Henry Clay (1777 - 1852)

Born 12 Apr 1777 in Hanover County, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Lucretia (Hart) Clay — married 11 Apr 1799 in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Died 29 Jun 1852 at age 75 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Preceded by 6th Speaker Joseph Bradley Varnum Preceded by 8th Speaker Langdon Cheves Preceded by 10th Speaker Philip Pendleton Barbour Preceded by 8th Secretary John Quincy Adams Preceded by John Adair Preceded by Buckner Thruston Preceded by John Rowan Preceded by Thomas Metcalfe

Henry Clay 7th Speaker of the US House of Representatives 1811—1814 and 1815—1820 and 1823—1825 9th United States Secretary of State 1825—1829 US Senator (Class 3) from Kentucky 1806—1807 US Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky 1810—1811 US Senator (Class 3) from Kentucky 1831—1842 US Senator (Class 3) from Kentucky 1849—1852

Succeeded by 8th Speaker Langdon Cheves Succeeded by 9th Speaker John W. Taylor Succeeded by 9th Speaker John W. Taylor Succeeded by 10th Secretary Martin Van Buren Succeeded by John Pope Succeeded by George M. Bibb Succeeded by John J. Crittenden Succeeded by David Meriwether

Biography

Henry Clay is Notable.

Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777 in Hanover County, Virginia. His parents were Rev. John Moore Clay and Elizabeth Hudson. ^[1] He moved to Kentucky in 1797 where he practiced 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 [UL: Biographical Directory of the American Congress UL] follows Clay, Henry, 1777-1852

Years of Service: 1806-1807; 1810-1811; 1831-1837; 1837-1842; 1849-1852 Party: Whig; Anti-Jackson; 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.

He died on June 29, 1852 in Washington, D.C. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky. His grave can be found in section M, lot 1.^[2]

Public Service

KY House of Reps: 1803 Place:

US Senator: bet 1806 and 1807 Place: From Kentucky

US Senator: bet 1810 and 1811 Place: From Kentucky

US Representative: bet 1811 and 1825 Place: From Kentucky

Presidential Candidate: 1824

Secretary of State: bet 1825 and 1829

US Senator: bet 1831 and 1842 Place: From Kentucky

Presidential Candidate: 1832 Place:

Presidential Candidate: 1844 Place:

US Senator: bet 1849 and 1852 Place: From Kentucky

Clay and Slavery

Henry Clay inherited slaves from his family and later inherited additional slaves through his marriage. During his years in Lexington, he enslaved up to 37 slaves.^[3] From most accounts, he did not appear to be an especially cruel slave owner, but he also did not treat them any different than property. It seems he was more concerned with the running of his business than he was for the lives of those enslaved.

However, Clay did make attempts in his political role by attempting to change legislative policy to begin to slowly free those who were enslaved. He was met by great opposition and even hostility, and was not able to achieve much. He was even confronted by those who felt a stronger approach was needed, and told to make an example by freeing his own slaves, but rejected that idea, and became known as a hypocrite.

While he claimed to want to free the slaves while in the political arena, he continued to run his business and treat his slaves as property to be bought and sold. As slaves rose up against him, he would punish and even sell one family member away from the other to demonstrate his authority. One of those slaves was Esther Harvey the first wife of future Underground Railroad conductor Lewis Hayden. Clay sold Esther, sending her into the Deep South, which broke up Lewis and Esther's marriage.

In the end, he did make good on his promises to help those he had enslaved, as he made provisions in his will to both free his slaves as well as to provide for them after his passing.

For more information please see Henry Clay's Ashland Plantation page.

Research Note

Henry Clay was an influential member and advocate of the American Colonization Society.

Legacy

• Fifteen U.S. States have counties named in Sen. Clay's honor. They are: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
• Ashland County, Ohio is named after Sen. Clay's Kentucky plantation.
• Clay County, Iowa is named after the Senator's son, Henry, Jr.
• Clay County, Kentucky is not named in his honor.

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestral File Number: JVZW-9L and Ancestral File Number: GQWH-T5 , Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
2. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 203
3. ↑ 1830 Census:"1830 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1830; Census Place: Fayette, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 35; Page: 301; Family History Library Film: 0007814
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8058 #1791178 (accessed 11 May 2022)
   Henry Clay.

• 1810 Census: "1810 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1810; Census Place: Stoner, Bourbon, Kentucky; Roll: 5; Page: 237; Image: 00130; Family History Library Film: 0181350
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7613 #455615 (accessed 11 May 2022)
  Henry Clay. (10 enslaved people)
• 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census"
  1820 U S Census; Census Place: North Middletown, Bourbon, Kentucky; Page: 106; NARA Roll: M33_18; Image: 64
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7734 #1382397 (accessed 11 May 2022)
  Henry Clay. (20 enslaved people)
• 1840 Federal Census. Place: Fayette County, Kentucky; Note: 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.
• 1850 Census: "1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
  The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8055 #90404064 (accessed 11 May 2022)
  Henry Clay in District 2, Fayette, Kentucky, USA. (31 enslaved people, 2 fugitives)

See also:

• Henry Clay on Wikipedia
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• History of a House Museum - ~ Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate
• 1850 Federal Census. Place: Fayette County, Kentucky; Note: 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.
• American Christian rulers by Giddings, Edward Jonathan 1831-1894. Page: 125; Chapter: Henry Clay.
• Kleber, John E., editor-in-chief; and Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, James C. Klotter, associate editors. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1992.