New-York daily tribune., 1859-07-07

lc t<f !om that brother 20 eebfcheh ih ri"oAi'n
County. Me. (whe has permitted me TO copy ul, nay
te, your re.5sr. and il is therefore placed q, your
di-posal. hwas only written for private psrusa, asd
may not have been written 20 c1efu'sy az 1t would
have been uneer other ercumstal IL is offered o.
g memorial Of sgoOd man, nov gone to his rest, and
may be usefu, as furnishing ,oue facts relating TO
him and bis piog.nitors. o.
"Quiscr, H., March 80, lsts.
." DEAN SiK: Just as my 9Th year has come To
close, stepped into the Pcs0fice IN this place and
/, nno your hind favor of the lth nf,no, forwarded
frC n Iaeksonve which is pow before me, and calls
90 recollection the incidents you mention on board
the steamer from Providence 10 New-fork. And |
can truly say that that journey, as whole one oi
the peairg reenleciions of long hfe nov draw
il to close, and 8, the same tine as evenfn and
fnl Of incident falls the lot Of almost any other N
dIvitual Of the present day
"You seem 70 ar that You hsve trespsssed IN tax
ing The liberty Of wr ing 10 me. BE perfectly A. ease
on that subject. l thank you kindly for the friendly
| notice Of AT event Of twelve years standing, which
er abed me 20 mng!e IN thoughts ana oonversaiion
with so maJy worthy fellow -ciiIzens. IL affords me
Measure now 10 reflect upon the comfy and respect
| Which, though stranger, met with in Boston and
"The fa,tering terms in which you speak Of my
dear brother Bbry Clay, call for grattnfe ~h CD
hone feel toward biz admirers, East and West North
ana South Could the measures which he ha- edvo.
Gated become the permanent system OF our Nanonai
! Government, do verify believe we should De the nap
pest and most prosperous nation upone earth. But that
dsy is past and We have stained helmets in blood,
AID are battling j, against pocr weak afd helpers
| republic TO acquire more territory when we have
millions upon millions Of unimproved and uroceupied
land that must remain for years Wild desert 10 Afford
d.maeoeues sieI ping stone to office.
"lour wishes ~ know something abon' tue history
Of our family could be- gaticd within The limits oil
letter Tie following concise account must suthce.
| In be reign of Queen Ebxsbeth, Sir Walter Raleigh
who st that time great favOrlte Of her Majesty,
though aiterwsrd put 20 death by her orderl brought
over the Virginia plantations among Others, tnree
brO,bers, sons Of Sir John Clay OF wales, England.
He gave them El0.000 each, which was very large
| fortupe at that tine. Their naues were Charles,
| Thomas and Henry. They settled on james River,
near jamestown. Two of them Charles and Thomss,
had large families Henry had no children The
| name Henry has been handed down 10 both branches
Of the family with great tenaci.y ever since. Csssius
| M Clay lof whom you have no doubt heard, for he
made considerable stir in the East during the last
Presidential canvas-l is descendant of Charles Clay
| Henry and myself from Thomas Clay. Thus IN. two
b,other, above alluded to the progentors Of all the
| Claws in the United States My father, as you have
| beard, a clergyman OF the Baptist den0mha
tiop He died in early life leaving seven chudren-
four sons and three daughters; all of whom died with
out Children with the exception OF Henry and myself.
| Ny mother married the second time, and Iased
family of six children, two Of whom are still living
| Nath anie W. Watkins and Frank Watkins, residing
| in Missouri Nv brother Henry has had eleven chill
dren-six daughters and five The daughters are
all dead and ope sod, II. Clay, jr, who was Killed al
| II battle Of Buens Vsta-his wife having previously
died. leaving three children, who with their mo
tber connections in Lousve Three of my brothers
sons are settled him, in the neighborhood OF Lex
| ngiop. Two Of these, Thomas and james b. Clay,
are man led and doing well-one lawyer the other
farmer John, the youngest, whom you saw at w ash-
in gton is with his father at Ashland. Theodore, MS
Oldest con, is in the Lunatic Asylum in Lexington,
confirmed nnaic. NY brpthe.s property H. sn,Gk oh;
dren suficieny, with care to render them also COM
Portable;
been all my life child of Gods peculiar providence;
always poor yet always rich in the kind esteem of
good friends wherever go. In early life married an
amiabIe lady, by whom had six children, three of
each sex, who are now all dead buried the last,
son two yeare after my visit TO the East. My second
daughter married full consin of Gen. T. Taylor She
has left me two grandchdren-a son and daughter.
They residing with their father in ~. Louis, Mo.
My grandson soldier with Col Doniphsn, in his
three thousand miles campaign in Mexico, losing only
one at the battle Of Sacramento.
"Our father had one brother, Edward Clay, who
married at early period Of life, and moved to South
Carolina where he raised large family think thr-
teen children. Judge Clay, of whom you speak, was
| one of them. He studied law became eminent in his
profession, was appointed Judge; not long after,
ward converted-was ordained an EvaDgelist, and
called to the care OF the Baptist Church IN Bos-
ton previously under the of DIR. Stillman. He,
however, soon removed from the scene Of his
| labor to the church triumphant.
" After the Otdtn OF my nIeL vile, mhrTlcu lut
widow of Gen. Martin ID. Hardin, al eminent lawyer
of Kertucky, who died in 1898, leaving two sons and
two daughters. I. j. Hardin his Oldest son, was of
late anember OF Congress from,this State, and made
some figure in the national councils. lie was the first
10 oer bis services volunteer in the present
holy war with Mexico He was elected Colonel Of
tie First Regiment from this State and fell at the
head Of bis at the battle Of Buena Vista regretted
and admired by the whole State. His body lies in.
tered in the cemetery at Jacksonville. Ny dear
wife, / am afraid, will ever remain inconsoable. He
the stay Of her declining years, and the pride OF
the family. How mysterious are the ways Of Provi
depce She has ron and daughter LETT, both mar
red and doing well-One in this State the other 10
Kentucky, where che is how visit. She possibly
may not return to this State, at least for year.
shal Join her this Fall, if life is spared, and my health
which is very feeble at this time will permit. We
have bad no children.
al stated in another part of this letter that my life
has been an eventiul one. have only room for the
mertion Of oLe whckmust serve for the whole; for
| there are many more equally surprising.
Between Christmas and New-fear 1911, at the
age OF 35 was brought to myself sinner against
God, and justly exposed TO his wrath and dspeasure.
After struggling against guilty conscience until the
18th Of September, 1917 was enabled Ia the suit
sbeness and efficiency of precious Savior for just
such lost and ruined sinners rs l was. embraced
Him with my whole heart, and gave myself TO Him
without reservation. | was then practicng Law at
Versailles, Kentucky. | soon discovered that that
course Of life inconsistent with the pledge | had
made to God and although poor, with an increasing
family and not knowing what caIing 10 betake myself
TO- determined to throw myself under the protection
Of my Heavenly Father, ana await His good proyi-
dence rather than to make my thousands In unhoy
| calling.
"For short time after had come to this decision,
without my seeking, any else for me, the Gov
of Kentucky rendered the Office of Auditor Of
Public Accounts for the State with q salary of 3,Oc0
per year. Thus, saw that my Heavenly Father had
thoughts Of mercy toward while was ipdinng Bit
ter things against myself The Office had become
cant by the death of q very worthy MAN. and accept
ed the appointment continuing to hold it for fourteen
yeas. -