The Clay Family
Sir John Clay
Every Clay in this story traces back to one man: John Clay, the Englishman who stepped off a ship at Jamestown in 1613 and planted the family in America.
Who he was
John Clay came to the Virginia colony as a young soldier, remembered as "the English Grenadier." The family has long honored him as Sir John Clay, after the Welsh knight said to be his father.
From his sons came generations of Clays. Among his descendants are the statesman Henry Clay and the abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay, Catherine's cousin. Catherine Clay carries the same line and the same crest.
His life
- c. 1587
Born in England. Family tradition names his father as Sir John Clay of Wales, which is how the title came down through the family.
- 1613
Sails to Virginia aboard the ship Treasurer and settles at Jamestown, only six years after the colony was founded.
- 1620s
Listed among the colonists in the Virginia musters. Known as "John Clay, the English Grenadier," a soldier in the colony's defense.
- 1635
Granted land in Charles City County for bringing settlers to Virginia, the start of the family's roots in American soil.
- c. 1655
Dies in Virginia, leaving sons who carry the Clay name across Virginia and on into Kentucky.