Public

POC-2018-04 – POC, 2018 Qtr 4, Vol. XV Issue 4

Document

Record Summary

Evidence Category:

Published Source

Record Type:

Newsletter

Date:

4th Quarter 2018

Individuals Mentioned:

Tod Ackerly, Mary Akers, Stephen F. Austin, Ned Boyajian, Casie Clay Branson, Polly Carruthers, Beth Clay, Bev Clay, Daniel Clay, David Clay, Elizabeth Clay, Francis Clay, George Everson Clay, Hannah Clay, Senator Henry Clay, James C. Clay, John Clay, John Stewart Clay, John T. Clay, Jonas Clay III, Mary Clay, Michael Clay, Nathaniel Clay, Peter Clay, Richard Clay, Robert Clay, Samuel Clay, Sarah Clay, William Clay, S. Douglas Cline, Connie Collins, Nancy Cook, Carla Crider, Pat Dunford, Melison Epps, George Fox, King George III, Lucretia Hart, Marcia Hovenden, Richard Lewis, Sandy Neder, Jane Patchell, Linda Pittano, John Price, Mary Richardson, Tony Rutti, Carolyn Clay Schunk

Repository:

Clay Family Society Digital Archives

Archive Reference:

Folder: 01_Pieces_of_Clay/2007-2025

Summary

Focused on Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia, Genealogy & Genetics, Clays Support Britian & King George III in 1775, Dissenting Clays – Casie (Clay) Branson President

Clay Line: Board

Asset

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Source Citation

Pieces of Clay, Clay Family Society, (Fall 2018): 7 pages; CFS Archive ID POC-2018-04.

Historical Context

Texas Settlement: Early Clay ancestors migrated to Texas to plot out land with Stephen F. Austin for the “Old Three Hundred” settlers.

British Loyalists (1775): Several Clays supported King George III during the American Revolution. Richard Clay, a London merchant and later a director of the Bank of England, signed a 1775 oath of allegiance. Samuel and Daniel Clay signed in Colchester, and Thomas Clay signed in Lancaster.

Quaker Dissenters (1600s): Multiple members of the Clay family in Nottinghamshire, England, were early followers of George Fox’s “Society of Friends” (Quakers) and faced religious persecution:
* John Clay was a founding member listed at Sutton-in-Ashfield (1649–1689).
* Nathaniel Clay was fined for religious assembly in 1670, and Elizabeth, Hannah, and Mary Clay were listed as local Quakers.
* Francis and Sarah Clay were convicted for unlawful assembly in 1676. Francis later migrated to Virginia, where his inventory and administration records were filed in 1691.
* Daniel Clay was punished in 1694 for speaking out against the King and Queen.

Jumping Ranters (1834): Robert Clay was charged and fined in Northumberland for assaulting two men inside a Jumping Ranters chapel.

Genetic Genealogy: While yDNA testing has historically helped trace direct paternal lines back to shared brothers, it cannot always differentiate specific lineages from the early 1800s. The society is now integrating autosomal DNA (atDNA) and AutoCluster Analysis to categorize members into distinct “cousin groups”.