Journalist, Abolitionist, United States Ambassador. He received a place in American history as a Southerner, who fought for the freedom of slaves in the American Civil War era. After freeing his own slaves, which he had inherited from his father, he founded in 1845 the newspaper, "True American," an antislavery newspaper in Kentucky. At first, he had hoped freeing the slaves would be a peaceful act. Being realist, he knew that there could be a physical altercation from the community, thus fireproofed his print shop with iron, two cannons at the door, and rifles hanging on the wall. During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, who was hired by his many political enemies. Brown shot and missed Clay, and at this point, Clay retaliated and attacked Brown with a Bowie knife, blinding Brown in both eyes and disfiguring his face . While he was sick with thyroid fever at home in August of 1845, the Committee of Sixty, which was a mob led by George Washington Johnson, who became the first Confederate governor of Kentucky, seized Clay's printing press in attempt to stop his publication. Continuing to print his newspaper for another year, Clay relocated his print shop to Cincinnati, Ohio. He sued some of the Committee of Sixty for denying him the "freedom of press," collecting $2,500 in damages. Born into a wealthy family with seven children, his father, General Green Clay, was a Revolutionary War veteran, who owned several businesses including a plantation with the largest number of slaves in Kentucky. He denounced his father's way of life for his cause. After attending Lexington's Transylvania University, he attended Yale University graduating in 1832. After listening to William Lloyd Garrison's thoughts on freeing slaves while at Yale, he became inspired. He was surprised to learn that most men in Connecticut could read and write. Later, he wrote in his memoirs, "...ignorance and poverty are the fast high roads to crime and suffering." He knew education should not only be for wealthy men. Years later in 1855 he donated land for Berea College, which was opened to male and female students of both white and black races. The next year after graduating from Yale University, he married Mary Jane Warfield, a personal friend to Mary Todd Lincoln, and the couple had ten children with six living to adulthood. Starting in 1835 he was elected as a member of the Whig Party to three terms in the Kentucky legislature, until his anti-slavery views caused problems with Pro-slavery sympathizers. Many of his well-known family members were active in Southern politics supporting slavery and the antebellum life-style. From 1846 to 1848, he fought in the Mexican War at the rank of captain in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry, spending eighteen months as a prisoner of war in Mexico City and returning a war hero. Being a physically strong, 6'3" tall man, he fought in 1848 singlehandedly six attackers, killing one, after giving an anti-slavery speech in Texas. In 1850 he was a candidate for the office of governor of Kentucky, but although loss the election, he gained national recognition. In 1854 he became a charter member of the Kentucky's Republican Party and in 1860 was nominated to be a candidate for the office of vice-president of the United States. In April of 1861 while in Washington D.C., he organized a battalion of 300 volunteers to defend the White House at the dawn of the American Civil War. In March of 1861, he was appointed by United States President Abraham Lincoln to the post of Ambassador to Russia. For a few months, he returned to the United States in 1862. While in Russia, he successfully encouraged Czar Alexander II to free 23 millions serfs before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September 22, 1862, freeing slaves in the United States. Seeking Russia's support during the American Civil War, he returned to his Russian ambassador post in March of 1863, coming home in 1869 to the United States. His wife refused to return to Russia with him. During the American Civil War, the Russian navy had ships in New York and San Francisco harbors, which impeded Britain and France from siding with the Confederacy. Later, Clay paved the way to the purchase of Alaska. He brought with him from Russia an orphan boy, who was allegedly his biological son with a Prima ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet. He supported the Cuban Independence Movement against Spain, forming the Cuban Charitable Aid Society, but did not support United States President Ulysses Grant's involvement with Haiti's government. This cause him to switched political parties from being Republican to joining the Liberal Republican Party to the Democrat Party and back to Republican. After a long separation and several public extra-marital affairs on his part, he and his wife divorced in 1878, leaving his wife to live penniless and homeless. The treatment of their mother, led his four daughters, especially Laura and Mary, to become active in the Women's Rights movement. Having many enemies throughout his life, he carried a gun and a large silver Bowie knife with him even as an elderly man. In 1894 at the age of 84 he married a 15-year-old orphan girl; the marriage ended in three years. He died of natural causes and was declared insane before dying. His home, the "White Hall," is now a Kentucky Historical Building. Horace Greeley edited his memoirs. A descendant of one of his liberated slaves, Herman Heaton Clay, named his son Cassius Clay in honor of the abolitionist, which led to the slave's grandson being named Cassius Clay, Jr, who became the heavyweight champion of the world before changing his name to Muhammad Ali. Numerous biographies have been written on Clay's life.
Journalist, Abolitionist, United States Ambassador. He received a place in American history as a Southerner, who fought for the freedom of slaves in the American Civil War era. After freeing his own slaves, which he had inherited from his father, he founded in 1845 the newspaper, "True American," an antislavery newspaper in Kentucky. At first, he had hoped freeing the slaves would be a peaceful act. Being realist, he knew that there could be a physical altercation from the community, thus fireproofed his print shop with iron, two cannons at the door, and rifles hanging on the wall. During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, who was hired by his many political enemies. Brown shot and missed Clay, and at this point, Clay retaliated and attacked Brown with a Bowie knife, blinding Brown in both eyes and disfiguring his face . While he was sick with thyroid fever at home in August of 1845, the Committee of Sixty, which was a mob led by George Washington Johnson, who became the first Confederate governor of Kentucky, seized Clay's printing press in attempt to stop his publication. Continuing to print his newspaper for another year, Clay relocated his print shop to Cincinnati, Ohio. He sued some of the Committee of Sixty for denying him the "freedom of press," collecting $2,500 in damages. Born into a wealthy family with seven children, his father, General Green Clay, was a Revolutionary War veteran, who owned several businesses including a plantation with the largest number of slaves in Kentucky. He denounced his father's way of life for his cause. After attending Lexington's Transylvania University, he attended Yale University graduating in 1832. After listening to William Lloyd Garrison's thoughts on freeing slaves while at Yale, he became inspired. He was surprised to learn that most men in Connecticut could read and write. Later, he wrote in his memoirs, "...ignorance and poverty are the fast high roads to crime and suffering." He knew education should not only be for wealthy men. Years later in 1855 he donated land for Berea College, which was opened to male and female students of both white and black races. The next year after graduating from Yale University, he married Mary Jane Warfield, a personal friend to Mary Todd Lincoln, and the couple had ten children with six living to adulthood. Starting in 1835 he was elected as a member of the Whig Party to three terms in the Kentucky legislature, until his anti-slavery views caused problems with Pro-slavery sympathizers. Many of his well-known family members were active in Southern politics supporting slavery and the antebellum life-style. From 1846 to 1848, he fought in the Mexican War at the rank of captain in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry, spending eighteen months as a prisoner of war in Mexico City and returning a war hero. Being a physically strong, 6'3" tall man, he fought in 1848 singlehandedly six attackers, killing one, after giving an anti-slavery speech in Texas. In 1850 he was a candidate for the office of governor of Kentucky, but although loss the election, he gained national recognition. In 1854 he became a charter member of the Kentucky's Republican Party and in 1860 was nominated to be a candidate for the office of vice-president of the United States. In April of 1861 while in Washington D.C., he organized a battalion of 300 volunteers to defend the White House at the dawn of the American Civil War. In March of 1861, he was appointed by United States President Abraham Lincoln to the post of Ambassador to Russia. For a few months, he returned to the United States in 1862. While in Russia, he successfully encouraged Czar Alexander II to free 23 millions serfs before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September 22, 1862, freeing slaves in the United States. Seeking Russia's support during the American Civil War, he returned to his Russian ambassador post in March of 1863, coming home in 1869 to the United States. His wife refused to return to Russia with him. During the American Civil War, the Russian navy had ships in New York and San Francisco harbors, which impeded Britain and France from siding with the Confederacy. Later, Clay paved the way to the purchase of Alaska. He brought with him from Russia an orphan boy, who was allegedly his biological son with a Prima ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet. He supported the Cuban Independence Movement against Spain, forming the Cuban Charitable Aid Society, but did not support United States President Ulysses Grant's involvement with Haiti's government. This cause him to switched political parties from being Republican to joining the Liberal Republican Party to the Democrat Party and back to Republican. After a long separation and several public extra-marital affairs on his part, he and his wife divorced in 1878, leaving his wife to live penniless and homeless. The treatment of their mother, led his four daughters, especially Laura and Mary, to become active in the Women's Rights movement. Having many enemies throughout his life, he carried a gun and a large silver Bowie knife with him even as an elderly man. In 1894 at the age of 84 he married a 15-year-old orphan girl; the marriage ended in three years. He died of natural causes and was declared insane before dying. His home, the "White Hall," is now a Kentucky Historical Building. Horace Greeley edited his memoirs. A descendant of one of his liberated slaves, Herman Heaton Clay, named his son Cassius Clay in honor of the abolitionist, which led to the slave's grandson being named Cassius Clay, Jr, who became the heavyweight champion of the world before changing his name to Muhammad Ali. Numerous biographies have been written on Clay's life.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8009/cassius_marcellus-clay: accessed
), memorial page for Cassius Marcellus Clay (10 Oct 1810–23 Jul 1903), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8009, citing Richmond Cemetery, Richmond,
Madison County,
Kentucky,
USA;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for Cassius Marcellus Clay
Fulfill Photo Request for Cassius Marcellus Clay
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.