July 14, 1955
Transcribed by Mary Knight
* CAL’S COLUMN *
The Clay Family
By Robt. Young Clay
The Clay family is said to
have originated in Nottingham, England.
The name is supposedly derived from the fact that the owner lived on
clay land.
The name appears in
"The Hundred Roll" of 1273 as: Clay Del Clay, de la Cley, and le
Clay. The Saxon equivalent of the name
was Claeg. In 1327 it appears as
Cleygh, but by 1397 it was established as Clay or del Clay.
The Oldest known member of
the family was Sir John Clay, who was knighted by Edward IV. He had a son, John Clay, John had John Clay,
of Gloucester. He had one son, Sir John
Clay of Wales, who was knighted by Elizabeth I.
Sir John clay, of Wales,
had three sons, Richard, John and William.
John and William settled in Virginia; and two sons of Richard (Francis
and Edward) also settled there.
John Clay (Claye), son of
Sir John, of Wales, was born in 1578, died in 1650. He settled in Charles City County, Virginia, arriving on the
"Treasurer," in Feb., 1613.
He soon sent for his wife, Anne _____, and she arrived in Virginia on
the "Ann," Aug., 1623. He was
granted 1,200 acres of land on the James River.
John Clay had issue:
Francis, William, Thomas and Charles.
Charles Clay, b. 1636, d.
1685 was one of the eleven men who met in a small church in Jamestown and
planned what became the Bacon Rebelion.
He married Hannah Wilson, daughter of John Wilson, Sr.
Henry Clay I, son of
Charles Clay was born 1673, died 1760.
He married Mary Mitchell, daughter of William and Elizabeth
Mitchell. He was the great-grandfather
of Senator Henry Clay, of Kentucky; and Cassius Marcellus Clay, and the
grandfather of Revolutionary General Green Clay.
Henry Clay II, son of
Henry I, and Mary Mitchall, was born 1711 and died in 1764. He married Lucy Green.
Lucy Green, b. 1717, was
the daughter of Thomas Green III and Elizabeth Marston, the daughter of Thomas
Marston and Elizabeth Marvell. Thomas
Green III, was the son of Thomas Green II (called the "Sea Gull" because
he was born at sea en route to America from Holland), and Martha Filmer. Thomas Green II was the son of Thomas Green
I and Elizabeth _____.
Martha Filmer was the
daughter of Maj. Henry Filmer and Elizabeth _____. Maj. Henry Filmer was an English officer of the occupation of
Virginia. He later settled there at
Flower de Hundred, James City Co. He
was the son of Sir Robert Filmer, Knt., of East Sutton, Kent, England; and his
wife, Anne Eaton, the daughter of Martha Heton, Bishop of Ely. Thomas Clay, born in 1745, was the son of
Henry Clay II and Lucy Green. He
married Susanna Watkins, 1770.
Marston Clay, son of
Thomas Clay, married Sally Dearing.
The oldest son of Marston
Clay, came to Smith County Tenn. He was
Paul Carrington Clay, born April 28, 1815 or April 22, 1816. He came from Lynchburg, Campbell Co.,
Virginia, and settled on Defeated Creek.
There he married Martha Ann West, born July 20, 1828 and died March 20
1872. She was the daugher of Jesse West
and Elizabeth Harper. Dr. Paul
Carrington Clay was surgeon of the 28th Regiment of Tennessee Confederate
Volunteers.
The children of Dr. Paul
Carrington Clay and Martha A. West were:
Ridley Clay, Marston Clay, Sally Frances Clay, Bettie Buford Clay,
Tinker West Clay, William Young Clay, Robert Lee Clay, Hattie B.Clay and Jettie
Susan Clay.
Ridley Clay, born Dec. 20,
1846, married Mary McMurty. Issue: Bessie Clay married Charles Handley,
Lucretia Clay married Albert Parkhurst.
Marston Clay, born Au. 8,
1850, married Minevra ( Minerva?) Kemp. Issue: Burford Clay, Nora Clay, Edward
Clay, Genie Clay, Jesse Clay, O. L. Clay, John Clay, Henry Clay, Ray Clay,
Claude Clay and Erskin Clay.
Sally Frances Clay Born.
July 20, 1853, died Aug. 17. 1903 married Lee Cornwell. Issue:
Jim Cornwell, Marie Cornwell, Estelle Cornwell, George Cornwell,
Thompson R. Cornwell, Dearing Cornwell, Mallie Cornwell, and Alice Cornwell.
Bettie Burford Clay, born
Sept. 3, 1856, died June 1, 1886, married Dr. George W. Herod. Issue: Peter Clay Herod, married 1. Clara
Jones, 2. Avo Marr. Lillie Dale Herod,
married Andrew M. Donoho; Bella Herod, married Dr. Lon W. Dotson.
Tinker West Clay, born
Jan. 30, 1859, died Oct. 9, 1867.
William Young (Buck) Clay,
born Feb. 15, 1862, died March 25, 1932, married Annie Kittrell. Issue: Mamie
Clay, married R. P. Gann, Hugh Carrington Clay, married Ladye Ellen
Kirkpatrick, Robert Lee Clay, married Mary Bell Thomas. Issue: Carrington Clay,
Lon Clay, Pearl Clay, married Gene Canter, Julius Clay, Carr Clay, married Ruby
Lee Russell.
Hattie B. Clay, born April
13, 1867-8, died July 18, 1896, married Dr. George W. Herod (after her sister
Bettie's death). Issue: Virginia Herod,
married Edward Organ; Judith Leslie Herod, George Franklin Herod, married Daisy
Kirby.
Jetti Susan Clay, born
June 6, 1870, died Oc.t 16, 1903. Married Jasper D. Sircy. Issue: Bernice Sircy, Ernest Sircy, Vera
Sircy, Viola Sircy, Ottis Lee Sircy.
___________________________
This Article
Appeared In The Times
But Was Not
Actually Titled Cal’s Column
July 14, 1955
On the coming Saturday
beginning about ten o'clock in the forenoon and lasting till mid-afternoon, the
Shoulders home-coming is to take place near the home of the late Dick Campbell,
about a mile south of Cato, Trousdale County.
This gathering specially of the descendants of Ben Sholders and his
wife, Lucinda Gregory Shoulders, who lived on Dixon's Creek in the years long
gone by and reared a large family.
Ben Shoulders was the son
of Thomas Shoulders and his wife, Elvira Bransford Shoulders. He had a brother, Joseph Peyton Shoulders,
commonly known as "Doctor" Shoulders, another brother, Timothy
Shoulders; and another, Robert Shoulders, who died in Texas. Tom was son of
Malachi Shoulders, who was the first of the family to come to Middle
Tennessee. He married Polly, daughter
of Bry Gregory, about 150 years ago. Drs. H. B. Shoulders and H. C. Shoulders
are prominent physicians of Nashville.
They are the sons of Lon Shoulders, son of Levi Shoulders, son of Malachi. The editor of the Times once lived in a
large log house built by Malachi Shoulders and located on Nickojack Branch of
Peyton's Creek, about two and a half miles southwest of Pleasant Shade, in
Smith County.
Note: Surgeon and President of
American Medical Assoc. in 1945.
Dr. Harrison H. Shoulders was born February 27, 1886, son of Leonard H.
Shoulders and Belle M. Clark Shoulders.
He died at 77. Practiced in
Nashville, TN.
Dr. Heddy S. Shoulders was born in Jackson County, Tennessee on February
9, 1889. Son of Leon H. Shoulders. Physician and Radiologist of Nashville,
Tennessee.
L(eon) or Leonard H. Shoulders was born in Jackson County June 8,
1851. He died March 15, 1929 at the
home of a son, J. H. Shoulders of Castalian Springs. He married Belle M. Clark on January 11, 1880. He was survived by his wife and 5 children
as follows. J. H. Shoulders of
Castalian Springs, Dr. Harrison H. Shoulders and Dr. Heddy S. Shoulders both of
Nashville, Tennessee; Professor W. B. Shoulders of Gordensville, Tennessee; and
Mrs. Ben Franklin of Chillicothe, Ohio.
Burial was in the Gallatin Cemetery, Gallatin, Tennessee.