Green Clay

General Green Clay was a pioneer and entrepreneur born in 1757 to Charles and Martha Clay in Powhaton County, Virginia.  Green Clay fought in the Revolutionary War, and he was a hero in the War of 1812.  A first cousin to Henry Clay, Green Clay made his fortune in Kentucky by land surveying.  In addition he owned several distilleries, a tavern, and numerous ferries along the Kentucky River. At the time of his death in 1828 Green Clay was believed to be one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky, owning the most land and slaves in the state..

Sallie Lewis Clay

General Green Clay married Sally Lewis Clay in 1795.  Together they had seven children, six of which survived into adulthood. Most of what is known about Sally Lewis Clay is gleaned from her son, Cassius M. Clay’s, Memoirs. Cassius Clay states that his mother, a Calvinist Baptist, was very religious and that she tried to instill good morals into all of her children.  After the death of her first husband, Sally Lewis remarried Baptist minister Jeptha Dudley and moved to Frankfort, Kentucky, she died in 1867