Family of Henry
Clay I
(This person can be viewed within the Melton/Sharp Ancestry Chart by clicking here)
1. HENRY4 CLAY I ( CHARLES3, J
OHN2, JOHN1 CLAYE?, ESQ.)1,2,3,4,5
was born August 03, 1672 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died August 03, 1760
in "The Raells, Bailey, Chesterfield County, Virginia6. He married MARY MITCHELL 1708 in
Notes for HENRY CLAY I:
Henry Clay died suddenly at the supper table at
the mature age of 92 years. General Green Clay says that Henry Clay married
Mary Mitchell daughter of William and Elizabeth Mitchell. They lived and died
in
Mary Mitchell Clay wife of Henry Clay was born
July 1693 and died August 7, 1777 at the age of 84 years. (Acquired many years
ago by Mr. Brutus Clay, son of General Green Clay to Dr. Matthew Clay. )
Some researchers say Henry Clay and his wife Mary
Mitchell Clay died in
Henry Clay, 1672-1760 (?), son of Charles Clay was
a supporter of Bacon's Rebellion. Henry married Mary Mitchell in 1709. He was
left executor of his brother Thomas' estate. Henry owned large tracts of land
in Henrico, Goochland, Chesterfield and Cumberland Counties, Virginia. He died
of Nattles at the "Raells" during his annual birthday dinner to his
descendants. He is buried at Morrimont, nine miles southwest of
Henry Clay 130 acres, Henrico County, Survey by
Richard Ligon, March 18, 1705-06 . (Page 89 of: "ENGLISH DUPLICATES OF
LOST
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TYPE: Patent - ref CF#196 VPB 11 p242 Date: 5 Sep
1723 to William Pride Jr & Henry Clay contract 50 shillings Ref: 500 acres
on South side of Swift Creek in Henrico Co. loc -105472 -6384 F127 L0 P255
pt A) BEG at a Corner gum Standing in the great
___ of the said Creek thence line E32S; 24 poles
pt B) to a corner BlO, thence line S40e; 16 poles
pt C) to a Corner Persimmon Standing on the South
side the said Creek thence crossing a small Elbow of the said Creek line S25E;
20 poles
pt D) to a Corner Esurvey line thence line E36S;
84 poles
pt E) to a Small Corner WO and two BlOs standing
in James Eakins Line thence on the said line SSW; 19 poles James Akins line
pt F) to a corner BlO thence line S42E; 20 poles
pt G)to two corner WO Standing in the said Eakins
line near a small branch thence leaving the said line S8W; 102 poles
pt H) to two Corner pines thence line W; 89 poles
pt I) to a corner BlO thence line S8W; 76 poles
pt J) to a Corner BlO thence line S2E; 31 poles
pt K) to a corner BlO thence line S5E; 18 poles
pt L) to a corner WO thence line E32S; 67 poles
pt M) to a Corner BlO thence line W23S; 88 poles
pt N) to a corner pine then line W15N; 104 poles
pt O) to a small corner pine thence line W23S; 90
poles
pt P) to a corner WO line N40W; 80 poles - Point
Q) to two corner BlO thence line N11W; 56 poles
pt R) to a corner BLO thence line N20E; 132 poles
pt S) to a corner WO thence line E5S; 78 poles
pt T) to a corner pine thence line E24N; 56 poles
pt U) to a corner BlO thence line N; 64 poles
pt V) to a corner pine thence line E25S; 50 poles
pt W) to a corner BlO line N12E; 106 poles
pt X) to a Corner BlO thence line Northwest 70
poles
pt Y) to a Corner BlO line N51E; 27 poles
pt Z) to a Corner WO lc S49E; 74 poles end
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TYPE: Patent - ref VPB 12 p4-5 Date:
pt A) at a Corner White Oak of the said Clays
Standing on the said River line W18N; 100 Poles; said Clay
pt B) a Corner Black Oak Standing on theSouth Side
Horsepen Branch And in the Said Clays Line Thence line N30E; 294 Poles; fmSouth
side Horsepen Branch
pt C) a Corner White Oak Standing on theSouth side
of a Branch Thence down the Said Branch according to the Meanders 96 Poles;
survey line ese; 96 Poles; down a Branch
pt D) the Mouth of the Said Branch to
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TYPE: Patent - ref VPB 12 p5 Date:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
TYPE: Patent - ref VPB 12 p5-6 Date:
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Will of Henry Clay probated at the September 1760,
In the name of God aman this Twenty eighth day of
March in the year of our lord Christ one thousand seven hundred & forty nine I
Henry Clay of Henrico County being of perfect health mind memory thanks be to
God therefore and calling to mind my mortality and knowing that it is appointed
for al men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and Testament that
is to say princably and first of all I give my Soul into the hands of God that
gave it and as for my body I commend it to the earth to be buried in a christian
like and decent form at the discretion of my Executors nothing doubting but at
the general resurection I shall receive the same again by mighty power of God
and as touching my worldly estate wherewith it hath pleasest God to bless me in
this life I give devise and dispose of the same in manner and form ----
Imprimis I give and bequeath unto my Son William Clay the land and plantation
whereon he now lives and my land and plantation on deep Creek in Henrico County
whereon Richard Belcher now lives to him and his heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my son Henry Clay the land and plantation whereon
he now lives and two hundred acres of land at Letalone in Goochland County it
being the lower survey belonging to me at the same Letalone to him and his heirs
forever and assigns.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my son Charles Clay the plantation whereon he now
lives and all the land on the north side of swift Creek and the lower side of
the nuttree run to me belonging and also four hundred acres at Letalone being my
upper survey at Letalone to him and to his heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my son John Clay the plantation whereon he now
lives and all my land on the north side of Swift Creek and upper side of nuttree
run to him and to his heirs forever and assigns.
Item. I likewise give and bequeath my grist mill on nuttree run to be equally
divided between my sons Charles Clay and my Son John Clay to be held in
Jointenancy to them and to their heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give to my daughter Amey Williamson five pounds current money.
Item. I give to me daughter Mary Watkins five pounds Current money.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my grandson Henry Clay two hundred and forty
acres of land adjoining to James Hill to him and his heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my grand daughter Mary Clay daughter of Charles
Clay one negroe girl named Phebe to her and her heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give unto Mary my well beloved wife the plantation whereon I now live
during her natural life and my negroe man Lewis, also my negroe Joe, and Sue and
Hannah and Jenny, and Sarah during her natural life and what stock and household
goods she pleases to have or make use of, of mine.
Item. I desire that the rest of my slaves not heretofore given and stock and
household goods be given and equally divided among my four sons aforementioned
at their discretion. and also the negroes above written and gave to my wife may
be equally divided after my wifes decease and the stock and household goods to
her given also to divided all in manner and form aforementioned to my four sons
above written and to their heirs and assigns forever.
Item. I give to my four sons aforesaid and to my wife to be equally divided all
the ready money and money out at use that I shall be possessed with at my death.
Item. after my wifes desease, I give my plantation whereon I now lives to my son
John Clay and to his heirs and assigns forever together with the adjacent land
therein belonging and I do hereby make constitute and ordain my four sons above
written to be my only and sole executors of this my last will and Testament
declaring all former wills by me made to be void and vocated of no effect
declaring this and no other to be my last will and Testament. In Witness whereof
I have hereunto sett my hand and affixed my seal the day and year above written.
Signed sealed and acknowledged before us Henry Clay -LS-
George Farrar
Alison (his X mark) Clark
George Reny Turner
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More About HENRY CLAY I:
Burial 1: August 1760, "The Raells, Bailey,
Burial 2: on Rt 360 near Swift Creek
Occupation: Indian Trader?
More About MARY MITCHELL:
Cause of Death: "Flux"
More About HENRY CLAY and MARY MITCHELL:
Marriage: 1708,
Children of HENRY CLAY and MARY MITCHELL are:
i. WILLIAM MITCHELL5 CLAY, b. 1710,
Henrico County, Virginia; d. September 10, 1774, Point Pleasant, West Virginia;
m. (1) MARTHA ANNE LEWIS, 1732; b. Abt. 1715, Henrico County, Virginia; d. Bef.
1764; m. (2) AGNES UNKNOWN, Aft. 1764,
Notes for WILLIAM MITCHELL CLAY:
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The following analysis was from Mike Peters
(npeters102@aol.com):
I find a William Clay listed in Lloyd DeWitt
Bockstruck's book entitled "
On page 343 in a chapter dealing with court martial
records, & more specifically those attending such hearings, he is listed as
a member of Capt. Tatum's Company. There are two facts that I believe point to
the conclusion that this is our man.
First, let me offer into evidence that Capt. Tatum's
group hailed from
Clay & Mary Mitchell & therefore the sister
to our William Mitchell Clay. Isham Belcher was the brother-in-law of William
Mitchell Clay.
The date of the above record is 1759-1760, some 15
years prior to the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant. So, while it doesn't place
our William Mitchell Clay in military service on
Cousins & Friends:
Many of us know William Mitchell Clay as the father
of Mitchell Clay & father-in-law to Phoebe Belcher. William Mitchell Clay,
born circa 1708-1710, was married to a woman whose given name was Martha. Some
have said that her maiden name was Green while others have said it was Runyon.
Both of these theories have since been disproved. Another possibility is that
she was Martha Lewis, sister to Col. Charles Lewis & Gen. Andrew Lewis.
Both officers were participants in the Battle of Point Pleasant on
William Mitchell Clay, some believe, fought at the
Battle of Point Pleasant, was the first casualty of said battle & therefore
the first to die in our Revolutionary War. He may have been a member of Col.
John Fields' Company from
William Mitchell Clay's sons Mitchell, David &
Ezekiel were also at the historic Battle of Point Pleasant but in a different
company. Their names have been found listed in militia units from both
Fincastle & Bedford County, VA. So one might think that if William Mitchell
Clay served, that it would have been with his sons.
In his writings John Stuart, both a participant in
& historian of the Battle of Point Pleasant, mentioned, without benefit of
a Christian name, a man called Clay. He went on to explain the circumstances of
Clay's death just prior to the battle. Those that believe that William Mitchell
Clay was the first casualty of the Revolutionary War base their beliefs on the
writings of Stuart.
Robert Page, who runs a website entitled "The
Life Of William Mitchell Clay" wrote the following in an E-mail to the
Clay rootsweb list:
"In 1997, I wrote 'William Mitchell Clay
apparently died on
He continued on:
"I located the original source for the material
found in Withers' book. Capt. John Stuart put his experiences into words some
time after
participating in Gen. Lewis' expedition. It is clear
that Capt. Stuart was NOT an eyewitness to the death of the soldier he called
Clay, yet this manuscript seems to be the sole source used to determine William
Clay's participation. "
The book Robert Page is referring to is
"Chronicles of Border Warfare," written by Alexander Scott Withers in
1895. (It was edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites.)
Evidence has been found showing that "William
Clay" served in the
Does anyone have any evidence that would link the
Lewis family to William Mitchell Clay? Can anyone shed some light on William
Mitchell Clay's service in the Revolutionary War? Did William Mitchell Clay
have any ties to
Please forgive the bombardment of questions. Thank
you in advance for any information. I look forward to hearing from you & to
learning more about William Mitchell Clay.
Sincerely,
Mike Peters <npeters102@aol.com>
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More About WILLIAM MITCHELL CLAY:
Cause of Death: Killed by Indians while hunting.
More About WILLIAM CLAY and MARTHA LEWIS:
Marriage: 1732
More About WILLIAM CLAY and AGNES UNKNOWN:
Marriage: Aft. 1764,
ii. HENRY CLAY II,
b. September 03, 1711, Chesterfield County, Virginia; d. October 10, 1764,
Southern Parish, Cumberland County, Virginia; m. LUCY GREEN, 1735, Southern
Parish, Cumberland County, Virginia; b. July 19, 1717, Virginia; d. 1805.
iii. AMEY CLAY, b. Abt. 1712, Chesterfield County,
Virginia; d. 1774, Amelia County, Virginia; m. (1) WILLIAM MARSTON GREEN, Abt.
1730; b. Abt. 1700, Virginia; d. 1747, Amelia County, Virginia; m. (2) BENJAMIN
WILLIAMSON, 1748.
Notes for WILLIAM MARSTON GREEN:
William died while Amey was pregnant with John.
More About WILLIAM GREEN and AMEY CLAY:
Marriage: Abt. 1730
More About BENJAMIN WILLIAMSON and AMEY CLAY:
Marriage: 1748
iv. MARTHA CLAY, b. August 13, 1713, Henrico Co.
VA; d. March 01, 1744/45, Chesterfield County, VA; m. WILLIAM BASS, JR., May
06, 1731; b. December 05, 1707, Dale Parich, Henrico Co. VA; d. January 21,
1775, Chesterfield Co. VA.
More About WILLIAM BASS and MARTHA CLAY:
Marriage:
v. REV. CHARLES
CLAY 8,9, b. January 31, 1715/16, Southern Parish,
Cumberland County, Virginia; d. February 25, 1789, Powhaten County, Virginia;
m. MARTHA ELIZA GREEN, November 11, 1741, Virginia; b. November 25, 1719,
Amelia County, Virginia; d. September 06, 1793, Virginia.
More About CHARLES CLAY and MARTHA GREEN:
Marriage:
vi. JOHN CLAY II,
b. Abt. 1718,
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Taken from L. W. Rigsby's "HISTORIC
..."He was a baptist minister and is referred to
in old records in
"John Clay died about 1762 and his Will is
recorded in
A John Clay.
B Edward Clay,
who went to
C Fanny
Clay"
The above can be found in Historic Georgia Families,
pg 29, Author: L. W. Rigsby, Call Number: R929.2 qR57.
>Charles (CClay23668@aol.com)
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Hi, Charles:
Thanks for the post. I think Rigsby confused the two
John Clays. The son John, who became the father of Statesman Henry Clay, was a
Baptist minister and and was called "sir" for whatever reason. It's possible that John who died @1762 also
was a Baptist minister, but I've never seen that asserted before. At any rate,
John Jr certainly was not the son of Mary Bass, but of Watkins.
Cheers,
Ned Boyajian, ned@rmedia.com
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Rigsbys reference to Sir John Clay was about John
Clay who married Elizabeth Hudson. However, on the next page he refers to the
issue of John Clay and Mary Bass as John, who went to
Charles (CClay23668@aol.com)
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Notes for MARY BASS:
Peggy Carswell Peacock published this on the Bass/Clay family in The Virginia
Genealogist. The article is called MARTHA (CLAY) BASS AND HER DAUGHTER MARY
(BASS) CLAY OF HENRICO AND CHESTERFIELD COS., VA.
Peggy Peacock was a Bass descendant who became
interested in the Clays. She was well
known for her adherence to primary documents. While her interpretation of the
facts below could be wrong, I am inclined to believe her.
Bottomline: Mary Bass was not born a Watkins, but a Bass.
She was the daughter of Martha Clay and William Bass. She had a son out of
wedlock by her uncle, John Clay, who
later married her. This son was Jeremiah Bass.
John and Mary also had a daughter named
Here are the records Peggy cites:
1. William Bass married Martha, daughter of Henry and
Mary Clay on
2. Martha was born on
3. Martha died 3/1/1745-46 (Bass Bible), three years
before her father Henry's will was written.
4. Martha and William Bass had seven children,
including Mary Bass (Bass Family Bible).
5. William's will, dated
This was clearly the same Mary mentioned in her
husband John's will "Mary Bass, being now my wife" who was the mother
of Jeremiah Bass.
A 1773 lawsuit (Clay vs. Wooldridge) contains
depositions confirming that Mary Bass, daughter of William Bass married John
Clay, the father of the Rev. John Clay.
Note that Mary was still unmarried Mary Bass when
John Clay gifted her son Jeremiah Bass
with two slaves and 200 acres of land (Chesterfield Co, VA, Deed Book 3 p 345.)
"John was providing... for an illegitimate son who otherwise would be at
risk of receiving nothing," as Peggy put it.
Later, of course, John DID marry Mary, as he noted in
his will. As an adult, Jeremiah sometimes used Bass as his surname. Other times
he used CLAY.
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vii. MARY CLAY, b. 1722; m. THOMAS WATKINS.