Laura Clay photographs

Descriptive Summary

Title
Laura Clay photographs
Date
1916-1933, undated (inclusive)
Extent
0.25 Cubic Feet
Subjects
Temperance.
Women's rights -- United States -- History.
Women -- Suffrage -- United States.
Women -- Suffrage -- Kentucky.
Women -- Political activity -- Kentucky.
Women -- Kentucky -- Societies and clubs
Arrangement
Collection is arranged by subject.
Finding Aid Author
Processed by: Staff, Lindy Melvin, Jason Flahardy
Preferred Citation
pa46m4: [identification of item], Laura Clay photographs, 1916-1933, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Repository
University of Kentucky

Collection Overview

Biography / History
Laura Clay, daughter of emancipationist Cassius M. Clay and his first wife, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, was born at the family estate, White Hall, in 1849. As a result of her parents' divorce and the inequitable property settlement which followed, Clay devoted herself to improving "the unworthy position of women" as a suffragist and social reformer. She was a founder of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association and the organization's first president. She was recognized as a national leader in the women's suffrage movement and served as an officer of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. However, because she wished suffrage to be granted at the state level, she left the ranks of the national movement as the nineteenth amendment was about to be ratified. She continued to be active in the cause of women's rights after 1920, and ran unsuccessfully for the Kentucky Senate in 1923. Clay also worked for the temperance movement, the Democratic Party, and her Episcopal church. She died at age 92 in 1941.
Scope and Content
The Laura Clay photographs (dated 1916-1933, undated; 0.25 cubic feet; 37 items) consists of photographs depicting Laura Clay, subjects relating to her family history, and her career as a suffragist. Most of the collection is comprised of bromide DOP/POP snapshots documenting a suffragist meeting, stored in an album that has deteriorated over time and damaged the images. The album has been disassembled for preservation purposes. Also included in the collection is a photograph of Governor Ruby Laffoon handing a gavel to Laura Clay, temporary chairperson of the Kentucky Convention to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Handwritten on the back of the mounting is the speech that Laura Clay gave that day. Also included is a group portrait of women from the Kentucky Equal Rights League at the Democratic National Convention, 1916.

Restrictions on Access and Use

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Box 2, containing the photograph album, is restricted due to preservation concerns.
Use Restrictions
The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.

Contents of the Collection

Portrait, 1916-1933, undated

Portrait of Laura Clay, handwritten note at bottom: "Your friend Laura Clay", undated

  • Box 1, item 1
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"Laura Clay, Lexington, Kentucky", taken by Gerhard Sisters, St. Louis, undated

  • Box 1, item 2
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Laura Clay and group marching for the Madison, Fayette, and Franklin Kentucky Equal Rights Association, at Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, circa 1916

  • Box 1, item 3
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Unknown young man in military dress, undated

  • Box 1, item 4
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Susan B. Anthony, undated

  • Box 1, item 5
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Governor Laffoon handing gavel to Laura Clay as Temporary Chairman of the Kentucky Convention to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Miss Clay's acceptance address is written on the back of the photograph, 1933 November 7

  • Box 1, item 6
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Copy photograph of painted portrait of Laura Clay, undated

  • Box 3, item 25
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Portrait of unknown woman in long dress, photograph by W.R. Phipps, undated

  • Box 3, item 26
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Portrait of Mary J. W. Clay in the "presentation dress", undated

  • Box 3, item 27
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Warfield Clay, undated

  • Box 3, item 28
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Hands of a statue, undated

  • Box 3, item 29
To top

Josephine Henry, undated

  • Box 3, item 30
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Unknown man, photograph by J.P. Sharman, undated

  • Box 3, item 31
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Copy portrait of Cassius Marcellus Clay from a book, undated

  • Box 3, item 34
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Unknown man with a fur hat, photograph by W.W. Washburn, undated

  • Box 3, item 35
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James Bennett, undated

  • Box 3, item 36
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Portrait of Mary Barr Clay, undated

  • Box 3, item 37
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Architecture, 1932, undated

Building on N. Mill Street, east side, where Cassius Clay ran his anti-slavery paper The True American, Lexington, KY, undated

  • Box 3, item 32
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White Hall, home of Cassius Clay, Richmond, KY, 1932

  • Box 3, item 33
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Album, undated

Handwritten title on album page: "National Headquarters", undated

  • Box 2, item 7
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Handwritten title on album page: "Rev. Anna H. Shaw and Susan B. Anthony", undated

  • Box 2, item 8
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Handwritten title on album page: "The Committee in Repose", undated

  • Box 2, item 9
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Lucy Anthony and Miss Kate Gordon", undated

  • Box 2, item 10
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Handwritten title on album page: "Characteristic Facial Expressions", undated

  • Box 2, item 11
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Alice Stone Blackwell of Boston", undated

  • Box 2, item 12
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Clay", undated

  • Box 2, item 13
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Handwritten title on album page: "The Doxology", undated

  • Box 2, item 14
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Upton and Dr. Eaton", undated

  • Box 2, item 15
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Gordon, Miss Clay, Miss Blackwell and Dr. Eaton // Miss Upton, Aunt Susan, Miss Sharr and Mrs. Catt", undated

  • Box 2, item 16
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Handwritten title on album page: "A Critical Moment // Note the Expression of Suspense", undated

  • Box 2, item 17
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Handwritten title on album page: "On thier (sic) way to the Meeting", undated

  • Box 2, item 18
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Handwritten title on album page: "How They Felt When it was over", undated

  • Box 2, item 19
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Handwritten title on album page: "The Judge", undated

  • Box 2, item 20
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Handwritten title on album page: "The 'House'", undated

  • Box 2, item 21
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Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Mary Melton, The Power Behind the Throne", undated

  • Box 2, item 22
To top

Handwritten title on album page: "Suffrage Stokers", undated

  • Box 2, item 23
To top

Handwritten title on album page: "Saints of the Cabbage Patch", undated

  • Box 2, item 24
To top

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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.

Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.

Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.

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You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.