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1. Thomas1 Hart, son of Thomas Hart and Susanna Rice, was born in Hanover County, VA December 11, 1730. Thomas died June 23, 1808 in Lexington, KY, at 77 years of age. His body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY.
He married Susanna Gray in North Carolina, 1764. Susanna was born in North Carolina 1749. Susanna was the daughter of John Gray and unknown. Susanna died August 26, 1832 in Lexington, KY, at 83 years of age. Her body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY. At 19 years of age Susanna became the mother of Eliza Hart September 9, 1768. At 23 years of age Susanna became the mother of Thomas Hart, Jr. in North Carolina, 1772. At 31 years of age Susanna became the mother of Lucretia Hart in Hagerstown, MD, March 18, 1781. Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart in Hagerstown, MD, ca 1784. Susanna was listed as the head of a family on the 1810 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. In the 1810 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, Susanna Hart is listed with 1 white male 16-26, 5 white females under 10, 1 16-26, 1 26-45, and 3 slaves.
At 37 years of age Thomas became the father of Eliza Hart September 9, 1768. At 41 years of age Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart, Jr. in North Carolina, 1772. At 50 years of age Thomas became the father of Lucretia Hart in Hagerstown, MD, March 18, 1781. Thomas became the father of Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart in Hagerstown, MD, ca 1784. Thomas was listed as the head of a family on the 1790 Census in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Thomas Hart is listed in the 1890 Census for Washington County, Pennsylvania with one male white age 16 or over, 2 under 16, 4 white females and 18 slaves. Thomas Hart was engaged in business and had an entrprenurial bent. He was a member of the Transylvania Company and was one of the purchasers of some 20 million acres of Kentucky and Tennessee from the Cherokee Indians in 1775. This purchase was later nullified by the legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. Thomas moved to Lexington, Kentucky from Hagerstown, MD in 1794. He had moved to Hagerstown from North Carolina during the Revolutionary War for safety. His biography from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography edited by William S. Powell, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1988 follows: Hart, Thomas (ca. 1730-23 June 1808), merchant, public official, and militia officer, the son of Thomas and Susannah Rice Hart, was born in Hanover County, Va., on a plantation settled in 1690 by his English-born grandfather, also named Thomas. John, Benjamin, David, and Nathaniel were his brothers, and Ann his only sister. The family moved to Orange County, N.C., in 1755 after their father died. By 1779, Thomas had received a total of 2,282 acres of land in grants and erected his home, Hartford, near Hillsborough. In addition to farming, he built a gristmill on the nearby Eno River and conducted other business enterprises at the location that became known as Hart's Mill. Later he became a partner with Nathaniel Rochester and James Brown in a mercantile establishment in Hillsborough. After establishing himself financially, Hart married Susannah Gray, the daughter of the wealthy and politically prominent Colonel John Gray. In 1775, the colonel died and left his entire estate to his son-in-law, including the large plantation Grayfields. With capital resources thus increased, Hart shrewdly expanded his business and by his industrious management accumulated a considerable fortune according to the Orange County tax books for 1779. In addition to his financial prosperity, Hart was successful politically. Shortly after settling in North Carolina, he became an intimate of James Watson, James Thackston, Thomas Burke, James Hogg, William Johnston, and Richard Henderson, and an acquaintance of Governor William Tryon and Edmund Fanning. This led to his appointment as a vestryman of St. Matthew's Parish as well as county sheriff for a two-year term and another beginning in 1768. In the latter year he was also made a captain in the Orange County militia and commissary for the troops of Orange and Granville counties. Throughout his tenure of office, the sheriff was in constant controversy with the increasingly active Regulators. In 1765, the Assembly passed a bill introduced by Edmund Fanning to award Hart £1,000 for his losses as sheriff, and the previous legislature had included Hart in a group exempt from the payment of taxes. These acts infuriated the Regulators, who claimed the sheriff had no losses, but was being rewarded at public expense for using his influence in the election of Fanning to office. Hart also displeased the government by his failure to collect the unpopular poll tax, either because he disapproved of the law or did not understand it. In 1765, the Assembly ordered him to make the collection. Whether or not he did, he settled his financial account in the colony satisfactorily, which won for him a tribute from Orange County residents because he was the only sheriff ever to do so. When Governor Tryon decided in 1768 to have Herman Husband arraigned in court for his Regulator activities, Sheriff Hart served the warrant and took the accused into custody. In the same year, and again in 1771, Hart was ordered to raise five hundred troops for the defense of the colony. He was unable to enlist the requested manpower but on both occasions accumulated sufficient provisions to sustain the troops Tryon assembled at Hillsborough. The actions of the royal government increasingly incited the wrath of the Regulators, and the sheriff was one of a group of officials they severely whipped in 1770. In view of such treatment, Hart undoubtedly received considerable satisfaction in serving as quartermaster for Tryon when the governor dispersed the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance. During the relative calm that ensued after the War of the Regulation, Hart was able to concentrate on business enterprises. The role of an entrepreneur appealed to him, and in 1774 he became one of the partners in Richard Henderson's Louisa Company to buy and develop lands in what became Tennessee and Kentucky. Hart journeyed to the Watauga section of Tennessee as one of the company's representatives at a meeting arranged by Daniel Boone with the Cherokee Indians. John Sevier and Isaac Shelby, who attended as spectators, saw the Indians accept several loads of "trading goods" in return for their titular rights to a huge area of western land. After this transaction, the company was reorganized as the Transylvania Company with Richard Henderson, Thomas Hart, Nathaniel Hart, William Johnston, James Hogg, John Luttrell, John Williams, David Hart, and Leonard Henly Bullock as shareholders. Trading with the Indians for western lands strictly violated the Royal Proclamation of 1763, but, as many Americans were engaging in land speculation despite the king's fiat, the Transylvanians ignored it also. The potential profit in the venture was enormous, and the partners lost no time in enlisting settlers to buy or rent land in the territory. Thomas Hart visited the Watauga again in 1775 and his brother, Nathaniel, became a resident agent for the company in the west until he was killed by Indians in 1782. The outcome of the American Revolution relieved the Transylvania Company of any interference in its affairs from the British government but presented a new dilemma because the states of North Carolina and Virginia claimed Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, as part of their territory. The partners determined to establish their claim to the western land if possible and years of litigation followed. The final decision rendered that the company's purchase was illegal but a tract was awarded the partners to recompense them for the expenses incurred in the transaction. Hart traded part of his share for land in Kentucky and eventually settled on it. After the War of the Regulation, Hart continued to fill an important role in political affairs, serving as a juror; member of a commission to build a new jail in Hillsborough; member of the colonial Assembly from Orange County in 1773; and then representative in the First, Second, and Third Provincial congresses. When the Revolution began, he was appointed commissary for the Sixth North Carolina Regiment with the rank of colonel. In addition, he was elected a senator in the North Carolina General Assembly for the 1777 session where he became involved in the work of so many committees that he resigned his military commission in order to attend to them. Although Hart, with many others, could not condone the violent tactics of the Regulators, he felt no compunction in becoming an ardent patriot in the American Revolution when independence was formally declared. In doing so, he incurred the hatred of the loyal Tories who unleashed their persecutions when Lord Cornwallis approached Hillsborough with the British Army. Concerned for the safety of his wife and several daughters, Hart removed to Hagerstown, Md., accompanied by Nathaniel Rochester, one of his former business partners. Shortly after his departure the Battle of Hart's Mill was fought on his property, which the British occupied. Hart and Rochester built a mill and a nail and rope factory, both of which prospered. The colonel gradually disposed of his North Carolina property and never returned to the state. He sold his homeplace, Hartford, to Jesse Benton, husband of his niece, Nancy, and father of Thomas Hart Benton. As the purchaser died before paying for the place, Hart became the mortgagee of the property through a friendly lawsuit and allowed the widow and her family to continue to live there. The mortage was never fully redeemed, which apparently caused no ill will as Hart left the Bentons an additional tract of land when he died. In 1794, Hart moved to Lexington, Ky., where he resided for the remainder of his life. He built up his rope and hemp business into a highly profitable commercial enterprise and engaged in various forms of trade and investment. Due to his affluence, pleasing personality, and shrewd mind, Hart soon became one of the most prominent men in Kentucky. His daughter, Ann (Nancy), married James Brown who had engaged in business with the colonel and Rochester back in Hillsborough, and who later became the U.S. minister to France. Another daughter, Lucretia, born after the Harts left North Carolina, married Henry Clay. A niece married Isaac Shelby, and the other members of the family made marital connections in influential circles. In Maryland, Hart was a communicant of All Saints' Parish (later renamed St. John's), of the Protestant Episcopal church. In Kentucky, he joined an Episcopal society which eventually became Christ Church in Lexington. He was buried in the Old Episcopal Graveyard in that city. No portrait of Hart has been found.
SEE: Walter Clark, ed., State Records of North Carolina, vols. 11, 16, 24 (1895, 1899, 1905); Lyman Copeland Draper Letters (Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort); William S. Lester, The Transylvania Colony (1935); Frank Nash, Hillsboro: Colonial and Revolutionary (1953); Records of Orange County (Offices, Register of Deeds and Clerk of Courts, County Courthouse, Hillsborough); William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols. 7, 8 (1890); Durward T. Stokes, "Thomas Hart in North Carolina," North Carolina Historical Review 41 (1964).
DURWARD T. STOKES
A web site about the Hart family may be found at http://www.airtanker.com/mcnally/hart/index.html.
The Will of Thomas Hart transcribed by Edith Gomez follows: I, Thomas Hart, of Lexington, Kentucky, do make, ordain and publish the following as and for my last Will and Testament: I give and bequeath to my wife during her life the house and lot which I at present occupy in Lexington, also during the same period all my household and kitchen furniture and one hundred fifty pounds annualy during her life, which sum I direct my executors (herein after named) to pay her quarterly. I also lend during her life the slaves Isham & Jenny, now in our possession, and direct my said executors to provide her by hiring one other good house servant during her life, all of which several provisions I intend and hereby declare to be in lieu and full satisfaction of all claims which my said wife might have upon my estate for dower or distribution.
I give and bequeath to each of my sons Nathaniel and John, the sum of one thousand pounds to be raised in six months after my death and to be put out on interest by my executors toward providing a fund to maintain them and to be paid over to them on their arrival at full age respectively. The interest accuruing upon each legacy to be appropriated to the separate use of each of my said sons; and as a further provision for their maintenance I likewise direct my said executors to pay each of them one hundred pounds annually until they arrive respectfully at full age.
I apopoint my son Thomas Hart guardian of my son John and empower my said son Thomas if he shall deem it for the interest of John to employ the said legacy of one thousand pounds to John in trade.
I relinquish to the Representatives of Samuel Price all claims of whatever description I have against them. I give and devise to my daughter Susannah Price the house and lot I purchased for John Jones in Lexington and also the sum of two hundred pounds to be paid her as soon as it can be raised with convenience, and I also direct my executors immediately upon my death to purchase two young negro women whom I give and bequeath to my said daughter.
I give and bequeath, besides the legacies aforesaid, to my son Thomas Hart, two hundred pounds; to children of my deceased daughter Elizabeth Pindell, two hundred pounds; to my son-in-law James Brown two hundred pounds; to my son-in-law Henry Clay two hundred pounds, to be paid to them or their representatives as soon as the situation of my estate will enable my executors.
I give to and invest in my executors the power of selling any of my lands not specially devised that they may think proper. I also give and invest in my said executors the power of making deed for any lands that I am or may be bound to convey and also settling by compromise, abritration or otherwise any dispute that may exist in my lands.
All the rest and residue of my estate not before herein disposed of after payment of my just debts I give and bequeath to my children: Thomas Hart, Susannah Price, Anne Brown, Lucretia Clay, Nathaniel G.S. Hart, and John Hart and children of my deceased daughter Elizabeth Pindell.
I hereby appoint my son Thomas Hart and my son-in-law Henry Clay, executors of this last Will and Testament, revoking and annulling all former and other wills by me heretofore made.
In Testimony whereof I have hureunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 31st day of August, 1807.
Signed: Thomas Hart
Wit: John W. Hunt, Thos. C. Graves, Samuel Wilkinson.
Signed and sealed and published in presence of.
Probated in Fayette County Court July 1808.
Thomas Hart and Susanna Gray had the following children:
2
i.
Anne2 Hart. Anne died October 20, 1830. She
married James Brown. James was born in near Staunton, VA September 11, 1766. James was the son of John Brown and
Margaret Preston. James died April 7, 1835 in Philadelphia, PA, at 68 years of age. James's occupation: Attorney.
James Brown was the first Secretary of State of Kentucky and served as Professor of Law at Transylvania University, Lexington, KY. He served
several terms as U.S. Senator from Louisiana and was Minister to France from 1823 to 1829. His biography from the Biographical Directory
of the American Congress follows: BROWN, James, 1766-1835
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Years of Service: 1813-1817; 1819-1823; 1823-1823 Party: Republican; Republican; Adams-Clay Republican
BROWN, James, (brother of John Brown of Virginia and Kentucky [1757-1837], cousin of John Breckinridge, James Breckinridge, and Francis Preston), a Senator from Louisiana; born near Staunton, Va., September 11, 1766; attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), Lexington, Va., and William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Frankfort, Ky.; commanded a company of sharpshooters in an expedition against the Indians in 1789; secretary to the Governor 1792; soon after the cession of the Territory of Louisiana moved to New Orleans and was appointed as secretary of the Territory in 1804; subsequently became United States district attorney for the Territory; elected to the United States Senate on December 1, 1812, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John N. Destrehan, and served from February 5, 1813, to March 3, 1817; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; again elected to the United States Senate in 1819 and served from March 4, 1819, until December 10, 1823, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations (Sixteenth Congress); appointed United States Minister to France 1823-1829; returned to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, Pa., where he died on April 7, 1835.
Bibliography
American National Biography; DAB; Padgett, James A., ed. ‘Letters of James Brown to Henry Clay, 1804-1835.’ Louisiana Historical Quarterly 24 (1941): 921-1177.
3
ii.
John Hart. John died September 3, 1820 in St. Louis, MO.
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4
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Susanna Hart.
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Eliza Hart was born September 9, 1768.
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Thomas Hart, Jr. was born 1772.
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Lucretia Hart was born March 18, 1781.
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Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart was born ca 1784.
4. Susanna2 Hart (Thomas1) birth date unknown. Susanna died 1865 in Louisville, KY.
Susanna Hart and Samuel Price had the following children:
9
i.
Nanette Brown3 Price. Nanette died 1878 in Louisville, KY. She married Thomas Smith in Fayette Co., KY, March 25, 1819.
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10
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Eliza P. Price.
5. Eliza2 Hart (Thomas1) was born September 9, 1768. Eliza died 1798 in Hagerstown, MD, at 29 years of age.
She married Richard Pindell. Richard died March 16, 1833 in Lexington, KY. Richard became the father of Mary "Polly" Pindell 1787. Richard Pindell was a physician and served in the Revolutionary War.
At 18 years of age Eliza became the mother of Mary "Polly" Pindell 1787.
Eliza Hart and Richard Pindell had the following children:
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11
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Eliza3 Pindell.
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12
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Thomas H. Pindell.
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Mary "Polly" Pindell was born 1787.
6. Thomas2 Hart, Jr. (Thomas1) was born in North Carolina 1772. Thomas died November 26, 1809 in Lexington, KY, at 37 years of age. His body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY.
He married Eleanor Grosch in Hagerstown, MD. Eleanor was born in Hagertown, MD 1772. Eleanor was the daughter of Peter Grosch and Mary Charlton. Eleanor died 1856 in Lexington, KY, at 84 years of age. Her body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY. Eleanor became the mother of Thomas Pindell Hart in Lexington, KY, ca 1796. Eleanor became the mother of Eleanor Murdock Hart in Lexington, KY, ca 1806.
Thomas became the father of Thomas Pindell Hart in Lexington, KY, ca 1796. Thomas became the father of Eleanor Murdock Hart in Lexington, KY, ca 1806.
Thomas Hart, Jr. and Eleanor Grosch had the following children:
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Louisa3 Hart.
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John Hart. He married Ann Mariah Allen in Fayette Co., KY, May 21, 1835.
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Thomas Pindell Hart was born ca 1796.
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Eleanor Murdock Hart was born ca 1806.
7.
She married Henry Clay in Lexington, KY, April 11, 1799. Henry was born in Hanover County, VA April 12, 1777. Henry was the son of John Clay and Elizabeth Hudson. Henry died June 29, 1852 in Washington, DC, at 75 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. At 23 years of age Henry became the father of Henrietta Clay in Lexington, KY, June 25, 1800. At 25 years of age Henry became the father of Theodore Wythe Clay in Lexington, KY, July 3, 1802. At 26 years of age Henry became the father of Thomas Hart Clay in Lexington, KY, September 22, 1803. At 27 years of age Henry became the father of Susan Hart Clay February 14, 1805. At 30 years of age Henry became the father of Anne Brown Clay in Lexington, KY, April 15, 1807. At 31 years of age Henry became the father of Lucretia Hart Clay February 1809. Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1810 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. In the 1810 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, Henry Clay had 2 white males under 10, 1 26-45, 1 over 45, 3 white females under 10, and 2 26-45.
At 33 years of age Henry became the father of Henry Clay, Jr. April 10, 1811. At 36 years of age Henry became the father of Eliza H. Clay July 5, 1813. At 38 years of age Henry became the father of Laura Clay October 16, 1815. At 40 years of age Henry became the father of James Brown Clay in Washington, DC, November 9, 1817. Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1820 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. In the 1820 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, Henry Clay is listed with 2 white males under 10, 1 16-18, 2 26-44, 1 white female under 10, 2 10-15, 1 16-25, 2 26-44, 4 male blacks under 14, 3 14-25, 2 26-44, 1 over 44, 2 female blacks under 14, 1 14-25, 4 26-44, 1 over 44, and a total of 8 persons engaged in agriculture.
At 43 years of age Henry became the father of John Morrison Clay in Fayette Co., KY, February 21, 1821. Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1830 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. Henry Clay is listed in the 1830 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky with 1 white male under 5, 1 5-10, 1 10-15, 3 15-20, 1 20-30, 1 30-40, 1 40-50, 1 white female 30-40, 1 40-50, 16 male slaves under 10, 5 10-24, 10 24-36, 5 36-55, 6 female slaves under 10, 4 10-24, 6 24-36, and 1 55-100 for a total of 53 slaves.
Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1840 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. Henry Clay is listed in the 1840 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky with 1 white male under 5, 1 5-10, 1 15-20, 1 20-30, 1 60-70, 1 white female 50-60, 1 70-80, 11 male slaves under 10, 6 10-24, 4 24-36, 3 36-55, 2 55-100, 7 female slaves under 10, 3 10-24, 4 24-36, 5 36-55, and 2 55-100 for a total of 47 slaves. Fourteen persons were engaged in agriculture.
Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1850 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. Henry Clay is listed in the 1850 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky as 73 years of age, born in Virginia with his occupation given as statesman. The slave schedule says he had 31 slaves. His real estate was valued at $50,000.00. His wife, Lucretia, is listed as age 69 and born in Maryland. His son, John M. Clay, occupation farmer, is listed as 29, born in Kentucky, with his occupation given as farmer. Sarah Hall, age 80, born in England is also listed.
Henry was listed as the owner of slaves on the 1850 Census of Slave Inhabitants in Fayette County, Kentucky. Henry Clay was listed in the slave schedules for Fayette County, Kentucky in 1850 with 31 slaves, 2 of which were marked as fugitives from the state. Henry Clay was born in Hanover County, Virginia and moved to Kentucky in 1797 where he practicied law until his death in 1852. Among other things he was Speaker of the House, Speaker of the Senate, Secretary of State and ran for President several times. He is listed in The Kentucky Encyclopedia. His biography from the Biographical Directory of the American Congress follows: CLAY, Henry, 1777-1852
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Years of Service: 1806-1807; 1810-1811; 1831-1837; 1837-1842; 1849-1852 Party: Republican; Republican; Anti-Jackson; Whig; Whig
CLAY, Henry, (father of James Brown Clay), a Senator and a Representative from Kentucky; born in the district known as ’the Slashes,’ Hanover County, Va., April 12, 1777; attended the public schools; studied law in Richmond, Va.; was admitted to the bar in 1797 and commenced practice in Lexington, Ky.; member, State house of representatives 1803; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Adair and served from November 19, 1806, to March 3, 1807, despite being younger than the constitutional age limit of thirty years; member, State house of representatives 1808-1809, and served as speaker in 1809; again elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Buckner Thruston and served from January 4, 1810, to March 3, 1811; elected as a Republican to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1811, to January 19, 1814, when he resigned; Speaker of the House of Representatives (Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses); appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate the treaty of peace with Great Britain in 1814; elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Congresses (March 4, 1815-March 3, 1821); Speaker of the House of Representatives (Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses); elected to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Congresses and served from March 3, 1823, to March 6, 1825, when he resigned; again served as Speaker of the House of Representatives (Eighteenth Congress); appointed Secretary of State by President John Quincy Adams 1825-1829; elected as a Whig to the United States Senate on November 10, 1831, to fill the vacancy in the term commencing March 4, 1831; reelected in 1836 and served from November 10, 1831 until March 31, 1842, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations (Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses), Committee on Finance (Twenty-seventh Congress); unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Democratic-Republican Party in 1824, of the National Republican Party in 1832, and of the Whig Party in 1844; again elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1849, until his death in Washington, D.C., June 29, 1852; funeral services held in the Chamber of the Senate; interment in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky.
Bibliography
American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Clay, Henry. The Papers of Henry Clay, 1797-1852. Edited by James Hopkins, Mary Hargreaves, Robert Seager II, Melba Porter Hay et al. 11 vols. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1959-1992; Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1991. Biography from Encarta Encyclopedia: Clay, Henry (1777-1852), American statesman, who was secretary of state under John Quincy Adams and an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency in 1824, 1832, and 1844. He was one of the most popular and influential political leaders in American history. His genius in the art of compromise three times resolved bitter political conflicts that threatened to tear the nation apart, winning him the title The Great Pacificator. Clay was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, to a middle-class family. After studying for the bar with the eminent George Wythe, Clay, at the age of 20, moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he developed a thriving practice. He was blessed with a quick mind, a flair for oratory, and an ability to charm both sexes with his easy, attractive manner. That he loved to drink and gamble was no drawback in an age that admired both vices. Clay, ambitious for worldly success, married into a wealthy and socially prominent family and soon gained entry into Kentucky's most influential circles. While still in his 20s, he was elected to the state legislature, in which he served for six years, until 1809. Congressman Clay established his great reputation in the United States House of Representatives, where he served intermittently from 1811 to 1825. In his first term, he became one of the leading "War Hawks"-the young men whose clamor for hostilities with England helped bring about the War of 1812. Clay was selected as one of the commissioners who in 1814 negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, ending that war. In 1820-21 it was Clay above all who engineered the Missouri Compromise, quieting the harsh controversy that had erupted by maintaining an equal balance between free and slave states. Although he himself was a slave owner, Clay's views on slavery-as on most other issues-were moderate. He was thus able to command the support of men fearful of extremism. In the presidential election of 1824, after his own candidacy had failed, Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams, whom the House early in 1825 elected as the sixth president. When Adams named Clay secretary of state, his Jacksonian opponents charged "corrupt bargain!" The charge was unfair, but Clay was haunted by it throughout his subsequent career. Although Clay was a practical politician of flexible rather than rigid beliefs, he did emerge as the great champion of the "American System." He called for a protective tariff in support of home manufactures, internal improvements (federal aid to local road and canal projects), a strong national bank, and distribution of the proceeds of federal land sales to the states. Whig Leader Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1831, Clay served in that body until 1842 and again from 1849 until his death. In 1833 he devised a compromise tariff that resolved the crisis brought on by South Carolina's attempt to "nullify" the prevailing tariff set by Congress. In the same period he became a leader of the new Whig Party that emerged to oppose Andrew Jackson's administration. Perhaps the most heartbreaking event of Clay's career was his close defeat in the presidential contest of 1844, when his reluctance to back the annexation of Texas cost him support in the South. Many believe that his greatest service to the nation came in 1850, when he helped win acceptance for a compromise that ended, at least temporarily, the threat of civil war over the issue of slavery in the new territories. He died in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 1852.
Contributed By: Edward Pessen
"Clay, Henry," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Clay counties in Ala., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Minn., Miss., Mo., Neb., N.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex. and W.Va. are named for him.
At 19 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Henrietta Clay in Lexington, KY, June 25, 1800. At 21 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Theodore Wythe Clay in Lexington, KY, July 3, 1802. At 22 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Thomas Hart Clay in Lexington, KY, September 22, 1803. At 23 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Susan Hart Clay February 14, 1805. At 26 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Anne Brown Clay in Lexington, KY, April 15, 1807. At 27 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Lucretia Hart Clay February 1809. At 30 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Henry Clay, Jr. April 10, 1811. At 32 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Eliza H. Clay July 5, 1813. At 34 years of age Lucretia became the mother of Laura Clay October 16, 1815. At 36 years of age Lucretia became the mother of James Brown Clay in Washington, DC, November 9, 1817. At 39 years of age Lucretia became the mother of John Morrison Clay in Fayette Co., KY, February 21, 1821. Lucretia was listed as the head of a family on the 1860 Census in Fayette County, Kentucky. Lucretia Clay is listed in the 1860 Census as age 79, born in Maryland, with a personal estate of $6,000.00. Also listed in the household are John Clay, age 39, born in Kentucky; G. F. Robbins, trainer, age 25, born in New York, with a personal estate of $500.00; S. D. Lindsey, age 21, born in Kentucky, with a personal estate of $5,000.00; and Samuel Nelson, race rider, age 17. Samuel Nelson's race is indicated to be mulatto. John Clay is a farmer, with real estate worth $37,500.00 and personal property worth $40,000.00. The biography of Lucretia Hart Clay from The Kentucky Encyclopedia follows: CLAY, LUCRETIA (HART). Lucretia (Hart) Clay, mistress of the ASHLAND estate for fifty years, was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on March 18, 1781, the daughter of Col. Thomas and Susanna (Gray) Hart. She moved to Kentucky with her parents in 1784. She married Henry Clay on April 11, 1799. Hostess to many of the great figures of the time, she also superintended the large family farm in Fayette County, conducting its affairs with vigor and good judgment. The Clays had eleven children, five sons and six daughters, seven of whom reached adulthood. Lucretia Clay died on April 6, 1864, and is buried beside her husband in the family vault in the Lexington Cemetery. See Rachael Sleasman Schwartz, Lucretia Hart, the Hagerstown Girl Who Became the Wife of Henry Clay (Hagerstown, Md., 1937). FRANCES KELLER BARR
Lucretia Hart and Henry Clay had the following children:
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Henrietta3 Clay was born in Lexington, KY June 25, 1800. Henrietta
died June 14, 1801 in Lexington, KY, at less than one year of age.
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Theodore Wythe Clay was born in Lexington, KY July 3, 1802. Theodore died May 5, 1870 Lexington, Fayette
Co., KY, at 67 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. Theodore Clay spent most of his adult life
at the Eastern Kentucky Lunatic Asylum and died without issue.
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Thomas Hart Clay was born September 22, 1803.
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Susan Hart Clay was born February 14, 1805.
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Anne Brown Clay was born April 15, 1807.
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Lucretia Hart Clay was born February 1809. Lucretia died June 18, 1823 in Fayette Co., KY, at 14 years of
age.
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Henry Clay, Jr. was born April 10, 1811.
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viii.
Eliza H. Clay was born July 5, 1813. Eliza died August 11, 1825 in Lebanon, OH, at 12 years of age.
Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
26
ix.
Laura Clay was born October 16, 1815. Laura died January 5, 1817 at 1 year of age.
+
27
x.
James Brown Clay was born November 9, 1817.
28
xi.
John Morrison Clay was born in Fayette Co., KY February 21, 1821. John died August 10, 1887 in Fayette Co.,
KY, at 66 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. He married
Josephine Deborah Russell in Fayette Co., KY, July 7, 1866. Josephine was born in Fulton, Callaway Co., MO
December 7, 1835. Josephine was the daughter of William Henry Russell and Zaenett Freeland. Josephine died March 29,
1920 in Fayette Co., KY, at 84 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. At 18 years of age
Josephine became the mother of Lucretia Clay Erwin in Independence, MO, June 12, 1854. At 21 years of age
Josephine became the mother of Nettie Russell Erwin 1857. At 25 years of age Josephine became the mother of Mary
Webster Erwin in Jackson Cnty, Mo, February 5, 1861. At 28 years of age Josephine became the mother of Eugenia Erwin
January 26, 1864. Her obituary from the Lexington Herald, March 30, 1920: Mrs. John Morrison Clay died Monday morning at her home,
Ashland-on-the Tates Creek Pike. She was 85 years old and had been ill all winter, but not in a serious condition until with the last few
weeks. Mrs. Clay was the widow of John Morrison Clay, the youngest son of Kentucky's famous statesman, Henry Clay. She was Miss Josephine
D. Russell, the daughter of Col. and Mrs. William H. Russell, and was born in Fulton, Missouri. Her father was a well known man in public
life, a jurist and statesman and the devoted friend of Henry Clay. She was twice married, her first husband having been Col. Eugene Erwin,
the grandson of Henry Clay, who was killed at the Battle of Vicksburg, and Mrs. Clay's two daughters surviving her are the children of that
marriage, Mrs. Minor Simpson, of Ashland-on-the Tates Creek Pike, and Mrs. M. W. Anderson of Kansas City who came several days ago called by
her mother's illness. She leaves also five grandchildren, Eugene Erwin Simpson, Miss Josephine Simpson, Henry Clay Simpson, Henry Clay
Anderson, and Matthew William Anderson. The funeral of Mrs. Clay will be held Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock at Christ Church Cathedral and
the burial will be in the family lot at the Lexington Cemetery. In the passing of Mrs. Clay, Lexington loses perhaps the most remarkable
woman of her generation, a writer of prose and poetry, a successful business woman, fearless and intrepid in spirit, brilliant in mind and
admired for beauty, wit and all the womanly graces as well. She was engaged in activities which won for her a national fame, having been the
world's most noted and successful woman owner and breeder of fine thoroughbred horses. At the death of her husband, Mr. John Morrison Clay,
August 10, 1887, she succeeded to his business of rearing and racing thoroughbreds and under the Ashland colors, yellow and blue, won
several of the classics of the turf. From an illustrated article which appeared in one of the magazines several years ago called "The
World's Most Noted Woman" the following is quoted: "With scarcely half a dozen brood mares in her possession, Mrs. John M. Clay,
proprietor of the famous Ashland Stud in Kentucky, has had more great horses than a number of the famous stock farms in which thousands of
dollars are invested." Mrs. Clay strolls among her mares and horses at will. They all seem to know her and have learned to appreciate the
tender care with which she guards them. Of all persons interested in breeding and rearing the thoroughbred horse in America there are none
as picturesque as this Kentucky authoress who, in spite of this and other business cares, finds time to give the public popular stories, her
latest novel, "Uncle Phil," being now in its second edition. The life of Mrs. Clay was closely interwoven with the Henry Clay family as
her first husband, Col. Erwin, whom she met while on a trip to California, was the son of Henry Clay's fifth child, Anne Clay, his father
being James Erwin of New Orleans. Being brilliant and accomplished her father took special pride in her and she was said to be more like him
in intellect than any of his eleven children. Col. Erwin was an officer of the Sixth Regiment of Missouri Volunteers and was killed while
leading a charge against the enemy at the battle of Vicksburg. He had been a leader on half a dozen battlefields where he was noted for his
coolness, daring and bravery. After his death Mrs. Erwin and her children came to live at the home which was part of the original tract of
land settled by Henry Clay more than 100 years ago and several years later was married to Mr. John Morrison Clay, the youngest son of the
Sage of Ashland and the namesake of the founder of Morrison Chapel. Of the pioneer and aristocratic lineage on all sides it seemed the
birthright of Mrs. Clay to perform unusual duties and to meet with success in her undertakings. While a girl she read the works of the
world's greatest writers and with her observations on many trips with her father she was thus splendidly equipped. An article says of her
that she first appeared in print against her will. She had been on a trip to Mexico and as they came through California she was asked to
write of some of their experiences. She refused the requests, but her father required her to comply and after writing the article she added
as a postscript, "my father made me write this". The editor was very much amused at this and when the article appeared it was widely read
and copied in the other California papers. Mrs. Clay took great pride in her old home and its many valuable Clay relics. It was there that
the wife of Henry Clay, Lucretia Hart, died. Among the most noted of the writings of Mrs. Clay were: "John Logan" dedicated to Henry
Clay; "Some Little of the Angel Still Left," "Uncle Phil" and her last work, "The Sport of Kings," a group of racing stories. A
patriot, a suffragist, a musician and a scientific gardener were some of the other qualifications of this wonderful Kentucky woman. During
the Civil war she devoted a great deal of time to work for the soldiers and when the United States went to war with Germany she recalled her
accomplishment of knitting and made more than 100 pairs of socks. She had not finished her self-imposed quota when the armistice was signed
and she sent many of the pairs to Belgium to be presented to the common soldiers of that country who had won her admiration. She said that
in all her life nothing had given her more pleasure than this knitting she had done for the soldiers. At a meeting of the International
Conference of Women, held at Toronto, Canada, a few years ago. Mrs. Clay was asked to make all address. She could not be present but wrote
the address and sent it to be read at the conference. Her subject was "Women and the Professions." After expressing her opinion that women
could succeed in all the professions, Mrs. Clay tells in the address of her experience as a horse breeder. She says that she sold one
yearling for $8,200, which won three of the Kentucky Derby honors and the rich Realization stake at $41,000. The address was printed in the
Kansas City Star and in several other newspapers. Private funeral services will be held for Mrs. Clay at Christ Church Cathedral Tuesday
afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Very Rev. Robert K. Massie, dean of the Cathedral, officiating. The pallbearers will be Dr. Thomas Bullock,
Thomas H. Shelby, W. K. Berry, James A. Todd, Colonel C. D. Clay, Captain T. J. Clay, Prof. Walter Patterson, Louis des Cognets. Burial
services will be private. John M. Clay owned and operated a horse farm on the outskirts of Lexington known as the Ashland Stud. He died
without issue. Josephine was first married to Andrew Eugene Erwin, a grandson of Henry Clay who was killed at the Battle of Vicksburg in
1863.
8. Nathaniel Gray Smith2 Hart (Thomas1) was born in Hagerstown, MD ca 1784. Nathaniel died January 23, 1813 in Battle of the River Raisin, at 28 years of age.
He married Anna Gist in Frankfort, KY, April 6, 1809. Anna was the daughter of Thomas Gist. Anna died July 10, 1818 in Philadelphia, PA. Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart was a Captain in the War of 1812 and was killed at the battle of the River Raisin. Hart County, Kentucky is named for him. He was a lawyer who studied under Henry Clay and practiced in Lexington, Kentucky. His biography from The Kentucky Encyclopedia follows: HART, NATHANIEL GRAY SMITH. Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart, lawyer and officer in the War of 1812, was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in about 1784 to Col. Thomas and Susanna (Gray) Hart. His father, a proprietor of the Transylvania Land Company moved the family in 1794 to Lexington, Kentucky, where he established a rope business. Hart studied law under Henry Clay, the husband of his sister Lucretia, and practiced in Lexington. By 1809, he had entered the hemp business with his father and his older brother, Thomas Hart, Jr. As captain of the Lexington Light Infantry, Hart organized a company of about one hundred men to fight against the British in the War of 1812. His company was attached to Col. William Lewis's 5th Regiment of the Kentucky Volunteer Militia. In August 1812, the group headed northwest, and in October Hart became deputy inspector of the left wing of the northwestern army. His company fought at the Battle of the River Raisin in Michigan on January 18-22, 1813. On the final day of fighting, Hart was wounded and his men were taken as prisoners to Frenchtown. British Capt. William Elliott, whom Hart had previously known, assured the wounded prisoners that on the next day they would be given safe passage out of Indian territory and conducted to an English prison. Elliott, however, left the prisoners to the Indians, who on January 23 raided the camp, killing many of the men. Hart paid a friendly Pottawattomie to help him escape but they were overcome by Wyandot Indians and Hart was tomahawked and scalped. His body was buried first in Detroit; in 1834 his remains were transferred to Frankfort Cemetery. Hart married Anna Edward Gist on April 6, 1809, in Frankfort; they had two sons-Thomas and Henry Clay. On January 28, 1819, Hart County was established in his honor. Some historical accounts of Hart's life reproduce his name as Nathaniel G.T. Hart. According to C. Frank Dunn, the erroneous initial "T." first appeared in Richard Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky (1874), most likely as a typographical error. See C. Frank Dunn, "Captain Nathaniel G.S. Hart," FCHQ 24 (Jan. 1950): 28-33.
Nathaniel Gray Smith Hart and Anna Gist had the following children:
29
i.
Thomas3 Hart. Thomas died September 4, 1826.
+
30
ii.
Henry Clay Hart.
10. Eliza P.3 Price (Susanna2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
She married Thomas Alexander Marshall in Fayette Co., KY, November 26, 1816. Thomas was born in Woodford Co., KY January 15, 1794. Thomas was the son of Humphrey Marshall and Mary Marshall. Thomas died April 16, 1871 in Louisville, KY, at 77 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. Thomas A. Marshall was a lawyer and served as a Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals for many years. He was also represented the Bourbon District in Congress for two terms. He is listed in The Kentucky Encyclopedia. His biography from the Biographical Directory of the American Congress follows: MARSHALL, Thomas Alexander (son of Humphrey Marshall), a Representative from Kentucky; born near Versailles, Woodford County, Ky., January 15, 1794; pursued preparatory studies; was graduated from Yale College in 1815; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Frankfort in 1817; moved to Paris, Ky., in 1819; member of the State house of representatives in 1827 and 1828; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses (March 4, 1831-March 3, 1835); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress; judge of the State court of appeals 1835-1856; professor in the law department of Transylvania College, Lexington, Ky., 1836-1849; moved to Louisville in 1859; member of the State house of representatives in 1863; chief justice of the court of appeals in 1866 and 1867; died in Louisville, Ky., April 17, 1871; interment in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky. (end). His biography from The Kentucky Encyclopedia follows: MARSHALL, THOMAS ALEXANDER. Thomas Alexander Marshall, congressman and jurist, was born near Versailles in Woodford County, Kentucky. on January 15. 1794, to Humphrey and Mary Marshall. Marshall received his BA. from Yale in 1815, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Frankfort in 1816. He moved to Paris in Bourbon County in 1819. Marshall served two terms in the state House of Representatives, in 1827 and 1828, and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1835. He was an advocate of the Whig party and supported high protective tariff rates and the Bank of the United States. Marshall was appointed to the Kentucky court of appeals by Gov. James T. Morehead (1834-36) in March 1835 and when the position became elective in 1850, he won election to a further six-year term. He served as chief justice from 1847 to 1851 and from 1854 to 1856. Marshall was also a professor in the Transylvania University law department from 1836 to 1849. He served in the Kentucky House from 1863 to 1865. He was appointed to the court of appeals by Gov. Thomas Bramlette (1863-67) on February 12. 1866, to fill a vacant term, but because of pro-Union sympathies was defeated for election in August 1866. Marshall married Eliza Price on November 26, 1816. He died in Louisville on April 17, 1871 and was buried in the Lexington Cemetery.
Eliza P. Price and Thomas Alexander Marshall had the following children:
+
31
i.
Thomas A.4 Marshall.
+
32
ii.
Anna Maria Marshall.
11. Eliza3 Pindell (Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Eliza Pindell and George Ross had the following children:
+
37
i.
Margaretta4 Ross.
+
38
ii.
Ellen Hart Ross.
12. Thomas H.3 Pindell (Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown. Thomas died October 15, 1858.
He married Mary Edmiston in Fayette Co., KY, June 22, 1811. Mary died February 5, 1825.
Thomas H. Pindell and Mary Edmiston had the following children:
39
i.
Richard4 Pindell. He married Anna Monroe. Anna
is the daughter of Thomas Monroe.
+
40
ii.
James Morrison Pindell.
41
iii.
Henry C. Pindell. He married James Ann Pearce.
13. Mary "Polly"3 Pindell (Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) was born 1787. Mary died July 30, 1836 at 49 years of age.
She married James Shelby. James was born February 13, 1784. James was the son of Isaac Shelby and Susannah Hart. James died July 18, 1848 at 64 years of age.
Mary "Polly" Pindell and James Shelby had the following children:
+
42
i.
Richard Pindell4 Shelby.
43
ii.
Susan Hart Shelby. She married twice. She married William Carter. She married Samuel Magoffin.
+
45
iv.
Isaac Shelby.
47
vi.
LaFayette Shelby. LaFayette Shelby was the Defendant in Henry Clay's last criminal case. He was charged with murder but
was never convicted.
+
49
viii.
Evan Shelby.
14. Louisa3 Hart (Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
She married Edmund H. Taylor in Fayette Co., KY, October 26, 1824.
Louisa Hart and Edmund H. Taylor had the following child:
+
50
i.
Thomas Hart4 Taylor.
16. Thomas Pindell3 Hart (Thomas2, Thomas1) was born in Lexington, KY ca 1796. Thomas died ca 1841. His body was interred in Old Episcopal Cemetery, Lexington, KY.
He married twice. He married Mary Ann Lewis Johnner in Fayette County, KY, March 16, 1817. Mary died October 31, 1822. Mary became the mother of Ellen S. Hart 1818. He married Sarah D. Postlethwaite in Fayette Co., KY, December 9, 1828. Sarah is the daughter of John Postlethwaite.
At 22 years of age Thomas became the father of Ellen S. Hart 1818.
Thomas Pindell Hart and Mary Ann Lewis Johnner had the following children:
51
i.
Mary L.4 Hart. She married William Turner.
+
52
ii.
Ellen S. Hart was born 1818.
Thomas Pindell Hart and Sarah D. Postlethwaite had the following child:
+
53
iii.
Sarah Frances Hart.
17. Eleanor Murdock3 Hart (Thomas2, Thomas1) was born in Lexington, KY ca 1806.
She married George Washington Anderson in Fayette Co., KY, August 2, 1821. George was born in Mason Co., KY December 24, 1802. George was the son of Robert Anderson and Margaret Young. George died 1865 at 62 years of age.
Eleanor Murdock Hart and George Washington Anderson had the following children:
+
54
i.
Ellen L.4 Anderson.
+
55
ii.
Maria S. Anderson.
+
56
iii.
Nannette Anderson.
20. Thomas Hart3 Clay (Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born in Lexington, KY September 22, 1803. Thomas died March 18, 1871 in Fayette Co., KY, at 67 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
He married Marie R. Mentelle in Fayette Co., KY, October 5, 1837. Marie was born December 30, 1806. Marie was the daughter of Waldemar Mentelle and Charlotte Victoire LeClerc. Marie died February 22, 1891 in Fayette Co., KY, at 84 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. At 32 years of age Marie became the mother of Lucretia Hart Clay April 20, 1839. At 33 years of age Marie became the mother of Henry Boyle Clay November 13, 1840. At 36 years of age Marie became the mother of Thomas Hart Clay March 15, 1843. At 38 years of age Marie became the mother of Rose Victoire Clay February 4, 1845. At 41 years of age Marie became the mother of Minnie R. Clay March 30, 1848.
Thomas's occupation: Farmer. At 35 years of age Thomas became the father of Lucretia Hart Clay April 20, 1839. At 37 years of age Thomas became the father of Henry Boyle Clay November 13, 1840. At 39 years of age Thomas became the father of Thomas Hart Clay March 15, 1843. At 41 years of age Thomas became the father of Rose Victoire Clay February 4, 1845. At 44 years of age Thomas became the father of Minnie R. Clay March 30, 1848.
Thomas Hart Clay and Marie R. Mentelle had the following children:
+
60
i.
Lucretia Hart4 Clay was born April 20, 1839.
+
61
ii.
Henry Boyle Clay was born November 13, 1840.
+
62
iii.
Thomas Hart Clay was born March 15, 1843.
63
iv.
Rose Victoire Clay was born February 4, 1845. Rose died June 27, 1878 at 33 years of age. She married Garland Hale.
64
v.
Minnie R. Clay was born March 30, 1848. Minnie died October 1892 at 44 years of age.
21. Susan Hart3 Clay (Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born February 14, 1805. Susan died September 18, 1825 at 20 years of age.
She married Martin Duralde in Fayette Co., KY, April 22, 1822. Martin was the son of Martin Milony Duralde and Louise Marie Josephe Perrault. Martin became the father of Martin Duralde III March 29, 1823. Martin became the father of Henry Clay Duralde September 30, 1824.
At 18 years of age Susan became the mother of Martin Duralde III March 29, 1823. At 19 years of age Susan became the mother of Henry Clay Duralde September 30, 1824.
Susan Hart Clay and Martin Duralde had the following children:
65
i.
Martin4 Duralde III was born March 29, 1823. Martin died 1846 in
Philadelphia, PA, at 23 years of age.
66
ii.
Henry Clay Duralde was born September 30, 1824. Henry died 1850 in California, at 25 years of age.
22. Anne Brown3 Clay (Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born in Lexington, KY April 15, 1807. Anne died December 10, 1835 in Lexington, KY, at 28 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
She married James Erwin in Fayette Co., KY, October 21, 1823. James was born in Wilkesboro, NC October 21, 1796. James was the son of Andrew Erwin and Jane Patton. James died June 1, 1851 in Lexington, KY, at 54 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. James's occupation: Attorney. At 29 years of age James became the father of Julia D. Erwin December 24, 1825. At 30 years of age James became the father of Henry Clay Erwin June 14, 1827. At 31 years of age James became the father of James Erwin, Jr. June 18, 1828. At 33 years of age James became the father of Lucretia Hart Erwin October 22, 1829. At 33 years of age James became the father of Andrew Eugene Erwin in Lexington, KY, October 1830. At 35 years of age James became the father of Mary Erwin May 1832. At 39 years of age James became the father of Charles Edward (Ned) Erwin in Fayette Co., KY, November 2, 1835. At 47 years of age James became the father of Elizabeth Julia Erwin February 1844. At 51 years of age James became the father of James Erwin 1848. James Erwin was a lawyer but did not practice. He engaged in business in New Orleans, LA. It is believed he first lived in Kentucky after his purchase of the estate known as "The Woodlands" in 1831. A book entitled "Like Some Green Laurel" published by LSU Press claims he had two illegitimate children by a French dancer in New Orleans. I have no proof of this.
At 18 years of age Anne became the mother of Julia D. Erwin December 24, 1825. At 20 years of age Anne became the mother of Henry Clay Erwin June 14, 1827. At 21 years of age Anne became the mother of James Erwin, Jr. June 18, 1828. At 22 years of age Anne became the mother of Lucretia Hart Erwin October 22, 1829. At 23 years of age Anne became the mother of Andrew Eugene Erwin in Lexington, KY, October 1830. At 25 years of age Anne became the mother of Mary Erwin May 1832. At 28 years of age Anne became the mother of Charles Edward (Ned) Erwin in Fayette Co., KY, November 2, 1835. Her obituary from the Lexington Intelligencer: DIED, very suddenly, on Thursday evening last, at The Woodlands, the seat of James Erwin, Esq., his amiable consort, Mrs. ANN B. ERWIN, the last surviving daughter of the Hon. Henry Clay, in the 29th year of her age. Her death, which was almost instantaneous, is supposed to have been caused by the rupture of a blood vessel. The funeral service was performed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Smith, on Saturday morning; and her remains were conveyed to the vault, attended by a numerous train of citizens, which attested her worth, as well as the general sympathy and regret experienced on the occasion. She has left her honored parents and five children, with a heart-bleeding husband, and numerous other friends, to lament her untimely death. It is with our friends, as with our health, and a thousand other blessings - we rarely appreciate them as we ought, till we are taught their value, by a painful deprivation. Hence, when we are near relations and intimate connections are taken away, we are often led to exaggerate their virtues by posthumous praise. Hence the fulsome eulogy, which sometimes crowds the obituary column, or exhibits the vanity of the survivor, instead of the character of the deceased, on the marble monument. But this must not prevent departed merit from receiving the tributary notice, which is justly due. In the death of Mrs. Erwin, society has sustained no ordinary loss. With a mind highly cultivated and improved, with a taste which left nothing it touched unadorned, with a temper always cheerful, amiable and kind, with a deportment dignified and decided, yet simple, artless and condescending, in the unlimited enjoyment of all that wealth and affluence could bestow, she was yet not unmindful of that better part which could never be taken from her. Several years since, she became hopefully pious, and a communicant in the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which had since lived an exemplary member. In short, possessed of everything which could render life desirable to herself or her friends, she has been suddenly torn away, by a Wisdom which we dare not presume to scan, and is gone to reap the rich rewards which await "the good and faithful servant," in another and a brighter world. "The Woodlands" are still there. The stately mansion - the hospitable board - the spacious gardens, the tasteful walks, the extensive pleasure grounds - the trees, the shrubs and the flowers - but where is the spirit that animated the whole? Gone, alas, forever! - and the once brilliant scene is now shrouded, not only in the gloom of winter, but in the habiliments of woe. Spring will, indeed, soon return - "the Woodlands" will again be decked in green - the flowers will again bloom, in all their wonted fragrance and beauty - and the gay tenants of the grove will again be warbling "their native woodnotes wild" - but where will be the Taste that contrived, the Hand that planted, and the Eye that enjoyed and gladdened this wilderness of sweets! - Where the lovely Form, that gave life, and interest and beauty, and song, and sentiment, to the whole? The heart-broken husband may be there, but he will be alone. The darling little ones, the prattling infants, may be there; but no maternal bosom on which to rest - to soothe their sorrows, or to participate in their joys. The fond and doting parents may call, but no daughter to embrace and welcome and them in. But we forbear. While our society deplores the painful event, by which it has been thus suddenly deprived of one of its brightest ornaments, we cannot but mingle our tears, with those of the bereaved relations, to whom the loss is irreparable. No event of this kind, in this city, could be more deeply felt, or more powerfully impress us with the serious truth that, In the midst of life we are in death; or, with the solemn admonition, "Be ye also ready!"
Anne Brown Clay and James Erwin had the following children:
67
i.
Julia D.4 Erwin was born December 24, 1825. Julia died 1828 at 2 years of
age.
+
68
ii.
Henry Clay Erwin was born June 14, 1827.
69
iii.
James Erwin, Jr. was born June 18, 1828. James died 1848 in New Orleans, LA, at 20 years of age. His
body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
+
70
iv.
Lucretia Hart Erwin was born October 22, 1829.
+
71
v.
Andrew Eugene Erwin was born October 1830.
72
vi.
Mary Erwin was born May 1832. Mary died October 1832 at less than one year of age.
+
73
vii.
Charles Edward (Ned) Erwin was born November 2, 1835.
24. Henry3 Clay, Jr. (Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born April 10, 1811. Henry died February 22, 1847 in Buena Vista, Mexico, at 35 years of age. His body was interred in Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY.
He married Julia Prather October 10, 1832. Julia was born May 16, 1814. Julia was the daughter of Thomas Prather and Matilda Fontaine. Julia died February 13, 1840 at 25 years of age. At 19 years of age Julia became the mother of Henry Clay III July 20, 1833. At 20 years of age Julia became the mother of Matilda Clay January 30, 1835. At 22 years of age Julia became the mother of Anne Brown Clay February 14, 1837. At 24 years of age Julia became the mother of Martha Clay 1838. At 25 years of age Julia became the mother of Thomas Julian Clay January 30, 1840.
At 22 years of age Henry became the father of Henry Clay III July 20, 1833. At 23 years of age Henry became the father of Matilda Clay January 30, 1835. At 25 years of age Henry became the father of Anne Brown Clay February 14, 1837. At 27 years of age Henry became the father of Martha Clay 1838. At 28 years of age Henry became the father of Thomas Julian Clay January 30, 1840.
Henry Clay, Jr. and Julia Prather had the following children:
75
ii.
Henry Clay III was born July 20, 1833. Henry died June 5, 1862 at 28 years of age.
76
iii.
Matilda Clay was born January 30, 1835. Matilda died September 21, 1835 at less than one year of age.
+
77
iv.
Anne Brown Clay was born February 14, 1837.
78
v.
Martha Clay was born 1838.
79
vi.
Thomas Julian Clay was born January 30, 1840. Thomas died October 12, 1863 in Atlanta, GA, at 23 years of
age.
27. James Brown3 Clay (Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born in Washington, DC November 9, 1817. James died January 26, 1864 in Montreal, Canada, at 46 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
He married Susanna Maria Jacob October 12, 1843. Susanna was born January 17, 1823. Susanna died February 25, 1905 in Fayette Co., KY, at 82 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. At 21 years of age Susanna became the mother of Lucy Jacob Clay August 10, 1844. At 23 years of age Susanna became the mother of James Brown Clay, Jr. January 27, 1846. At 24 years of age Susanna became the mother of John Cathcoat Johnston Clay December 23, 1847. At 26 years of age Susanna became the mother of Henry Clay November 17, 1849. At 28 years of age Susanna became the mother of Lucretia Hart Clay July 3, 1851. At 32 years of age Susanna became the mother of Susan Maria Clay February 12, 1855. At 33 years of age Susanna became the mother of Charles Donald Clay January 7, 1857. At 35 years of age Susanna became the mother of George Hudson Clay October 24, 1858. At 38 years of age Susanna became the mother of Nathaniel Hart Clay April 10, 1861.
James's occupation: Attorney. At 26 years of age James became the father of Lucy Jacob Clay August 10, 1844. At 28 years of age James became the father of James Brown Clay, Jr. January 27, 1846. At 30 years of age James became the father of John Cathcoat Johnston Clay December 23, 1847. At 32 years of age James became the father of Henry Clay November 17, 1849. At 33 years of age James became the father of Lucretia Hart Clay July 3, 1851. At 35 years of age James became the father of Thomas Jacob Clay April 5, 1853. At 37 years of age James became the father of Susan Maria Clay February 12, 1855. At 39 years of age James became the father of Charles Donald Clay January 7, 1857. At 40 years of age James became the father of George Hudson Clay October 24, 1858. At 43 years of age James became the father of Nathaniel Hart Clay April 10, 1861. His biography from the Biographical Directory of the American Congress follows: CLAY, James Brown (son of Henry Clay), a Representative from Kentucky; born in Washington, D.C., November 9, 1817; pursued preparatory studies; attended Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., and Kenyon College, Gambler, Ohio; clerk in a countinghouse in Boston 1832-1834; studied law at Lexington Law School; was admitted to the bar and practiced with his father in Lexington; Chargéé d'Affaires to Portugal from August 1, 1849, to July 19, 1850; was a resident of Missouri in 1851 and 1852, when he returned to Lexington, Ky.; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); was not a candidate for renomination in 1858; declined the appointment by President Buchanan to a mission to Germany; member of the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; during the Civil War identified himself with the Confederacy; died in Montreal, Canada, January 26, 1864, where he had gone for his health; interment in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky.
James Brown Clay and Susanna Maria Jacob had the following children:
80
i.
Lucy Jacob4 Clay was born August 10, 1844. Lucy died March 7, 1863 at 18
years of age.
81
ii.
James Brown Clay, Jr. was born January 27, 1846. James died February 7, 1906 at 60 years of age. He married Eliza Ingles January 20, 1880. Eliza was born October 31, 1843. Eliza died March 11,
1906 at 62 years of age.
82
iii.
John Cathcoat Johnston Clay was born December 23, 1847. John died September 15, 1872 at 24 years of age.
83
iv.
Henry Clay was born November 17, 1849. Henry died September 22, 1884 at 34 years of age.
84
v.
Lucretia Hart Clay was born July 3, 1851. Lucretia died October 15, 1923 at 72 years of age.
85
vi.
Susan Maria Clay was born February 12, 1855. Susan died September 14, 1863 at 8 years of age.
+
86
vii.
Charles Donald Clay was born January 7, 1857.
87
viii.
George Hudson Clay was born October 24, 1858. George died June 26, 1934 at 75 years of age.
88
ix.
Nathaniel Hart Clay was born April 10, 1861. Nathaniel died May 17, 1862 at 1 year of age.
James Brown Clay and Susan Maria Jacob had the following child:
89
x.
Thomas Jacob Clay was born April 5, 1853. Thomas died January 16, 1939 at 85 years of age.
30. Henry Clay3 Hart (Nathaniel Gray Smith2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Henry Clay Hart and Elizabeth Brent had the following children:
+
91
ii.
Hugh B. Hart.
31. Thomas A.4 Marshall (Eliza P.3 Price, Susanna2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Thomas A. Marshall and Ellen Miles had the following children:
+
94
i.
William S.5 Marshall.
+
95
ii.
Eliza Marshall.
+
96
iii.
James M. Marshall.
+
97
iv.
Thomas A. Marshall.
98
v.
Charles T. Marshall. He married Henrietta Monroe.
32. Anna Maria4 Marshall (Eliza P.3 Price, Susanna2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
She married W. C. Smedes. W. C. Smedes was a lawyer.
Anna Maria Marshall and W. C. Smedes had the following children:
100
i.
Susan5 Smedes. She married Dr. Barnett.
101
ii.
Anna Smedes. She married William Vosburg 1878.
+
102
iii.
Ellen Smedes.
+
105
vi.
Thomas Marshall Smedes.
106
vii.
John Marshall Smedes.
37. Margaretta4 Ross (Eliza3 Pindell, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
She married James O. Harrison. James O. Harrison was a lawyer.
Margaretta Ross and James O. Harrison had the following children:
107
i.
Richard Pindell5 Harrison. He married Mary
Hunt. Mary is the daughter of A. D. Hunt.
109
iii.
James Orlando Harrison.
+
110
iv.
Margaretta Ross Harrison.
+
111
v.
Ellen Harrison.
112
vi.
Albert M. Harrison. He married ? Withers.
114
viii.
Susan Lucretia Harrison.
38. Ellen Hart4 Ross (Eliza3 Pindell, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Ellen Hart Ross and James Riley had the following children:
+
115
i.
John5 Riley.
40. James Morrison4 Pindell (Thomas H.3, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
He married Betty Means. Betty is the daughter of Harvey Means.
James Morrison Pindell and Betty Means had the following children:
122
vi.
Mary Glaskins Pindell.
42. Richard Pindell4 Shelby (Mary "Polly"3 Pindell, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
He married twice. He married Miss Hickman. He married Mrs. (Williams) Mitchell.
Richard Pindell Shelby and Miss Hickman had the following child:
124
i.
James5 Shelby. James Shelby died young.
Richard Pindell Shelby and Mrs. (Williams) Mitchell had the following child:
+
125
ii.
Mary P. Shelby.
45. Isaac4 Shelby (Mary "Polly"3 Pindell, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Isaac Shelby and Sarah McClure had the following children:
49. Evan4 Shelby (Mary "Polly"3 Pindell, Eliza2 Hart, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
He married Amanda Bruin. Amanda is the daughter of Joseph Bruin.
Evan Shelby and Amanda Bruin had the following child:
128
i.
Mary Pindell5 Shelby. She married J. C.
Stallup.
50. Thomas Hart4 Taylor (Louisa3 Hart, Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
He married three times. He married Sarah Blanton. Sarah is the daughter of Harrison Blanton. He married Sarah Moreland. He married E. Adair Monroe. E. is the daughter of John A. Monroe. Thomas Hart Taylor was a General in the Confederate Army.
Thomas Hart Taylor and Sarah Blanton had the following children:
+
129
i.
Edmund H.5 Taylor.
130
ii.
Blanton Taylor. He married Mary M. Gill.
+
131
iii.
Addie C. Taylor.
52. Ellen S.4 Hart (Thomas Pindell3, Thomas2, Thomas1) was born 1818. Ellen died 1903 at 85 years of age.
She married William Garrard Talbot in Frankfort, KY, 1845. William is the son of Isham Talbot.
Ellen S. Hart and William Garrard Talbot had the following children:
+
134
ii.
Dudley Talbot.
+
135
iii.
Eleanor H. Talbot.
+
138
vi.
Margaret C. Talbot.
140
viii.
Maria Dudley Talbot. She married Kelly Brent.
53. Sarah Frances4 Hart (Thomas Pindell3, Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Sarah Frances Hart and B. F. Turner had the following children:
54. Ellen L.4 Anderson (Eleanor Murdock3 Hart, Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Ellen L. Anderson and J. M. Harris had the following children:
55. Maria S.4 Anderson (Eleanor Murdock3 Hart, Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Maria S. Anderson and Edward F. Bacon had the following children:
56. Nannette4 Anderson (Eleanor Murdock3 Hart, Thomas2, Thomas1) birth date unknown.
Nannette Anderson and Emmet Harris had the following children:
60. Lucretia Hart4 Clay (Thomas Hart3, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born April 20, 1839. Lucretia died April 29, 1860 in Fayette Co., KY, at 21 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
She married William Campbell Preston Breckinridge in "Mansfield", Fayette Co., KY, March 17, 1859. William was born in Baltimore, MD August 28, 1837. William was the son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and Ann Sophonisba Preston. William died November 19, 1904 in Fayette Co., KY, at 67 years of age. At 28 years of age William became the father of Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge in Lexington, KY, April 1, 1866. At 29 years of age William became the father of Desha Breckinridge in Lexington, KY, August 5, 1867. His biography from the Biographical Directory of the American Congress: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRECKINRIDGE, William Campbell Preston, 1837-1904
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRECKINRIDGE, William Campbell Preston, (grandson of John Breckinridge, uncle of Levin Irving Handy, and great-uncle of John Bayne Breckinridge), a Representative from Kentucky; born in Baltimore, Md., August 28, 1837; attended the common schools, Jefferson College, Chambersburg, Pa., and Pisgah Academy, Woodford County, Ky.; was graduated from Centre College, Danville, Ky., in 1855 and from the law department of the University of Louisville in 1857; was admitted to the bar in 1857 and commenced practice in Lexington, Ky.; entered the Confederate Army in 1861 as captain and was subsequently promoted to the rank of colonel in the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry; was in command of the Kentucky cavalry designated to act as bodyguard for President Jefferson Davis and the members of his cabinet at the close of the Civil War; returned to Lexington, Ky., and was attorney for Fayette County; edited the Lexington (Ky.) Observer and Reporter 1866-1868; professor of equity and jurisprudence in the University of Kentucky at Lexington; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1876 and 1888; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1895); unsuccessful candidate for election in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress; resumed the practice of law and also edited the Lexington Herald; died in Lexington, Ky., November 18, 1904; interment in Lexington Cemetery.
Bibliography
DAB; Klotter, James C. The Breckinridges of Kentucky, 1760-1981. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1986.
Lucretia Hart Clay and William Campbell Preston Breckinridge had the following child:
61. Henry Boyle4 Clay (Thomas Hart3, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born November 13, 1840. Henry died February 27, 1919 at 78 years of age.
He married Nannie Bradley Bynum. Nannie was the daughter of Joshua Bynum and Louisa Bradley. Nannie became the mother of Harry Boyle Clay 1864. Nannie became the mother of Elsie Clay May 29, 1866.
At 23 years of age Henry became the father of Harry Boyle Clay 1864. At 25 years of age Henry became the father of Elsie Clay May 29, 1866. Henry Boyle Clay was a Captain in the Confederate army
Henry Boyle Clay and Nannie Bradley Bynum had the following children:
+
155
i.
Mary5 Clay.
+
157
iii.
Harry Boyle Clay was born 1864.
+
158
iv.
Elsie Clay was born May 29, 1866.
62. Thomas Hart4 Clay (Thomas Hart3, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born March 15, 1843. Thomas died April 7, 1907 at 64 years of age.
He married Annie Gratz 1873. Annie was born November 30, 1847. Annie was the daughter of Benjamin Gratz and Anna Maria Boswell. Annie died March 1, 1930 at 82 years of age.
Thomas Hart Clay and Annie Gratz had the following children:
159
i.
Miriam5 Clay. She married William Cogswell.
160
ii.
Annie G. Clay. She married Green Gibson.
68. Henry Clay4 Erwin (Anne Brown3 Clay, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born June 14, 1827. Henry died August 1859 in Louisville, KY, at 32 years of age. His body was interred in Lexington Cemetery.
Henry Clay Erwin and Margaret Johnson had the following child:
70. Lucretia Hart4 Erwin (Anne Brown3 Clay, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born October 22, 1829. Lucretia died 1866 at 36 years of age.
She married Frederic Augustus Cowles December 26, 1850.
Lucretia Hart Erwin and Frederic Augustus Cowles had the following children:
71.
He married Josephine Deborah Russell in Callaway Co., MO, July 10, 1853. Josephine was born in Fulton, Callaway Co., MO December 7, 1835. Josephine was the daughter of William Henry Russell and Zaenett Freeland. Josephine died March 29, 1920 in Fayette Co., KY, at 84 years of age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. At 18 years of age Josephine became the mother of Lucretia Clay Erwin in Independence, MO, June 12, 1854. At 21 years of age Josephine became the mother of Nettie Russell Erwin 1857. At 25 years of age Josephine became the mother of Mary Webster Erwin in Jackson Cnty, Mo, February 5, 1861. At 28 years of age Josephine became the mother of Eugenia Erwin January 26, 1864. Her obituary from the Lexington Herald, March 30, 1920: Mrs. John Morrison Clay died Monday morning at her home, Ashland-on-the Tates Creek Pike. She was 85 years old and had been ill all winter, but not in a serious condition until with the last few weeks. Mrs. Clay was the widow of John Morrison Clay, the youngest son of Kentucky's famous statesman, Henry Clay. She was Miss Josephine D. Russell, the daughter of Col. and Mrs. William H. Russell, and was born in Fulton, Missouri. Her father was a well known man in public life, a jurist and statesman and the devoted friend of Henry Clay. She was twice married, her first husband having been Col. Eugene Erwin, the grandson of Henry Clay, who was killed at the Battle of Vicksburg, and Mrs. Clay's two daughters surviving her are the children of that marriage, Mrs. Minor Simpson, of Ashland-on-the Tates Creek Pike, and Mrs. M. W. Anderson of Kansas City who came several days ago called by her mother's illness. She leaves also five grandchildren, Eugene Erwin Simpson, Miss Josephine Simpson, Henry Clay Simpson, Henry Clay Anderson, and Matthew William Anderson. The funeral of Mrs. Clay will be held Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock at Christ Church Cathedral and the burial will be in the family lot at the Lexington Cemetery. In the passing of Mrs. Clay, Lexington loses perhaps the most remarkable woman of her generation, a writer of prose and poetry, a successful business woman, fearless and intrepid in spirit, brilliant in mind and admired for beauty, wit and all the womanly graces as well. She was engaged in activities which won for her a national fame, having been the world's most noted and successful woman owner and breeder of fine thoroughbred horses. At the death of her husband, Mr. John Morrison Clay, August 10, 1887, she succeeded to his business of rearing and racing thoroughbreds and under the Ashland colors, yellow and blue, won several of the classics of the turf. From an illustrated article which appeared in one of the magazines several years ago called "The World's Most Noted Woman" the following is quoted: "With scarcely half a dozen brood mares in her possession, Mrs. John M. Clay, proprietor of the famous Ashland Stud in Kentucky, has had more great horses than a number of the famous stock farms in which thousands of dollars are invested." Mrs. Clay strolls among her mares and horses at will. They all seem to know her and have learned to appreciate the tender care with which she guards them. Of all persons interested in breeding and rearing the thoroughbred horse in America there are none as picturesque as this Kentucky authoress who, in spite of this and other business cares, finds time to give the public popular stories, her latest novel, "Uncle Phil," being now in its second edition. The life of Mrs. Clay was closely interwoven with the Henry Clay family as her first husband, Col. Erwin, whom she met while on a trip to California, was the son of Henry Clay's fifth child, Anne Clay, his father being James Erwin of New Orleans. Being brilliant and accomplished her father took special pride in her and she was said to be more like him in intellect than any of his eleven children. Col. Erwin was an officer of the Sixth Regiment of Missouri Volunteers and was killed while leading a charge against the enemy at the battle of Vicksburg. He had been a leader on half a dozen battlefields where he was noted for his coolness, daring and bravery. After his death Mrs. Erwin and her children came to live at the home which was part of the original tract of land settled by Henry Clay more than 100 years ago and several years later was married to Mr. John Morrison Clay, the youngest son of the Sage of Ashland and the namesake of the founder of Morrison Chapel. Of the pioneer and aristocratic lineage on all sides it seemed the birthright of Mrs. Clay to perform unusual duties and to meet with success in her undertakings. While a girl she read the works of the world's greatest writers and with her observations on many trips with her father she was thus splendidly equipped. An article says of her that she first appeared in print against her will. She had been on a trip to Mexico and as they came through California she was asked to write of some of their experiences. She refused the requests, but her father required her to comply and after writing the article she added as a postscript, "my father made me write this". The editor was very much amused at this and when the article appeared it was widely read and copied in the other California papers. Mrs. Clay took great pride in her old home and its many valuable Clay relics. It was there that the wife of Henry Clay, Lucretia Hart, died. Among the most noted of the writings of Mrs. Clay were: "John Logan" dedicated to Henry Clay; "Some Little of the Angel Still Left," "Uncle Phil" and her last work, "The Sport of Kings," a group of racing stories. A patriot, a suffragist, a musician and a scientific gardener were some of the other qualifications of this wonderful Kentucky woman. During the Civil war she devoted a great deal of time to work for the soldiers and when the United States went to war with Germany she recalled her accomplishment of knitting and made more than 100 pairs of socks. She had not finished her self-imposed quota when the armistice was signed and she sent many of the pairs to Belgium to be presented to the common soldiers of that country who had won her admiration. She said that in all her life nothing had given her more pleasure than this knitting she had done for the soldiers. At a meeting of the International Conference of Women, held at Toronto, Canada, a few years ago. Mrs. Clay was asked to make all address. She could not be present but wrote the address and sent it to be read at the conference. Her subject was "Women and the Professions." After expressing her opinion that women could succeed in all the professions, Mrs. Clay tells in the address of her experience as a horse breeder. She says that she sold one yearling for $8,200, which won three of the Kentucky Derby honors and the rich Realization stake at $41,000. The address was printed in the Kansas City Star and in several other newspapers. Private funeral services will be held for Mrs. Clay at Christ Church Cathedral Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Very Rev. Robert K. Massie, dean of the Cathedral, officiating. The pallbearers will be Dr. Thomas Bullock, Thomas H. Shelby, W. K. Berry, James A. Todd, Colonel C. D. Clay, Captain T. J. Clay, Prof. Walter Patterson, Louis des Cognets. Burial services will be private.
At 23 years of age Andrew became the father of Lucretia Clay Erwin in Independence, MO, June 12, 1854. At 26 years of age Andrew became the father of Nettie Russell Erwin 1857. Andrew was listed as the head of a family on the 1860 Census in Jackson County, Missouri. Eugene Erwin is listed in the 1860 Census for Jackson County, Missouri living in the Jones Hotel with himself listed as 26 and born in Kentucky, Josephine as 24 and born in Missouri, Lucretia as 5 and born in Missouri, Nettie as 3 and born in Missouri, and Zaenett Russell as 53 and born in Maryland. Eugene Erwin is listed with real estate valued at $6,500.00 and personal property worth $15,000.00. Zaenett is listed with real estate worth $2,000.00 and personal property worth $5,000.00.
Andrew was listed as the owner of slaves on the 1860 Census of Slave Inhabitants in Jackson County, Missouri. The slave schedules for 1860 in Jackson County, Missouri list Eugene Erwin as owning one black female age 13.
At 30 years of age Andrew became the father of Mary Webster Erwin in Jackson Cnty, Mo, February 5, 1861. At 33 years of age Andrew became the father of Eugenia Erwin January 26, 1864. His biography from History of Kentucky by Judge Charles Kerr (Chicago and New York, 1922) follows: Col. Eugene Erwin was a soldier whose record of action and high character entitles him to all the honors paid a military career in every age of the world. He was born at Woodlands, adjoining Lexington, then the home of his father, James Erwin, whose wife was the favorite child of Henry Clay. Eugene Erwin lived for several years in Missouri. He was in Missouri when the war broke out between the North and South, and immediately offered his services to the Confederacy. His military career of about two years was most brilliant. He was a magnetic leader, was idolized by his soldiers, and until his heroic death he was almost constantly at posts of danger. He was commissioned major by the commander of the State Guards of Missouri, and participated in the battles of Wilson's Creek, Lexington and Sugar Creek, also Springfield and Elkhorn Tavern. Then on leaving Missouri and joining the forces east of the Mississippi he was made lieutenant colonel and given command of a battalion. He led the assault upon the attack of Iuka, after which he was commissioned colonel and assigned to the command of a regiment. He and his regiment were also assigned prominent places in the advance upon Corinth, and after that ill-starred attack, only thirty members of his regiment were able to answer roll call. His regimental flag carried in that and many subsequent engagements was never captured, and is now in the possession of his grandson Eugene Erwin Simpson of Lexington. Colonel Erwin himself was severely wounded at Corinth, but in a month had rejoined his command. At the beginning of the battle in front of Port Gibson, May l, 1863, he was ordered to re-enforce the left wing of the Confederate command, and after a forced march of eight miles made in 2 1/2 hours brought his command on the ground at a critical moment, when the entire left of the Confederates was threatened with defeat. To save the day he advanced the head of his column to a position within twenty yards of the enemy, and for an hour and a half his solitary regiment sustained the shock of the entire Federal attack. He went into the battle with 520 men, as the official report shows, lost in killed and wounded eighty-three, and by a remarkable skill in maneuvering and in deflective strategy fought and held his position until almost surrounded, and then under heavy fire made good his withdrawal, his individual command alone standing between an overwhelming defeat of the entire left wing of the Confederate army. Then followed the siege of Vicksburg, during which the Sixth Regiment of Missouri Infantry with its commander, Colonel Erwin, was assigned to emergency duty within the city, re-enforcing points against which the heaviest attack of the enemy was delivered. The climax of Colonel Erwin's career as a soldier came on the afternoon of the 25th of June, 1863. Ordered with his regiment to support some hard pressed Louisianans, who were defending a portion of the fortifications where the Federals had exploded a mine and were crowding through the shattered parapet, Colonel Erwin, shouting "Follow me, boys" rushed forward to lead the charge. Three musket balls passed through his body. At his fall his men with a hoarse, hungry roar of rage sprang out among the enemy. Then and there occurred the bloodiest fight of that memorable siege. When the paroled army passed out of surrendered Vicksburg only twenty-five of the Sixth Missouri were able to pass out with it. The brigadier-general's commission sent to Richmond to Colonel Erwin arrived too late--it had been canceled by death. Thereafter the Sixth Missouri as an individual unit lost its identity. Colonel Erwin was not only the idol of his own men, but his exploits commanded the admiration of his enemies. After he was wounded at Corinth special permission was granted Mrs. Erwin to come South through the lines, and after the surrender of Vicksburg General Grant furnished her with a pass and transportation to return to her home. His obituary from The Daily Citizen, Vickburg, Mississippi issue of June 30, 1863 follows: OBITUARY COL. EUGENE ERWIN. Another brave and noble spirit has fallen. On Thursday evening, June 24th, Col. Eugene Erwin of the 6th Regiment Missouri Vols. was killed while mounted upon the works with a view to leading a charge against the enemy. He was struck with a minnie ball which passed through his body, killing him instantly. For several weeks previous to his death his health had been delicate, and at times compelled his absence from the field. During the siege of this place, he had more than once been driven to his bed, and on the day of his death he was out contrary to the advice and urgency of his friends, feeling, as he said, that it was his duty, so long as he could stand, to stand at his post. No one felt more than he did the importance of every man's discharging his duty - no one did more to discharge it. Col. Erwin, at the first outbreak of the war, left his home and family and offered himself a willing sacrifice upon the altar of his country's liberty. He has borne deprivation and hardships of [the duty?]. Throughout the campaigns of Gen. Price in Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi, and this without a murmur, he has ever shown himself an excellent soldier and a gallant officer. More than a half dozen battlefields - Elk Horn, Corinth and Port Gibson included - hear testimony to his coolness and daring bravery. He was strict in discipline, yet generous, kind and true, possessing the confidence and esteem of all his men and officers. He esteemed religion highly, and did all in his power to promote its interests. Those who knew him best loved him most; for the more intimate the acquaintances, the brighter shown the excellence of his character. But he has fallen - fallen at his post defending the cause of justice and truth. At midnight's hour amid the roar of cannon and the whistling of enemy's balls, we bore him gently and laid him in the soldier's humble grave, where he shall rest in peace till he is called forth to his reward in the resurrection morn.
He by his example speaks --
"'Twere sweet to live, yet I can die, And in the grave forgotten lie, To know I have my duty done, And nobly life's last triumph won. Know ye my comrades in the field, I die a freeman's death; Cease not to wield the battleshield With life's last lingering breath - The banner which we bore on high, Still bid it all their hosts defy - For where the war tide wild shall wave, So fit to be a soldier's grave."
He leaves a wife and three sweet little girls to mourn his loss. May our Heavenly Father sustain and comfort them in their bed of bereavement and grant them all a happy reunion in .... [remainder unintelligible].
Andrew Eugene Erwin and Josephine Deborah Russell had the following children:
+
165
i.
Lucretia Clay5 Erwin was born June 12, 1854.
166
ii.
Nettie Russell Erwin was born 1857. Nettie died January 7, 1889 Lexington, Fayette Co., KY, at 31 years of
age. Her body was interred in Lexington Cemetery. She married Howard H. Gratz September 26,
1887. Howard's occupation: Publisher.
+
167
iii.
Mary Webster Erwin was born February 5, 1861.
168
iv.
Eugenia Erwin was born January 26, 1864. Eugenia died 1864 at less than one year of age.
73. Charles Edward (Ned)4 Erwin (Anne Brown3 Clay, Lucretia2 Hart, Thomas1) was born in Fayette Co., KY November 2, 1835. Charles died February 6, 1860 in Fayette Co., KY, at 24 years of age.
He married Evaline Augusta Hicks in Fayette Co., KY, October 13, 1857. Evaline was born in Clark Co., KY 1839. Evaline was the daughter of Beverly Alsop Hicks and Mary Colson Herndon. Evaline died 1864 at 25 years of age. At 20 years of age Evaline became the mother of Edward Clay Erwin in Fayette Co., KY, February 29, 1860.
At 24 years of age Charles became the father of Edward Clay Erwin in Fayette Co., KY, February 29, 1860.
Charles Edward (Ned) Erwin and Evaline Augusta Hicks had the following child:
169
i.
Edward Clay5 Erwin was born in Fayette Co., KY February 29, 1860. He married Jessie Wallace Sweeney in Owensboro, KY, 1889. Jessie was born in Owensboro,
KY April 19, 1870. Jessie was the daughter of William N. Sweeney and Elizabeth Rogers.
77. Anne Brown4 Clay (Henry
