Clay, Cassius Marcellus (1810-1903) Papers, 1844-1907

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903 

Title:  Papers, 1844-1907 

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department. 

Size of Collection:  0.66 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A C619 

Scope and Content Note 

Papers consist of correspondence, 1844-1902, including letters written by him to his wife and children while serving as U.S. minister to Russia, 1862-1869; newspaper clippings containing his letters, 1852-1885, and speeches, 1853-1895, against slavery and U.S. politics; typewritten copy of his speech at Moscow in 1866; manuscript of article, “Labor and Capital,” 1886; clippings of his magazine articles; correspondence of his wife, Mary Jane (Warfield) Clay, 1832-1866; correspondence of his daughter, Mary Barr Clay, including letters, 1879-1902, regarding women’s suffrage from Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Alice Stone Blackwell, and other suffragists; and a scrapbook of Mary Barr Clay, containing newspaper clippings about the Civil War, poems, and cooking recipes. Folder 2 of this collection has been digitized. To view PDF scan, click on the link provided in the folder list below.

Biographical Note 

1810 Born in Madison County, Ky. 

1832 Graduated from Yale. 

1833 Married Mary Jane Warfield of Lexington. 

1835 Elected to the state legislature. 

1845 Began publication of the Lexington True American an antislavery newspaper. 

1846-1847 Served in the Mexican War. 

1861 Appointed U.S. minister to Russia by President Lincoln. 

1862 Appointed major general by President Lincoln. 

1863-1869 Returned to Russia as U.S. minister. 

1903 Died and was buried in Richmond, Ky. 

For more information about Cassius Clay consult the Kentucky Encyclopedia or the Dictionary of American Biography. 

Folder List 

Box 1 

1 Correspondence, 1844-1848.Editorials fromThe True American, 1846. 

2 Correspondence to his family and to Schuyler Colfax, 1862-1869. (click to access PDF)

2a Correspondence, 1862-1869.Autobiographical sketch.

3 Correspondence, 1878-1902.

3a Petition to the president and Congress for a pension for Dora Brock, 1899 Jan.18.

4 Articles: “Labor and Capital,” 1886.“George Washington,” 1892.

4a Poem.

5 Speeches given in Frankfort and Russia, 1862-1866.

6Correspondenceto Mary Jane Clay, 1832-1866. 

7 Mary Barr Claycorrespondence, 1854-1907.

8Correspondencefrom Susan B. Anthony to Mary Barr Clay, 1879-1902. 

9Correspondencefrom Lucy Stone to Mary Barr Clay, 1883-1889. 

10Correspondenceto Mary Barr Clay, 1883-1889. 

11Scrapbook, 1856-1881.

 

Box 2 

12 Newspaper clippings of Clay letters, 1852-1859.

13 Newspaper clippings of Clay letters, 1860-1885.

14 Newspaper clippings and pamphlets of Clay speeches, 1853-1860.

15 Newspaper clippings of Clay speeches, 1861-1866.

16 Newspaper clippings of Clay speeches, 1870-1876.

17 Newspaper clippings of Clay speeches, 1878-1895.

18 Magazine clippings, 1875-1889 andn.d.

19 Newspaper clippings about Clay.Portrait on Berea College pamphlet.Monument in Richmond cemetery. Calling cards and family photographs. 

20 Address given in Lexington, 1843 Aug. 2.Positivephotostat.