in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly, which would name a county for him in 1807. During the War of 1812 Clay was commissioned as a general and led the Kentucky militia in the relief of Fort Meigs in Ohio. He was believed to be one of the wealthiest men of the state, owning tens of thousands of acres of land, many slaves, several distilleries, a tavern, and ferries, although one of his sons, Cassius Marcellus Clay would become a prominent abolitionist.[1][2]
Green Clay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Madison County | |
| In office October 15, 1787 – October 17, 1790 Serving with Thomas Kennedy, John Miller | |
| Preceded by | n/a |
| Succeeded by | Hickerson Grubbs. Waller]] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 14, 1757 Powhatan County, Colony of Virginia |
| Died | October 31, 1828 (aged 71) Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Resting place | Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Sally Lewis (m. 1795) |
| Relations | Henry Clay (cousin) Matthew Clay (brother) Clement Comer Clay (cousin) Green Clay Smith (grandson) |
| Children | 7, including Brutus and Cassius |
| Military career | |
| Service/ | Clark's Illinois Regiment Continental Army |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Kentucky militia |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
Early life and education
editClay was born in 1757 to Charles and Martha Clay, in then-vast Cumberland County in the Colony of Virginia, probably in the eastern part which Virginia's legislature split in 1777 became Powhatan County. His elder brothers included Rev. Charles Clay (1745-1820) and Matthew Clay who later became a U.S. Congressman.[1] Green Clay received a private education suitable to his class, and apprenticed to a surveyor.[1] He was a cousin of Virginia politician and Kentucky's famous US Congressman and statesman Henry Clay, as well as and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay.
American Revolutionary War
editDuring the American Revolution, Clay enlisted as a private in Captain William McCracken's Company, which was part of Clark's Illinois Regiment of Virginia Militia. Thus he served under General George Rogers Clark during the Illinois Campaign. [1] Green Clay also served for a time with the Continental Army.
Kentucky politician and businessman
editPerhaps inspired by Daniel Boone, Clay had moved to then-vast Kentucky County by 1777. By 1781 he received an appointment as deputy surveyor of Lincoln County, Virginia which ultimately became part of the new state of Kentucky.[1]
When Virginia's legislature created Madison County. Clay became one of the new county's (part-time) delegates to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1787, and won re-election twice, thus serving twice with Thomas Kennedy, then with John Miller.[3] Meanwhile, Green Clay also won election as one of Madison County's two representatives in the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 (with John Miller; and his elder brother Rev. Charles Clay represented Bedford County, Virginia).[4] Both Clay brothers (and John Miller) voted for adoption of amendments to the proposed federal Constitution, and unsuccessfully voted against ratification without them.[1]
In 1799 Green Clay was a leader in Kentucky's constitutional convention. Later he was elected and served at various time in both the house and senate of the Kentucky General Assembly, including a term as speaker of the Senate.[2]
Although Clay was listed as both non-resident and non-tithable in Madison County during the 1787 Virginia tax census, he owned at least a horse and eleven cattle in the county at the time.[5] Over the next decades, Clay developed and owned several distilleries and a tavern in central Kentucky, where development occurred near Lexington. He also provided ferry service at several stops across the winding Kentucky River.
War of 1812
editDuring the War of 1812, Clay was commissioned as a general in the Kentucky militia. In the spring of 1813, he was ordered to the aid of General William Henry Harrison, who was besieged by British forces led by Gen. Proctor at Fort Meigs, Ohio. Clay and the three thousand men he had brought fought his way into the fort; and the British and native forces ultimately withdrew.[2] However, many of his men were taken prisoner by Tecumseh after they had captured a British artillery battery. Moreover, when the British abandoned the siege, Clay was left in command of the fort. He remained in command when the British returned in July 1813. In an attempt by Tecumseh to lure Clay and the garrison out of the fort, the native warriors staged a mock battle, appearing to ambush a column of American reinforcements. Clay was not fooled, since he knew no reinforcements were coming. He was able to hold out until the British again retreated.
Personal life
editIn 1795, Green Clay at 38 married the much younger Sally Lewis (d. 1867) in Kentucky. She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Payne) Lewis.[6] They had seven children, of whom six survived to adulthood.[7] Their first child was Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887)[8] and other daughters were Pauline, Sallie, and Sophia (b. 1813; d. 1814).[6] Their sons were Sidney,[6] Brutus J. Clay (b.1808), Elijah (b. 1815), and Cassius Marcellus Clay (b.1810). At age 17, Elizabeth married John Speed Smith, who became a politician in Kentucky and U.S. Congressman.[8]
Later years
editAfter the war, Clay returned to his plantation, and spent the rest of his life directing the labor of his many slaves in cultivating commodity crops of tobacco and hemp. He is thought to have been the wealthiest man in Kentucky of his time, as his many slaves were valuable as property.
Death and legacy
editGreen Clay died at his home in 1828 at the age of 73, and was buried with Masonic rites in Richmond, Kentucky.[9] His widow Sally Lewis Clay married again, to Jeptha Dudley, a Baptist minister. She moved with him to Frankfort, Kentucky, living there for nearly 40 years before her death in 1867.[7]
His grandson Green Clay Smith was named for his maternal grandfather. Like his father, and maternal uncles Brutus and Cassius, and several cousins, he also became a politician in Kentucky and the U.S. Congress. Clay County, Kentucky, was named in his honor in 1807, during his lifetime.
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g McKnight, Brian (2006). Clay, Green (1757–1828) in Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Vol. 3. Virginia State Library. p. 280-281.
- ^ a b c Tyler, Lyon G. (1915). "Green Clay" in Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. 2. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. p. 243-244. available at hathitrust.org
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 165, 169, 176
- ^ Leonard p. 173
- ^ Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love, The 1787 Census of Virginia (Springfield, Genealogical Books in Print 1987) p. 384
- ^ a b c E. Polk Johnson, A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities, Volume 2, Lewis Publishing Company, 1912 (Google eBook), p.757
- ^ a b "Portrait of Green Clay", White Hall-Clermont Foundation, accessed 4 February 2014
- ^ a b "KOAR's Russian Connection", Kentucky Online Arts Resource Blog, 15 October 2012
- ^ "Green Clay", The Political Graveyard
External links
edit- "Portrait of Green Clay" and other family members, White Hall-Clermont Foundation
- "Green Clay collection (1753-1818)", Papers related to Clay's command of the Kentucky militia in the War of 1812, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
- Green Clay at Find a Grave