Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-25
HENRY CLAWS DAUGHrER.
The sad Romance That Had It's Birth
Beside a Grave.

4
Beside a Grave.
Just to the right of the entrance to a
small, illy-kept, almost unused grave
yard at Lebanon, Ga little city famed
the State over as being the home for years
of the most gifted orator of his time, Thos.
| Corwin-is a stained and mOldy stone sar-
copnagus, less than three feet in height
and six feet in length, inclOsed by a rude
fence of barbed wire, stretched upon
clumsy, unheWn posts. The yard
bears every evidence of neglect.
/ The ground around it is
sunken, and the grass and briers Chamber
up the dingy stone tOmb's side, and show
a disposition to cover it from view. The
poor, neglected grave is a stranger to the
attention of lOve-guided hands. A clus-
ter of sweet yiOlets now lift their bright
faces from the grass near the head of the
tomb, but they came there by chance. A
little later on the grave will be shOwered
by the blackberry's pretty white blossoms,
but the brakes upon which theyaburst to
bloom were planted there by kindly Ma
ture.
And yet beneath those rough slabs of
stone lie the remains of noble young
girl, upon whom in life was bestowed the
eXtravagant love of one of America
Sra ndoot-rnindcd mems young girl whose
untlmely death saddened the life of one
of the cOuntry's broadcast and widest
statesmen. That neglected grave con-
tains the remains of youthful woman.
over whose resting-place a fitting monu-
ment should be erected by the people
whom her fathers brilliant talent so ably
served. But it is neglected, uncared for,
and almost unknown save to a few out
side of LebanOn's limits.
1t IS unpleasant TO think that the off
spring of such noble parentage is thus
permitted to suffer long years of almost
utter neglect among a people who knew
the story of her birth and Of her distin-
guished fathers merits, but true it is that
IN that humble grave lie the remains of a
daughter OF Henry Clay-the man whom
Kentucky honOrs'abOve all men; the man
who labored so grandly in the interests of
the nation, and who was within a step
of the Presidential chair. Around that
little grave clusters a mOurnfuI. romantic
history. 1t was related to a Leader re-
porter few days ago by one of the old
citizens Of Lebanon while standing beside
the stone sarcOphagus within the rusty
Darbed-wlre Enclosure. Said the Leaders,
friend:
Henry Clay, You know, was one of the
four prominent Presidential candidates in
1874, striving for election against three
other candidates-J0hn Quincy Adams.
jackson and Crawford. He received
thirty-seven electoral votes for the po-
siti on.
The Electoral College failed to make
ch0lce, and when the work of electing a
President deyolYed upon the House of
Representatives Clay, seeing that he
could not win himself, carried his strength
over to Adams and secured the latter's
election. In March Of the following year.
when Adams organized his Cabinet, he
rendered Clay the Premier's portfolio
Clay went on to Washington, and after
he had familiarized himself with the du-
ties OF Secretary of State he returned on a
visit to his home in Kentucky to see his
family, among whom was a beautiful and
intellectual daughter, Eliza, whom he
particularly loved. Eliza, at that time,
had just turned her 18th year, but she
was wise and wOmanly for her wears,
and it was one Of the OBJ
Jects OF Clay's long and
tedious journey to Kentucky to bring
Eliza TO Washington with him on his re-
turn. Travel in those DAYS was not the
easy, luxurious affair that it is now. The
cumbersome stage coach was the only
public conveyance that traversed the
pixies, and the trip from Kentucky to
Washington city was both long and
wearying. Henry Clay and his daughter
started for the capital from Lexington,
KY, early in August. Miss CLAY was
ANNe~~NA ttNA%Nf-NeN
travelling by coach a very distressing
affair. The hotel fare on the route did
not agree with her. and the various
changes and diScomfOrts she experienced
brought on ady-infiammatiOn of the
bowels, l belieye-that became so alarm
ing when Lebanon was reached that a
stop was made here and medical aid sum-
moned to attend the young lady at her
hotel. She grew worse instead of better,
and one night, after deliriOus flight fol-
lowed by brief period of consciousness.
she died in her fathers arms.
1T was impossible for Mr.. Clay to re-
turn home with the remains OF his dead
child, so it was determined to bury her
here temporarily. The intention was to
remove her remains to Kentucky and
place them in the family burial-place.
"Mr. Clay, sad-hearted and weighted
down by grief, completed his journey to
Washington. His busy and not I'M
troubled life at the Capital as Premier of
Adams Cabinet is a matter of public his |
tory. The grass over his daughters !
grave and the SHOWS of two winters COW
cred its meanly appearance with spotless
nantes of white, and yet no move was
made to have the remains transferred to
Kentucky. In the third summer, l think,
this rough sarcOphagus was erected by
Mr.. Clay. who seemed to have determined
not to disturb his daughters rest. The
inscription upon theupper tablet tells the
sad story briefly
The reporter leaned over, and, after TAX
ing up with a kerchief the water that
filed up the depressed portions of the
lettering, made out the following: