Public

POC-2016-04 – POC, 2016 Qtr 4, Vol. XIII Issue 4

Document

Record Summary

Evidence Category:

Published Source

Record Type:

Newsletter

Date:

Sep-Dec 2026

Individuals Mentioned:

Nancy Acord-Greathouse, Mary Akers, Lt. Gen. R. H. Anderson, Rogers Bardé, Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, Sam Brown, Daniel Clark, Bobby Marvin Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Charles Clay, Rev. Charles Green Clay, Christine Clay, David Clay, Edward Clay, Eleazar Clay, Elizabeth Clay, Elizabeth H. Branch Clay, Elsie Clay, Green Clay, Hannah Wilson Clay, Dr. Henry Clay, Henry Clay, Henry Milton Clay, Jane Apperson Clay, Jerry Clay, John Clay, John A. Clay, Judith Clay, Lawrence E. Clay, Martha Burfoot Clay, Martha Green Clay, Mary Ann Clay, Mary Ann Howlett Clay, Mary Mitchell Clay, Mitchell Clay, Mitchell Clay Jr., Odin Green Clay, Phoebe Belcher Clay, Rachel Povall Clay, Samuel Clay, Solomon B. Clay, William Clay, S. Douglas Cline, Connie Collins, Nancy Cook, Sue Ann Dexheimer, Pat Dunford, Thomas Farley, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Nancy Hampton, Carla Herkner, David Herkner, Marcia Hovenden, John Kauffmann, Charles Knighton, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Rachel Lipowicz, Mary-Katherine Maddox, Dennis Nofsinger, Gen. G. E. Pickett, Linda Pittano, Mary Richardson, John Tyler, Kevin West, Betty Witt

Repository:

Clay Family Society Digital Archives

Archive Reference:

older: 01_Pieces_of_Clay/2007-2025

Summary

Focused on FamilyTreeDNA, Kentucky Gladiator, Robert E. Lee and the Mystery Clay House – Doug Cline President

Clay Line: Board

Asset

View Public Asset

Source Citation

Pieces of Clay, Clay Family Society, (Fall 2016): 5 pages; CFS Archive ID POC-2016-04.

Historical Context

This issue identified the owners of the historic “Clay House” in Chester, Virginia, which served as a Civil War headquarters for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The findings reveal:

* **Property Ownership**: The house and farm were owned by Henry Milton Clay, who lived there with his family until his death on August 19, 1854. After his passing, his widow, Elizabeth H. (Eliza) Clay, was listed as the head of the household and farmer in the 1860 and 1870 censuses.
* **Lineage**: Henry Milton Clay (born December 9, 1804) was the son of Samuel and Martha (Burfoot) Clay. This places him as the grandson of Eleazar and Jane (Apperson) Clay.
* **Broader Ancestry**: Traced back further, Henry Milton Clay’s documented lineage connects through Samuel, Eleazar, Charles (who married Martha Green), Henry (who married Mary Mitchell), and Charles (who married Hannah Wilson), back to the immigrant John Clay and his wife Elizabeth.
* **Marriages**: Henry Milton Clay was married twice in Chesterfield County: first to Mary Ann Howlett in 1824, and secondly to Elizabeth H. Branch in 1831.
* **Burial Site**: The Henry Milton Clay family graveyard is located on private property in Chester, Virginia, situated at the end of Old Stage Road where it meets Old Bermuda Hundred Road.