Public

POC-2024-03 – POC, 2024 Qtr 3, Summer

Document

Record Summary

Evidence Category:

Published Source

Record Type:

Newsletter

Date:

Jul-Sep 2024

Individuals Mentioned:

Mary Akers, Mary Allen, Jared Austin, Andrew Bailey, Katherine Bateman, Elizabeth Batson, Mary Batson, William Blake, Ned Boyajian, Andrew Brimberry, William Brockus, Bobbie Brooks, John Davidson Brown, Al Buckner, Mary Chesnut, Alice Clay, Anne Clay, Anthony Clay, Benjamin Clay, Bridget Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Clement Claiborne Clay, Governor Clement Comer Clay, Collin Clay, Edward Clay, Eliza Clay, Elizabeth Clay, Frances Clay, George Clay, Hannah Clay, James ‘Tony’ Clay, Jane Clay, Cadet 4/c John Stewart Clay, Jonas Clay, Capt. Jonas Clay, Joseph Clay, Leah Clay, Malvina Augusta Clay, Marguerite Helen Clay, Martha Clay, Mary Clay, Mathew Clay, Matthew Clay, Mitchell Clay, Phillip Clay, Phoebe Clay, Rachel Clay, Ralph Clay, Richard Clay, Rudolf ‘Berle’ Clay, Capt. Stephen Clay, Thomas Clay, Timothy Clay, William Mitchell Clay, Nancy Cook, Alexandria Cravens, Jefferson Davis, Nathaniel Eldred, Jeremiah Farrar, Patricia L. Faust, Bobbie Gallo, Marilyn Gillmer, Mary Healey, Margot Iremonger, Jeb Jerrell, George Jones, Joyce Jones, William Klendamel, Laura Lane, General Robert E. Lee, Jane Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Pat Lovelace, James Madison, Nedra Massey-Clay, Margaret Morgan, Joe Parker, Jane Parris, Rebecca Clay Pearis, Bridget Pomroy, Ruth Quail, Mary Richardson, John Sanson, Bill Schultz, Elizabeth Serocy, Brion Taylor, Lucretia Teague, Jacob Thompson, Elkanah Tilson, Simon Trott, Richard Tucker, Leroy P. Walker, Horst Wessel, Alice Widdows

Repository:

Clay Family Society Digital Archives

Archive Reference:

Folder: 01_Pieces_of_Clay/2007-2025

Summary

Focused on CFS at Crossroads, Board Elections, Biennial Meeting, Clays of Barbados (1626-1715), Message from Laura Lane on Hampton Roads Civil War Round Table (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Clement Claiborne Clay), Clays Who Served (A Sea Story) – Ned Boyajian President

Clay Line: Board

Asset

View Public Asset

Source Citation

Pieces of Clay, Clay Family Society, (Summer 2024): 16 pages; CFS Archive ID POC-2024-03.

Historical Context

Based on the early records of Barbados from 1626 to 1715, key genealogical findings regarding the Clay family include:

Early Settlers: Parish registers beginning in 1643 suggest that several Clays were among the island’s earliest settlers. These likely include Richard Clay (married Jane Lewis in 1643), Francis Clay (buried in 1657), Alice Clay (married in 1659), and possibly Mary Clay (married in 1666).

Limited Migration Records: Timothy Clay, who sailed from London in 1669, was the only individual with the surname Clay found on passenger lists from England to Barbados between 1627 and 1750.

Population and Militia Presence: By 1680, Ralph, Benjamin, and Thomas Clay were recorded in the Barbados Militia muster rolls. A census that same year documented Stephen Clay, his wife, and one child as the only property-owning Clay family, though at least 11 Clays resided on the island.

The Clay Plantation: Historical maps from 1736 and 1750 reveal a Clay plantation located in the Parish of Saint Michaels. It was likely owned by a descendant of Captain Stephen Clay, a prominent resident who died in 1697.

New England Connection: There was a continuous 17th- and 18th-century migration from Barbados to the American colonies that included members of the Clay family. Evidence supports a theory that the early New England Clay line of Jonas Clay (c.1617–c.1663) migrated to the American colonies via Barbados. His son, Captain Jonas Clay, later worked as a master mariner sailing between New England and the Caribbean.