Joseph Thomas Clay and Anna Woodman Clay

Joseph Thomas Clay was born in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois on 12 May 1873. He was the son of William Clay and Elizabeth Mallon Clay. He was the maternal uncle of Helen Struck Coakley. Not many records have been located related to Joseph's early years. William and Elizabeth purchased the lot at 1135 North Eleventh street and built a house on it while Joseph was still a baby. 

1135 North Eleventh St, Quincy, IL

In 1884 Joseph went to work as a laborer at the Quincy Saw Mill where his father worked. In approximately 1892 Joseph and his brother John left Quincy and moved to Chicago, Cook County, Illinois where Joseph met Anna Woodman. Anna was the daughter of William and Margaret Woodman. She was probably born in February 1872 in Chicago. William was a stone cutter who probably immigrated from Ireland.

On 19 April 1894 Joseph and Anna were married at Holy Family Catholic Church.

Joseph and Anna had four children. They were all baptized at Holy Family Catholic Church in Chicago:

• Annie Elizabeth was born 10 September 1897 and was baptized 3 October 1897. Annie went by Lillian.
• Margaret Mary was born 6 December 1898 and was baptized 22 December 1898.
• Joseph Alfred was born 22 October 1901 and was baptized 14 November 1901.
• Maria Catherine was born 22 May 1903 and was baptized 11 June 1903. 

The family was close to Anna's family. Joseph, Anna, Annie and Margaret were living with Margaret Woodman on West 13th Street in Chicago on the 1900 census. This is the last time the family is all together on a census record. There are gaps in time when Joseph isn't listed on the Census or in the City Directories. Anna's marital status isn't consistent, on a number of records she is listed as Joseph's widow years before he actually died on 12 September 1932.

The 1910 City Directory lists Joseph at 1413 S Centre Avenue; this is the same address where Ann and the family, including Margaret Woodman, were living on the 1910 Census. Joseph was included with the family on the census.

Joseph isn't listed again until 1914, in both 1914 and 1915 he is living at the same address as Anna and her mother.

In 1917 the City Directory lists Anna as the widow of Joseph. Three of her children - Joseph, Lillian, and Margaret are living at the same address and Joseph isn't listed in the City Directory. 

In 1920, Anna and the four kids are still living with her mother and Joseph isn't listed. The family was still living at 1413 Centre Avenue. Anna was the head of the family even though her Mother is still living with them. There was a border living with them and Anna was working outside the home to support the family. Anna's marital status shows married.

In 1923, Anna and Joseph are both listed at the same address 3617 Lexington. Anna is listed as Joseph's widow and Joseph is working as an express helper.

In 1930 on the census, Anna, Margaret, and Marie with her husband, Robert Dressel, were living at 4853 Adams. Anna is listed as a widow and it working as a cook at a hospital.

Joseph died 12 September 1932 and was buried in Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery. At the time of his death he was living with his son, Joseph A. His death certificate says he was married to Anna. No obituary for Joseph has been located.

Anna obituary was published in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, December 26, 1951 and she is listed as "the beloved wife of the late Joseph".

The wording in her obituary sounds like the couple was happily married but the other records don't paint the same picture. The references to Anna as a widow before Joseph's death could have been due to incorrect information provided to the Census taker and the person who collected information for the City Directories, but since it happened multiple times that doesn't seem likely. Joseph was missing from records for multiple years; however, the gaps in the records don't correspond with the references to Anna as a widow. According to his death certificate, Joseph was living with his son when he died, which could support that he and Anna may have been estranged. Unless more records are found, we may never know what the truth is about the relationship between Joseph and Anna.

Sources

1. Chicago Tribune, 26 December 1951 page 36.
2. Death Certificate and Correction of Death Record of Joseph T Clay, Chicago, Cook County, IL, Certificate #24093, Newspapers.com.
3. 1900 US Census,  Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, ED 200, Sheet 13B, Ancestry.com.
4. 1910 US Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, ED 1471, Sheet 9A, Ancestry.com.
5. 1920 US Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, ED 2248, Sheet 13B, Ancestry.com
6. 1930 US Census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, ED 16-104, Sheet 5A, Ancestry.com
7. City Directories, Chicago, Illinois 1892-1923, Footnote.com.
8. City Directories, Quincy, Adams County, Illinois 1884-1891, Quincy Public Library.
9. Interment Register, Mount Carmel Cemetery, p 196, FamilySearch.org, Illinos, Archdiocese of Chicago, cemetery records, 1864-1989.
10. Marriage License, Cook County, Illinois, certificate 216402.
11. Baptism records, Holy Family Parish, Chicago, IL.
12. Quincy Herald, 1 September 1875 page 4, "Building Permits".
13. Deeds, Adams County Courthouse - book 66 page 475; book 88, page 449; book 14 page 448; book 18 page 323; book 218 page 350.

The Spelling of the Clay Family Surname

For many years I suspected that William and his brother Henry had been dropped off by an alien space ship in Cumberland, MD just before William married Elizabeth Mallon in 1864. Eventually as more records became easier to access and connecting with other researchers through the internet was possible, records of their parents and early lives were discovered. There is still more to uncover, but here is what has been found so far. 

We had two clues left by Helen Struck Coakley, the first was a paper with information about the Clay family from Helen's cousin that said the family was from Somerset County, Stoney Creek Township, Pennsylvania that listed all of the children of William and Elizabeth (Mallon) Clay.  William's death certificate listed his father as Martin Clay. Research in Somerset County did not turn up a family with the surname Clay that had a father Martin and a son William.

The second clue was that Helen left was in her Missal. She kept many prayer cards, most of them seemed to be family friends but one held critical information, Mrs. Margaret Smith. The surname Smith was among the relatives listed who were attending the 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration of William and Elizabeth. Margaret was from Washington, Franklin County, Missouri and passed away at the age of 77 years, 9 months and 18 days on 18 December 1905. Research in Franklin County turned up one possibility for Margaret - Mrs. Margaret Schmitt. Thanks to the burial record of her husband John at St. Francis Borgia catholic church, we know that Margaret's maiden name was Klee, which would have been pronounced Clay.

Armed with a new spelling of the family surname, research in the records of Somerset County was more successful. There was a Martin Klee family.

Martin Klee and Frederica Lauer were married, probably in Germany. Sources differ on where they were from. They had at least four children - Margarethe, William, Henry, and Susan. The records of St. John the Baptist Catholic church included the baptism of Martin, an adult convert from the Lutheran Church who was baptized 03 December 1843; William, son of Martin and Frederica Lauer, baptized 07 November 1841; Henry, son of Martin and Frederica baptized 10 March 1845; Susanna, daughter of Martin and Frederica, baptized, 28 August 1847 (she wasn't baptizes as an infant, she was born in 183?); and Maria Catharine born 1 March 1849. There was also a marriage record for Margaret Klee who married Martin Laurence Smith dated 4 June 1845.

The census records included an entry for Martin Kle in 1840 in Stoney Creek Township. He was between 40 and 49 years of age and there were three females in his household - one between 30 and 39 (Frederica) and two under 5 years of age. If Margaret was born in 1828 then she would have been 12 in 1840. The only other daughter that we have records for was Susanna who was born in 1833, she would have been 7. Either the Census was incorrect or there was another daughter that hasn't been identified and Margaret was living somewhere else.

The tax records for Somerset County, Pennsylvania included records for the Klee family. Martin did not own land but paid personal property taxes on one cow valued between $6 and $10 from 1841 through 1845. He was not listed on the tax rolls in 1846 and 1847 but was again listed in 1848 which was the last record found for Martin.

No record was found of the family in 1850. A newspaper article about the Golden Wedding Anniversary of William and Elizabeth says that Martin moved the family to Cumberland, Allegheny County, Maryland when William was a boy of 5 to 6 years old, this could explain the gap in the records for the family between 1848 and 1860.  Cumberland is right across the state line from Somerset County, Pennsylvania. No records of the family have been located in Cumberland until William married Elizabeth Mallon.

By 1860 Martin had probably passed away; Frederica was listed with William and Henry on the census in Allegheny Township, Somerset County, PA. Laurence and Margaret and their six children were listed nearby on the census.

There are tax records in Allegheny Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania from 1861 through 1864 for William Clay. He owned 10 acres valued at $30.00.

The family moved west shortly after William and Elizabeth Mallon were married in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland 11 April 1864. The 1865 Illinois State Census for William Clay in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois includes two women, one age 20-30 and one age 60-70. Elizabeth, William's wife would have been 17 and Frederica would have been about 60 years old.

Frederica was listed with Henry and his family on the 1870 Census; they were living in the 4th Ward of the City of Quincy.

By 1876 Frederica had moved to Washington, Franklin County, Missouri and was living near her daughter Margaret and her family. In 1880 Frederica was enumerated with Margaret's family on the Census in Washington.

The final record found for Frederica was at St. Gertrude's Catholic Church in Krakow, Franklin County, Missouri - a small town about 10 miles from Washington. Frederica Klee, widow of Martin age 82, died 22 March 1886 and was buried on 24 March 1886 in the church cemetery.

Here is a map showing the places where the family lived in the United States.

We still need to determine where in Germany the family came from.

• The 1860 census says that Frederica was from Hanover and her daughter Margaret is listed as coming from Hesse Darmstadt. 
• The 1870 census that Frederica was from Prussia. 
• The 1880 census says that Frederica and Margaretha were from Hessen. 
• There is a ship's passenger list for a Martin and Frederica Klee along with a daughter from Holzheim but the facts don't all match the family so we aren't sure this is the correct immigration record. 

Thanks to records becoming more available some of the mysteries about the Clay family have been solved. 

Sources

US Federal Census Records, 1840 Somerset County, PA; 1860 Somerset County, PA; 1870 Quincy, Adams County, 1870; 1880 Washington, Franklin County, MO - all on Ancestry.com.

Missouri State Census - 1876 Washington, Franklin County, MO. Ancestry.com

Illinois State Census - 1865 Quincy, Adams County, IL. FamilySearch.org

Ledoux, Rev Albert H, Catholic Vital Records of Central Pennsylvania; St John the Baptist Catholic Church, New Baltimore, PA.

Assessment Rolls, 1795-1879; Somerset County, PA; Familysearch.org. 

Catholic Church, St. Gertrude's (Krakow, Missouri); Familysearch.org

Catholic Church, St. Francis Borgia's (Washington, Missouri); Familysearch.org

Find A Grave

Clay Family Tragedy

Henry Clay's son William Henry Clay and his wife Agnes Tucker Clay lost four of their seven children all in the month of November, 1907. The newspapers from Salt Lake City, Utah tell the sad story of the family's tragedy.

Elizabeth, 9 years old, was taken ill. The next day, her brother, Martin, age 12, was stricken. At that time Dr. Gibson believed it to be Scarlet Fever. The home was quarantined by the Board of Health. In the next few days, William F, age 14, became ill followed by the other four children -  Lola, age 16; Josephine, age 13; Rose Ellen, age 10; and John H, age 5.

On November 13, Elizabeth passed away followed by Martin the next day. Both were buried in  Mount Calvary Cemetery on Thursday, November 14. William's illness progressed rapidly and he was totally blind soon afterward and John was losing his eyesight. William died on November 17 and was buried on November 20 in the same cemetery.

The doctors didn't agree on the nature of the illness that the four children succumbed to. Dr. T. C. Gibson brought in three other doctors to consult. It was either Scarlet Fever of a combination of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria.

The other children were all dangerously ill. "With remarkable heroism the father and mother, almost crazed with grief, are endeavoring to save the lives of the other four children by their tender care."
Death visited the house one last time on November 29th when Lola expired.

The family's situation was compounded by the lack of financial resources. William Henry was a carpenter day laborer. "It has taken all that he could earn to support the large family of small children when all went well. Now that sickness has come, there is none left to provide food and medical assistance. As soon as the place was quarantined, the father, too, was kept at home, and the only revenue of the family was cut off, leaving them dependent on charity." Once the situation was brought to the attention of charitable organizations, they brought relief including nourishment and nursing care.

Fortunately, death didn't visit the remaining children for a long time, Josephine, Rose Ellen and John H all lived to adulthood. William, Agnes and their family suffered terribly during the month of November, 1907. The family remained in the Salt Lake City area for a number of years and eventually relocated to California. 

Sources

1. The Inter-Mountain Republican, "Visited by Death For Fourth Time," Salt Lake City, UT, 30 November 1907, page 8. Newspapers.com.
2. The Salt Lake Herald, "Scarlet Fever Desolates Home," Salt Lake City, UT, 21 November 1907, page 9. Newspapers.com.
3. The Salt Lake City Tribune, "Three Deaths in the Family of W. H. Clay," Salt Lake City, UT, 22 November 1907, page 9. Newspapers.com.
4. Salt Lake Telegram,  "Death Makes 3 Visits to Home," Salt Lake City, UT, 21 November 1907, page 3. Newspapers.com.
5. The Salt Lake Herald-Republican, "Physicians Differ on Deadly Malady," Salt Lake City, UT, 23 November 1907, page 8. Newspapers.com
6. Salt Lake Telegram, "All Around Town," Salt Lake City, UT, 12 November 1907, page 6. Newspapers.com. 
7. The Salt Lake Herald, "Two In One Day," Salt Lake City, UT, 21 November, 1907. Transcribed on memorial of Elizabeth Clay on Find A Grave, 182866590. 
8. Utah Death Registers, 1847-1966, State Files 1907003917, 1907003765, 1907003708, and 1907003690. Ancestry.com. 

William Clay and Elizabeth Mallon Clay Celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary

Relatives of William Clay and Elizabeth Mallon Clay gathered in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois to help the couple celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Clay Golden Wedding

William and Elizabeth were married 9 April 1864 at Cumberland, Allegany County, MD at St. Patrick's catholic church by Fr. Brennan. Fifty years later another Fr. Brennan officiated at the mass celebrating their Golden Anniversary at St. Rose of Lima parish in Quincy. 

The couple celebrated on Sunday and Monday, April 12-13th, 1914 surrounded by friends and relatives. Among the relatives that attended were six of the couple's eleven children. John Clay of Chicago, Mrs. Steven Struck (Susan) of Quincy, Mrs. John G Kroner (Mary) of Kansas City, Kansas, Frank Clay of Kansas City, Missouri, and Misses Margaret and Anna Clay of Quincy. Their son Joseph of Chicago was unable to attend. The other four children, John, William, Martin and Annory passed away before they reached adulthood. 

The couple had seven grandchildren who all attended - Helen Elizabeth Struck; W. Lloyd Kroner; John W. Clay (son of John G Clay); Lilian, Margaret, Joseph and Mary Clay (children of Joseph Clay).    

Other relatives that attended were Henry Clay, William's brother from Baring, Missouri; Mr. and Mrs. William Smith and Mollie Smith of St. Louis; Mrs. Kate Foster; and Mary Binsbacher of St. Louis. 

The celebrations were covered in the Quincy newspapers of the day. There was a dinner at 4 o'clock on Sunday followed by mass on Monday morning.  William was 75 and Elizabeth was 73. The couple traveled west from Cumberland, Maryland over forty-five years before and settled in Quincy, which was the end of the railroad at the time. 

Sources

1. Quincy Daily Journal, "Marital Happiness Is Lasting." 11 April 1914 page 8; "Mass Celebrated in Honor of Their Golden Wedding", 13 April, 1914; . Digitized on Newspaper Archive of the Quincy Public Library <http://quincylibrary.org/newspaper-archive/>

2.  The Quincy Whig, "To Celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary," 12 April 1914, page 2. Digitized on Newspaper Archive of the Quincy Public Library <http://quincylibrary.org/newspaper-archive/>

3. Invitation to Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, copy of original given to the author by James Coakley, great-grandson of William and Elizabeth Mallon Clay.

4. Quincy Daily Herald, "Golden Wedding Mr. and Mrs. Clay." 11 April 1914, page 10.  

5. Clerk of Circuit Court, Allegany County, Maryland; Marriage Register Vol 2, page 22 line 8, Marriage of Willliam Clay and Elizabeth Mallon. Visit to courthouse, September 1991.