James Franklin Clay was born 29 Oct 1840 to James Williams Clay (1796 – 1862) and Clarissa Margaret Berry Clay (1796 – 1885).
James married Bessie Eaves Clay (1844 – 1913) on 29 October 1868. They lived at 638 N Main.
James F Clay was elected to the State Senate in 1871, and in 1882 was elected to Congress and served one term. He also served four years as attorney for the city.
James died 15 Aug 1921 (aged 80) and was buried in Fernwood Cemetery / Section 22 / Lot 1209 1/2 / Grave 3.
“He is every inch a man, his integrity and uprightness being beyond question.”
Biography from History of Henderson County:
HON. JAMES F. CLAY, was born in Henderson, on the twenty-ninth day of October, 1840. His father, James W. Clay, and mother, Clarissa Berry, were among the first settlers of Henderson. Of the early youth of James F. Clay, little can be said, except that he developed an unusual taste for books, a good memory and a decided api-ness in acquiring knowledge. He attended the best private schools in Henderson, and had the advantage of strict, moral and intellectual training at the hands of his parents. He was sent to Georgetown College, and graduated in 1860. His uncommon mental strength early distinguished him among his fellows, and, at the same time, attracted to him the attention and friendship of leading citizens, who yet take great pride in his success. Upon his return home from college, he began the study of law in the office of Governor Dixon, and, in 1862, was licensed to practice. Few men of the country have a greater command of language, and the ability to use it with more force as a popular speaker. He is a man of strong convictions; 19 his own leader, and, as a lawyer, displays great power in the court; is unsurpassed before a jury, and is one of the most thoroughly read, eloquent and able lawyers in the State. Mr. Clay was married in McLean County, Ky., October 29th, 1868, to Miss Bessie Eaves, second daughter of Judge Sanders Eaves.
They have seven living children, Maggie, Charles,
Leslie, James W., Irene, Addison Young and Sanders. In 1871 he was elected to the State Senate and served one term. In 1882 he was elected to Congress and served one term. In both of these positions he distinguished himself as a legislator, and won the admiration and esteem of his older colleagues. As an evidence of his ability, during the days of the St. Louis & Southeastern Railway Company, Consoli-dated, Mr. Clay was the retained attorney for the Company, and since the formation of the Ohio Valley Railway Company, he has been retained attorney for that road. He served four years as attorney for the city, and has held other minor offices.
A HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS By E. POLK JOHNSON:
JAMES FRANKLIN CLAY – It is not given to every one to trace back so long and honorable a line of ancestry as our subject is able to do, as his genealogical record can be traced direct for nearly three hundred years. Mr. James Franklin Clay was born in Henderson, Kentucky, on the 29th of October, 1840, and is a lineal descendant of Captain John Clay, the English grenadier who lived in Charles City, Virginia, in 1624. The next in line was his son, Charles Clay, a soldier in the great rebellion of 1676, as is shown by the records of Henrico Court, and who married Hannah Wilson, the daughter of John Wilson, Sr. The descendant of Charles Clay was Henry Clay, who was the great-grandfather of our subject and was born about 1672 and died August, 1760. He was married about 1708 to Mary Mitchell, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Mitchell.
Major Felmer was an early settler in James City county, which he represented in the House of Burgesses, and was an officer of the British Army. Thomas Green, the “Sea Gull,” was the son of Thomas and Martha Green, emigrants from Holland who settled near Petersburg, Virginia. He was called the “Sea Gull” from having been born upon the sea en route to America, and he married Martha Felmer, daughter of Major Felmer, their son Marvel Thomas Green, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, being born in 1665. Marston Clay, grandfather of our subject, was born in Virginia, his parents being Henry and Lucy (Green) Clay, Henry Clay living in the Southern Parish, Cumberland county; his wife, nee Green, was born in 1717 and was the third daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Marston) Green. Elizabeth Marston was born November 25th, 1672, the daughter of Thomas Marston, justice of Henrico county in 1662, and his wife Elizabeth.
Marston Clay was born in Halifax county, Virginia, and emigrated from Halifax county to Kentucky about 1790 and settled in Jessamine county, where he was a pioneer and where he resided until 1802, when he removed to what is now Henderson county and where he again was a pioneer. At that time all this section of Kentucky was a wilderness and deer, bear and other kinds of wild game were plentiful. He bought a tract of timbered land and then built a log house and commenced at once to clear the land, operating with slave labor, and clearing a large tract upon which he lived until his death at a good old age. He was twice married, his second wife, the grandmother of our subject, being Sarah Williams. The will of Marston Clay is filed at the court house in Henderson. He reared a large family, among whom was the father of our subject, James Williams Clay, who was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, in 1796. He was six years of age when his parents moved to Henderson county, leaving him behind with his maternal grandparents, who reared him and gave him a very good education. At the age of nineteen Mr. Clay came to Henderson and was for some time employed by a firm of tobacconists and later engaged in business for himself, buying and shipping tobacco, in which business he continued until his death, at the age of sixty-six years. The mother of our subject was Clarissa Ann Berry, a daughter of Benjamin Berry, who came to Kentucky about 1795, and was a pioneer of that part of Hopkins now included in Webster county. He cleared a farm from the wilderness and resided there until his death. The mother of our subject died at the age of eighty-four years and reared seven children: Benjamin, Margaret, Sarah W., Susan R., Helen M., Carrie F. and James Franklin. James Franklin Clay, our subject, graduated from the Georgetown College in 1860 and then studied law with the firm of Dixon & Glass, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. He immediately commenced practice in Henderson, where he has engaged ever since, successfully and with satisfaction to himself and his clients. In 1866 Mr. Clay married Elizabeth Eaves, who was born in McLain county, Kentucky, a daughter of Sanders and Jane (Short) Eaves. Mr. and Mrs. Clay have reared eight children, as follows: Margaret, Richard, Leslie, Irene, James W., A.G., Sanders and Bessie. Margaret married Joseph W. Short and lives in Texas and has four sons, James Clay, Joseph, Leslie and Jacob L. Richard attended a technical school at Terra Haute, Indiana, and is now engaged in business in Henderson. He married Lulu Siebert and has four children: Lulu, Virginia, Richard and Henry. Leslie graduated as a pharmacist and engaged in business in Henderson, his wife being formerly Leona Tichner. Irene is at home with her parents. James W. is mentioned at length in a personal sketch elsewhere in this history. A.G. is a graduate of the Henderson High school and the Lebanon Law School and is now a member of the firm of Clay & Clay. He married Carrie Blythe and has one daughter, Candice. Sanders is a graduate of Centre College, after which he studied law in his father’s office, and upon being admitted to the bar opened an office in Paducah, Kentucky. He is now prosecuting attorney for McCracken county, and married to Catherine Curry. Bessie, the youngest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Clay, is home with her parents.
Mr. Clay is one of the members of the Ionian Debating Society. In 1871 he was elected to the state senate, in 1882 was elected as representative to the United States congress. He has served as city attorney and as attorney for the St. Louis & Southern Railroad and the Ohio Valley Railway Company.
Obituary: Henderson Evening Journal • Mon, Aug 15, 1921
A life of usefulness, honor and service was brought to a close this morning at 3:15 o’clock when Hon.
James Franklin Clay, 81 years of age, passed quietly away at his home on North Main Street, The peace with which he died exemplified the manner in which he lived.
Mr. Clay was born October 29, 1840, in this eity, his grandfather, Denjamin Marston Clay, having removed with his family to this see-Lion of the State from Virginia in about 1812. He was given a common school education in Henderson, after which he entered Georgetown College, graduating from that in-etution in 1860. Two years later he was admitted to the bar, after having read law in the firm of Dixon & Class. He served in the State Senate from 1871 to 1875, during which time he was chairmen of the committees on privileges and elections and a member of those on judiciary and railroads. In 1871 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventien which nominated Horatio Seymour for the presidency.
In November 1882 Mr. Clay was elected by the voters of the Second Congressional district to the Forty-eighth Congress, occupying a seat in the council chambers of the nation from 1883 to 1885: During this time, John G. Carlisle was Speaker of the House.
While acting in this capacity Mr. Clay served as a member of the committee on the revision of laws and as one of the tellers to announce the vote of the states in the presidential elecilon of 1884.
Not only was his attention centered upon matters of national interest, but local questions and reforms received Mr. Clay’s most careful consideration, and many public improvements, the effects of which are evident today, were made after he had championed their cause.
As a member of the first board of trustees of the city schools, Mr. Clay secured a charter for the organization of the schools in 1872, and established a system of public education similar to the one now in use. He served four years as city attorney, during which time he established the record of collecting over $125,000 in back taxes on the Henderson bridge. He represented the city in this case.
Following his term in Congress, Mr. Clay retired to the practice of law, and handled some of the most important cases in the history of the State at that time, among these being the Newcomb will case, involving the disposition of an estate valued at over half a million dollars.
In 1868 Mr. Clay was married to Miss Bessie Eaves, daughter of Sanders Eaves, judge of the McLean county court. His wife died in May, 1915, but the following children are now surviving: Mrs. Joseph Short, of Texas; Mrs. Harold Clay, of Washington; Sanders Clay of Danville, Ky., and Mrs. Herbert Holmes, Addison Y. C. Leslie and Richard E Clay, of this city.
Mr. Clay, before retiring from his law practice, was gifted as an orator, with a finely modulated voice and a graceful delivery. It has been truthfully said of him
“He is every inch a man, his integrity and uprightness being beyond question.”
Funeral arrangements have not been completed.
References:
The History of Henderson County, Kentucky by Starling 1887, Pages 798 and 799
A History Of Kentucky And Kentuckians By E. Polk Johnson
Henderson Evening Journal • Mon, Aug 15, 1921
