Green Clay

Green Clay (August 14, 1757 – October 31, 1828) was a United States businessman, planter, and politician from Kentucky; he served in the American Revolutionary War and was commissioned as a general to lead the Kentucky militia in the War of 1812. He was believed to be one of the wealthiest men of the state, owning tens of thousands of acres of land, many slaves, several distilleries, a tavern, and ferries.

Clay was born in Powhatan County, Virginia in 1757 to Charles and Martha Clay. After serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, he joined the westward migration to Kentucky, where he became a surveyor. This gave him a chance to assess lands for cultivation and development. He was a cousin of US Congressman and statesman Henry Clay and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay.

Clay developed and owned several distilleries and a tavern in central Kentucky, where development occurred near Lexington. He also started a business providing ferry service at several stops across the winding Kentucky River.

In 1789 he was elected Kentucky's representative to the Virginia House of Delegates (when the western territory was still part of that state). Later he was elected and served in both the house and senate of the Kentucky General Assembly.

In 1795, Green Clay at 38 married the much younger Sally Lewis (d. 1867) in Kentucky. She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Payne) Lewis. They had seven children, of whom six survived to adulthood. Their first child was Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798-1887) and other daughters were Pauline, Rodes and Sallie. Their sons were Sidney,Brutus J. Clay (b.1808) and Cassius Marcellus Clay (b.1810).

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