Lucretia (Hart) Clay (1781 - 1864)

Born 18 Mar 1781 in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Clay — married 11 Apr 1799 in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Died 4 Apr 1864 at age 83 in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

Lucretia Hart, youngest daughter of Colonel Thomas Hart and Susanna Gray, was born March 18, 1781, at Hagerstown, Maryland, and, at the age of thirteen, removed with her parents to Lexington, Kentucky. ^[1]

On April 11, 1799, she married Henry Clay, then a young lawyer, at her family's home in Lexington Kentucky. Mrs. Clay became a mother of twelve, and a wife to an often absent husband, and she somehow managed to keep business in order for her family as well!

Lucretia Hart Clay, date unknown

Lucretia Clay studied agriculture, and supervised the help at their home called Ashland in Lexington, Kentucky. ^[2] By 1835 all six daughters had died of varying causes from whooping cough to yellow fever to complications of childbirth, and Henry Clay Jr. was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. ^[2] Her oldest son, Theodore, spent the second half of his life confined to a psychiatric hospital. ^[3]

Mr. & Mrs. Henry Clay, 50th Anniversary, 1849

Despite his fragile health at the time, Henry Clay returned to the nation’s capital in late 1851 to serve a final term as senator. Over the next few months his condition rapidly deteriorated and he died of tuberculosis June 29, 1852 in Washington, DC, at age 75. ^[2]

Lucretia Hart Clay widow of Henry, died on the 4th of April 1864, at the age of eighty-three. ^[1]

Birth

1. Date of birth: 18 Mar 1781 ^[1]
2. Place of birth: Hagerstown, Maryland ^[1]

Family

Parents

1. Father: Thomas Hart (1730-1808) ^[1]
2. Mother: Susanna Gray Hart (1749-1832) ^[1]

Siblings

1. Sister: Nancy Ann Hart Brown ^[1]
2. Sister: Elizabeth Hart Pindell (1768-1793) ^[1]
3. Brother: Thomas Hart (1772-1809) ^[1]
4. Brother: John S Hart (1780-1821) ^[1]
5. Sister: Susanna Hart Price ^[1]
6. Brother: Nathaniel G S Hart (1784-1813) ^[1]

Spouse

1. Senator Henry Clay (1777-1852) ^[1]
   1. Date of marriage: 11 Apr 1799
      1. Location: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Children

1. Daughter: Henrietta Clay (1800-1801) ^[1]
2. Son: Theodore W Clay (1802-1870) ^[1]
3. Son: Thomas H Clay Sr (1803-1871) ^[1]
4. Daughter: Susan Clay Duralde (1805-1825) ^[1]
5. Daughter: Anne Clay Erwin (1807-1835) ^[1]
6. Daughter: Lucretia Hart Clay (1809-1823) ^[1]
7. Son: Henry Clay (1811-1847) ^[1]
8. Daughter: Eliza H Clay (1813-1825) ^[1]
9. Daughter: Laura Clay (1816-1816) ^[1]
10. Son: James B Clay (1817-1864) ^[1]
11. Son: John M Clay (1821-1887) ^[1]

Census

1850 United States Census,	Fayette,	Fayette,	Kentucky [4]
Name	Gender	Age	Birth Place
Henry Clay	M	73	Virginia
Lucretia Clay	F	69	Maryland
John M Clay	M	29	Kentucky
Sarah Hall	F	80	England

1860 United States Census,	Fayette,	Fayette,	Kentucky [5]
Name	Gender	Age	Birth Place
Lucretia Clay	F	79	Maryland
J M Clay	M	39	Kentucky
T J Robbins	M	25	New York
S D Lindsey	M	21	Kentucky
Saml Nelson	M	17	Kentucky

Death

1. Date of death: 04 Apr 1864 ^[1]
2. Date of death: 07 Apr 1864 ^[6]
3. Place of death: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky ^[6]

Burial

1. Name of cemetery: Lexington ^[6]
   1. Location: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky ^[6]
   2. Plot: Henry Clay Monument ^[6]
      1. Marker inscription: Not known ^[6]

Images

1. Portrait: Lucretia Hart Clay
2. 1849 50th Anniversary: Mr. & Mrs. Henry Clay

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24} "Genealogical Narrative of the Hart Family in United States". Compiled by Mrs. Sarah S Young. Printed for private distribution. Memphis: SC Toof & Company, Steam Printers, Lithographers and Blank Book Manufacturers. 1882. archive.org. (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} "History of American Women". Famous Wives. Lucretia Clay. womenshistoryblog.com (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)
3. ↑ "Henry and Lucretia Clay. wikipedia.org. (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1850". FamilySearch.org. (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860". FamilySearch.org. (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} "Memorial 6784317". Lucretia Hart Clay. findagrave.com. (Accessed 03 Sep 2017)

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