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.
- 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
"Laura Clay, Lexington, Kentucky", taken by Gerhard Sisters, St. Louis, undated
Laura Clay and group marching for the Madison, Fayette, and Franklin Kentucky Equal Rights Association, at Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, circa 1916
Unknown young man in military dress, undated
Susan B. Anthony, undated
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
Copy photograph of painted portrait of Laura Clay, undated
Portrait of unknown woman in long dress, photograph by W.R. Phipps, undated
Portrait of Mary J. W. Clay in the "presentation dress", undated
Warfield Clay, undated
Hands of a statue, undated
Josephine Henry, undated
Unknown man, photograph by J.P. Sharman, undated
Copy portrait of Cassius Marcellus Clay from a book, undated
Unknown man with a fur hat, photograph by W.W. Washburn, undated
James Bennett, undated
Portrait of Mary Barr Clay, undated
Architecture, 1932, undated
Album, undated
Handwritten title on album page: "National Headquarters", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Rev. Anna H. Shaw and Susan B. Anthony", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "The Committee in Repose", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Lucy Anthony and Miss Kate Gordon", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Characteristic Facial Expressions", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Alice Stone Blackwell of Boston", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Clay", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "The Doxology", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Upton and Dr. Eaton", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Gordon, Miss Clay, Miss Blackwell and Dr. Eaton // Miss Upton, Aunt Susan, Miss Sharr and Mrs. Catt", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "A Critical Moment // Note the Expression of Suspense", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "On thier (sic) way to the Meeting", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "How They Felt When it was over", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "The Judge", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "The 'House'", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Miss Mary Melton, The Power Behind the Throne", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Suffrage Stokers", undated
Handwritten title on album page: "Saints of the Cabbage Patch", undated
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.
