Henry Clay account book
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Henry Clay account book
- Date
- 1797-1847 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Clay, Henry, 1777-1852
- Extent
- 0.23 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Gambling
- Practice of law -- Kentucky.
- Preferred Citation
- 70m39: [identification of item] Henry Clay account book, 1797-1847, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Henry Clay (1777-1852), statesman, orator, and Secretary of State, was born to Baptist minister John Clay and Elizabeth Hudson Clay in Hanover County, Virginia, on April 12, 1777. Clay, with little formal education, entered the Virginia bar in 1797, shortly before relocating to Lexington, Kentucky, to open a law practice. First elected to public office in 1803, Clay's involvement in the politics of the United State lasted until his death in 1852. He served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1811-1814, 1815-1820, 1823-1825), as Secretary of State for John Quincy Adams (1825-1829), and as a senator in the U.S. Senate (1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1831-1842, 1849-1852). Attempting to fulfill his ultimate dream, Clay ran unsuccessfully for president three times: in 1824 as a Democratic Republican, in 1832 as a National Republican, and in 1844 as a Whig. Dubbed the "Great Compromiser" for his efforts to preserve the Union, Clay helped negotiate compromises during several conflicts between the free and slave states, including the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and the Great Compromise in 1850. As well as being a skilled orator and politician, Henry Clay was also a progressive agrarian and stockman, who took great pleasure in managing his own affairs and improvements at his estate, Ashland. He brought donkeys from Spain and Malta to Ashland as well as Hereford cattle and Durham short horn cattle. Clay's stables produced several still prominent horse blood lines, including eleven descendants who won the Kentucky Derby. Furthermore, he regularly submitted articles to agricultural journals and sat on the committee of the Kentucky Society for Promoting Agriculture.
- Henry Clay married Lucretia Hart (1781-1864) on April 11, 1799, and had eleven children with her: Henrietta (1800-1801), Theodore Wyeth (1802-1870), Thomas Hart (1803-1871), Susan Hart (1805-1825), Anne Brown (1807-1835), Lucretia Hart (1809-1823), Henry, Jr. (1811-1847), Eliza (1813-1825), Laura (1815-1817), James Brown (1817-1864), and John Morrison (1821-1887).
- Scope and Content
- The Henry Clay account book (dated 1797-1847; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of a bound volume of contracts and transactions maintained by Henry Clay and various Kentuckians. The bulk of the contracts took place from 1800-1810. The transactions are represented on the left handed page in a double entry bookkeeping style, while the written contract is expressed on the right handed page. The contracts involve legal affairs, gambling payments, and credit accounts with Henry Clay. There is a typed transcription of the account book also included in the collection.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
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.
Table of Contents
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.
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.
Requests
No items have been requested.
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.
