Public

POC-2016-03 – POC, 2016 Qtr 3, Vol. XIII Issue 3

Document

Record Summary

Evidence Category:

Published Source

Record Type:

Newsletter

Date:

3rd Quarter 2016

Individuals Mentioned:

Nancy Acord-Greathouse, Mary Akers, Lindsey Apple, Marie Deschapellas Bauduy, Elizabeth Clay Blanford, Lucy Boyajian, Amelia McClanahan Field Clay, Anna Wood Kester Clay, Baker G. [Bob] Clay, Brutus Junius Clay, Col. Cecil Clay, Cecil Livingston Clay, Charles Clay, Charles Lewis Clay, Christine Clay, Christopher [Kit] Clay, Cornelia Clay, Curtis Livingston Clay, David Clay, Doshe Johnson Clay, Eleanor Clay, Hannah Wilson Clay, Dr. Henry Clay, Henry Clay, James M. Clay, Jane Clay, Jerry Clay, John Clay, John Cecil Clay, John Thomas Clay, Judah Clay, Kim Clay, Linda Clay, Marty Clay, Mitchell Clay, Mitchell Clay Jr., Patsy Ingram Clay, Paul Clay, Peter Clay, Phoebe Belcher Clay, Phoebe French Clay, Rachel Povall Clay, Rebecca Clay, Rebekah Finch Clay, Robert M. [Bob] Clay, Robert Young Clay, William Clay, Private C. W. Clayberger, S. Douglas Cline, Vivian Cline, Darwin A. Cole, Connie Collins, Gynger Cook, Nancy Cook, William Cook, Louise Copenhaver, Aury French Davidson, A. R. Depew, Claudia Robertson Duncan, Gene Duncan, Pat Dunford, Roberta Estes, John French, Obedience Clay French, Capt. S. I. Givin, Serg't William L. Graul, Major George H. Harries, J. F. Hasted, Carla Haslam Herkner, Richard Hill, Capt. S. J. Hinds, Marcia Hovenden, King James, Charles Knighton, Robert E. Lee, Bertha Merritt, Carle Merritt, Mildred Merritt, A. D. North, George Pearis, Sharri Phillips, Linda Cheeks Pittano, Mary Richardson, Doris Rolland, Anthony Runyon-Lombardi, Sheila Runyon-Lombardi, Pat Smith, Eliza Spradling, Aura Stewart, Catherine Stewart, Mary Clay Stewart, Ralph Stewart, Mathilda Tillman, Joan Williams, Sally Foote Wyatt, James W. Zevely, Jennifer Zinck

Repository:

Clay Family Society Digital Archives

Archive Reference:

Folder: 01_Pieces_of_Clay/2007-2025

Summary

Focused on 2026 Gathering Highlights, New Honorary Members (Charles Knighton, Linda Pittano & Lindsey Apple) Cecil Clay, Civil War Captain, Hero, Part II – Doug Cline President

Clay Line: Board

Asset

View Public Asset

Source Citation

Pieces of Clay, Clay Family Society, (Summer 2016): 7 pages; CFS Archive ID POC-2016-03.

Historical Context

* Immigrant Progenitor:** Research indicates that John Claye, an English immigrant who arrived in Jamestown in 1613 on the ship *Treasurer*, is the proven ancestor of a very large portion of the society’s membership. He is believed to have been a musketeer in the king’s service.

* Early English Roots and Tax Records:** In 1666, there were 15 Clay families living across various parishes in London, as documented by the London Hearth Tax. The number of hearths recorded for these individuals ranged from 2 to 10, indicating their property size and wealth status.

* Mercer County Pioneers:** Mitchell and Phoebe (Belcher) Clay were the first Clay family to settle in Mercer County. Their home place (now Lake Shawnee) was the site of a devastating 1783 Indian attack, which is memorialized by a local statue.
* DNA Project Expansion:** The society utilizes genetic genealogy and DNA testing to establish ancestral connections. This project is currently expanding beyond the United States to include participants from Canada and Europe, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom.

* Civil War Ancestry Confusion:** Biographies of John Cecil Clay (an artist and son of Medal of Honor recipient Cecil Clay) historically misidentified him as belonging to a longtime Southern family due to his birth in West Virginia near the “Mitchell Clay” line. However, records show his parents were actually from Pennsylvania, making his family Virginian only by adoption.

* New Discoveries:** Society Historian Marcia Hovenden recently discovered a previously unknown “Clay Farm” located in Chesterfield County, Virginia, which briefly served as Robert E. Lee’s headquarters in 1864.