Following a Family on the Internet
General Odin Green Clay and some of his descendants
By Anne Leyden
From "Old Nick", January, 2009
submitted By Bob Chope
(Updated with new information below the original article)
The internet is an amazing resource that we rely on more and more to gain information on our family histories and greatly expand the information we already have It often corrects misinformation that was given by earlier oral and written sources. Many turn-of-the-century records contain inaccuracies which have been incorporated into our family genealogies.
For example, Campbell Chronicles states of General Odin Green Clay that "His son, Calhoun, married Bettie Lee…. Capt. Calhoun Clay was an officer in the Confederate army and was killed in action; four brothers served in the 2nd Va. Cav. A.N.Va.; his son, Odin, moved with his sisters to St. Paul, Minnesota."
This statement is a confusing mixture of accuracy and inaccuracy. Calhoun Clay was the son of General Odin Green Clay, but he did not marry Bettie Lee. He never married and was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in 1864. It was the general’s son DeWitt Clinton Clay that married Elizabeth Noble Lee and it was DeWitt’s son Odin (the general’s grandson and Calhoun Green Clay’s nephew) that moved to St Paul. Dewitt Clinton Clay died in August 1870 and in 1880 his widow was living in Campbell County with her four daughters.
Elizabeth’s son, Odin Green Clay, had graduated from UVA in 1879 and about 1886 moved to St Paul to practice law. With him were his mother, Elizabeth Noble Lee Clay, and his four younger sisters: Mary Lee, Ann Clayton (Annie C.), Sally Manson, and Elizabeth (Bettie N.).
As a substitute for the 1890 Minnesota census, ancestry.com provides the 1889-91 St Paul City Directory. Odin is listed as "Odin G. Clay and Company" at 97 Globe Building; his business is "real estate." He also has a listing at 354 Summit Avenue, presumably a residence, and "Mrs. Ann E Clay" is with him there. Based on later records, this is probably his mother Elizabeth. Sally and Bettie are not living with Odin but there is a listing for a Sally Clay who boards with Mrs. C.M. Lynn in Highwood Park. Perhaps this is Odin’s sister.
His sister Annie married James Addison Meriwether in 1891 and in 1900 they were living in Logan County, Oklahoma Territory. Later they would move to Springfield, Missouri, where James died in 1935 and Annie in 1948. Both are buried in Maple Park Cemetery in Springfield.
It is fortunate that Minnesota conducted an 1895 Territorial and State Census. Odin, his mother, and sister Mary are living together at 268 Elm Street, St Paul, and his business is real estate. Odin indicates that he has lived in Minnesota for nine years. Elizabeth Noble Lee Clay appears with her son in the 1898 and 1904 Minneapolis city directories and Mary reappears in the 1900 census. By 1898 they have moved to 400 Holly Street and his business remains real estate. By 1900, however, his profession is given as "RR agent." (His mother has taken a year off her age and his sister Mary has dropped two years.) In the 1904 city directory he has begun to work as a field agent for the Great Northern Railway.
The same 1900 census shows that Bettie and Sally have become "inmates" of the Rochester State Hospital in Rochester, Olmsted County, MN. Today we know Rochester because it is the location of the Mayo Clinic, but in 1900 it was the home of the state mental institution which had been founded in 1866.
In 1905 Minnesota conducts its Fifth Decennial Census and the three Clays are still living on Holly Street. [There is an error in the ancestry.com index transcription of this data. The image is difficult to read, but it shows that Elizabeth Clay is seventy-something years old whereas the index states she was born in 1876.]
"Betta N." Clay and Sally Clay are still at the state hospital in Rochester when they were counted on 24 June 1905 in the Fifth Decennial Census. "Bettie has been there for eleven years and one month - since May of 1894". If the census is to be believed, she arrived in Minnesota and immediately went to the state hospital. Sally has been in Rochester for ten years and six months - since December of 1894 - going there only two months after she became a resident of Minnesota. They were already committed in Rochester before the 1895 territorial census was conducted, which explains why they were not in Odin’s household at that time.
"Elizabeth N. Clay" died of pneumonia in St Paul on 1 December 1906. There is a Minnesota death card for her indicating she was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St Paul. There is no question that this is Elizabeth Noble Lee Clay, because her daughter Elizabeth Noble Clay appears in later records. The death card curiously gives Elizabeth Noble Lee Clay*s age at death as twenty-nine, but the other information "matches." She was a female white widow and her father was born in England. This latter is consistent with information given on the 1900 census.
The 1909 city directory describes Odin’s job as "right-of- way-agent," still with the Great Northern Railway, but in 1910 his whereabouts are unknown. His sister Mary was living by herself as a boarder in the Minneapolis household of John F. Fulton. Mary returned to Lynchburg at some point and died there in early April 1919. She was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery on April 7th.
Bettie and Sally were still in mental institutions in 1910, but now they have been separated. Bettie has moved to Anoka, Minnesota, the home of the Anoka State Asylum for the Insane that opened in 1900. Sally is in another institution on the far side of St Paul. By 1920, Sally has also moved to Anoka.
At that time, the asylum housed only female patients. Jo Hogle, writing on a RootsWeb message board indicates that not all the patients there were insane. "It housed people who had all sorts of real or imagined mental illnesses. Back in the early days there was no clear psychiatric treatment and people were locked up in asylums for all sorts of behavior that might be out of the norm, anything from the usual mental illnesses, to children who didn't behave as was expected of them." Some patients were simply indigent.
The record date for the 1920 census was January 1st, but there are two entries for Odin. On January 6th he was counted as a lodger in a "family hotel" in Portland, Oregon. He is a lawyer with his "own office," and is probably traveling on railroad business. He was recorded again on 12 January 1920, unmarried and living by himself in Hingham, Montana. He is an agent negotiating railroad right-of-way: "Ry (sic) Right of way."
Bettie no longer appears in the records in 1920. Sadly, Sally continues to reside in a mental institution. In 1920 and still in 1930 she is at the Anoka State Hospital. Her birthplace is unknown. She has lost her connection to Virginia.
The Minnesota Death Index lists a Sally M Clay who died 4 April 1931. The death certificate itself tells a great deal. Sally was still a resident of the state asylum at Anoka and had been an inmate there since 1910. The primary underlying cause of death is given as "Drowning. Probable accident" but under "if death was due to external causes" is written "Suicide." Her body was found in the Mississippi River in Champlain, which is across the river and downstream from Anoka. She is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Minneapolis on a single lot in the Hewitt family plot.
Odin has remained in Montana and in 1930 is working as a gardener at the Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Warm Springs. He probably did not have TB but rather had no one to care for him and was given lodging there in return for minimal duties. By then he was seventy-five years old. About 1934 he moved to Springfield, MO, to live with his sister Annie and he died in Springfield of broncho-pneumonia on 3 May 1940. His death certificate indicates he was born in 1856 rather than 1855 and gives his mother’s name as Elizabeth Mabel Lee. Under "other conditions" is "senility." This may have been a factor in his residence at the Montana sanitarium. Odin’s body was cremated in Kansas City, MO, and the ashes were returned to St Paul where they were interred in Oakland Cemetery next to his mother’s grave.
And where is poor Betty? There was a cemetery at the Anoka asylum, but the markers have been removed and I have been unable to find any record of the burials there. Since Betty was in state care, there was probably no death certificate per se issued for her. We know about Sallie’s death only because she did not die at the asylum. Were they insane? Probably not. Following the family has left unanswered questions as part of a very sad story.
- Elizabeth Noble Lee Clay (5/9/1826 * 12/1/1906) d. Minneapolis, MN
- Odin Green Clay (1/25/1855 - 5/3/1940) d. Springfield, MO
- Mary Lee Clay (Dec 1856 * Apr 1919) d. Lynchburg, VA
- Anne Clayton Clay Meriwether (6/1/1858 - 5/23/1948) d. Springfield, MO
- Sallie Manson Clay (11 October 1861 * 4 April 1931) d. Champlin, MN
- Elizabeth N (Bettie) Clay (ca. 1865 - After 1910)
Sources:
Early, Ruth Hairston, Campbell Chronicles and Family Sketches (Lynchburg, VA: JP Bell Company, 1927), 375.
Davies of Pebbleton.org (this web site)
Ancestry.com, 1880 United States Federal Census: Brookville,Campbell,Virginia; Roll:T9_1358; FamilyHistoryFilm:1255358; Page:39.1000; EnumerationDistrict:4, Line 28 [Name indexed as "Elizobeth"]
Smith, Zachary Frederick and Clay, Mary Katherine Rogers, The Clay Family, (Louisville, KY: JP Morton and Company, printers to the Filson Club, 1899), 113. [Available on Google Books]
Ancestry.com, St. Paul, Minnesota City Directories, 1889-91.
The Meriwether Society, Inc, TMSI Research Database
Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census: Seward, Logan, Oklahoma; Roll: T6231339; Page:2B, Lines 61 and 62
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1957, [Name indexed as "Mariwether"], , Certificate #32428
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1957, Certificate #16019
Ancestry.com, Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905
Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census: St Paul Ward 7, Ramsey, Minnesota; Roll: T623 784; Page: 14A, line24 [Name indexed as "Adin G"]
Ancestry.com, R.L. Polk & Co.'s St. Paul city directory, 1904
Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census: Rochester Ward 2, Olmsted, Minnesota; Roll: T623 779; Page: 3B, Lines 52 and 59
Ancestry.com, Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, [1905] Ramsey County, St Paul Ward 7, Roll: MNSC_47, Lines 16-18
Ancestry.com, Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, [1905] Olmsted County, Rochester Ward 2, Roll: MNSC_139, Lines 1 and 23
Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Death Certificate Index.
Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census; St Paul Ward 7, Ramsey, Minnesota; Roll: T623 784; Page: 14A, Line 25
Ancestry.com, R.L. Polk & Co.'s St. Paul city directory, 1909
Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census: Minneapolis Ward 8, Hennepin, Minnesota; Roll: T624_703; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 133; Image: 78, Line 81 [Name indexed as *Mary Clare*]
Spring Hill Cemetery Records at the Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, VA
Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census: Anoka Ward 3, Anoka, Minnesota; Roll: T624_689; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 246; Image: 389, Line 22
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census: Hastings Ward 4, Dakota, Minnesota; Roll: T624_695; Page: 26A; Enumeration District: 22; Image: 209, Line 48 [Name indexed as Dollie M]
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census: Anoka Ward 3, Anoka, Minnesota; Roll: T625_822; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 657, Line 36
Hogle, Jo, [MINNESOTA] Anoka facility by MNGenLdy@aol.com, message #1041261309 of 30 December 2002 at RootsWeb Minnesota-L Archives.
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census: Portland,Multnomah,Oregon; Roll:T625_1499; Page:5A; EnumerationDistrict:15; Image:88, Line 8
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census: Hingham, Hill, Montana; Roll: T625_971; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 129; Image: 846, Line 60
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census: Anoka Ward 3, Anoka, Minnesota; Roll: T625_822; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 657; Line 36 [Name indexed as *Dallie M*]
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census: Anoka, Anoka, Minnesota; Roll: 1078; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 483.0; Line 75
Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Death Certificate Index.
Minnesota. St Paul. Division of Vital Statistics. Sally Manson Clay certificate #5061
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census: Warm Springs, Deer Lodge, Montana; Roll: 1255; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 5; Image: 50.0, Line 18
Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1957, Certificate #18397
Editor's Note:
Anne Leyden is a Davies as follows:
Nicholas Davies and Catherine Whiting Clayton >
Henry Landon Davies and Anne Whiting Clayton >
Arthur Landon Davies and Elizabeth Whiting Pryor >
Ann Bowyer Clayton Davies and John Michael Carter >
Martha Brodnax Carter and John Cabell Cobbs >
Lucy Landonia Cobbs and John Marshall Steptoe >
Hampden Early Steptoe and Mary Lowe >
Anne Elizabeth Steptoe and Thomas H. Lewis (the parents of Anne Leyden)
Editor's Update (August, 2010) - we received the following email message from Carrie Hatler:
I have been researching the Anoka State Hospital for the National Register of Historic Places and ran across your webpage (the article above) that talks about your relatives that were patients at Anoka. While looking through patient ledgers I found a couple entries for Sallie Clay and one mention of Bettie that I thought might interest you. What I didn't find may be just as interesting, there is no record of Bettie dying at the hospital, nor is she buried at the cemetery on the grounds of the hospital. Actually, the ledger states she was "paroled" on May 22, 1911. There is no record of her returning to the hospital before 1935, when these ledgers ended. Her parole was the only mention of her that I found. I should point out these ledgers run a daily record of the number of patients and make notes when a patient is admitted (this is often just noted as something like "received 50 females from St. Peter" or similar depending on hospital), died, escaped, returned or was paroled. The ledgers run from 1900 to 1935, after that they moved to monthly ledgers that contain much less information.
There was a bit more information on Sallie, the ledger states she was paroled on January 8, 1914 but returned on January 23, 1914. On November 19, 1930 there is an entry stating Sallie "eloped." The next entry with her name was April 4, 1931 that says "Body of Sallie M. Clay who escaped November 19, 1930 was found in the Mississippi River 4/4/31." I also found a mention of her body being found in the Anoka Union newspaper.
I have made photocopies of these ledger pages for you, if you'd like I can send them to you. I also have a blog about the hospital that has some historic photos (Anoka Asylum Project) and a Flickr page with current photos (Anoka Asylum Photo Gallery) if you're interested in seeing what is there today.
I'd love to know if you find out what happened to Bettie after she left Anoka, if you find something or need me to look for something for you just let me know.
The message above was forwarded to several Davies Famiy members, but none of them know what happened to Bettie after she left Anoka in 1911. Anne Leyden, who wrote the original article above, responded as follows:
Bettie had a first cousin who lived in Minneapolis and I checked census info for his family hoping Bettie might have moved in with them. Nothing. I haven't found her in any census later than 1910. Perhaps a Minneapolis city directory for 1911-1912? Bettie's sister Mary had moved from Minneapolis back to Virginia some time between 1900 and 1910 when she is found living in Lynchburg. Lynchburg had city directories - perhaps Bettie is there. She may have died before the 1920 census. She is not, however, buried in the Clay family plot in Lynchburg.
Unless we can find a death record for Bettie - perhaps once FamilySearch gets everything online - the last information we will have for her may be that parole date. Where would she have gone? Would she have stayed in Minneapolis? Gone to her sister Ann in Missouri or her sister Mary in Virginia? Probably wouldn't have joined her brother Odin out west as he was traveling. She is not buried in Spring Hill which makes me think it unlikely she returned to Lynchburg.
Here's the information I have about Bettie Clay's cousin Cyrus Douglas Clay and his wife, Myrtle Peaslee.
Cyrus b. 4 Mar 1874 d. 29 Aug 1944 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN; buried in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, 1 Sep 1944
Myrtle Peaslee b. 1877 in Minnesota d. 9 April 1951 in Minneapolis; buried in Lakewood Cemetery 11 Apr 1951
In 1920 Cyrus and his wife were living with her parents - no Bettie in the household. The 1920 census shows Cyrus and Myrtle with three natural children: Charles D born ca. 1909, George P born ca. 1913, William R born ca 1915 and Virginia (adopted) born ca. 1906. In 1930 Cyrus and Myrtle seem to have inherited the Stevens Avenue house from her parents; they also have a new son - Cyrus born ca. 1922.
Regarding their children - from the SSDI and Lakewood Cemetery
Charles D Clay b. 10 Dec 1908 d. 28Oct 1983 in Minneapolis; buried Lakewood Cemetery 4 Nov 1983. His wife, another Myrtle - Myrtle Hovre Clay - is also buried in Lakewood Cemetery. There is no doubt she was Charles' wife as per the 1930 census. She was born 22 Jan 1906 (Minnesota Death Index) and died 22 Dec 1966, buried 27 Dec 1966. She was born in Wisconsin, her father born in Norway and mother in Wisconsin."
George P Clay b. 6 Jan 1911 d. 21 May 1990; no death location given but SS number issued in Minnesota. He's on Find A Grave - buried Fort Snelling National Cemetery - PFC in the US Army
William Reed Clay b.24 July 1915 d. 1 August 1973; no death location given but SS number issued in Minnesota. Also on Find A Grave in Fort Snelling, PFC in the army. And his wife, also buried at Fort Snelling: Doris Marie Clay b. 16 Apr 1914 d. 30 Oct 1999, wife of William as per VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Cyrus James Clay b. 26 Aug 1921 d. Sept 1983. He is listed as JAMES in the SSDI; died in St Petersburg, FL; SS number issued in Minnesota.
My head is spinning with all these Clays. And still no Bettie.
Perhaps someone who knows what happened to Bettie Clay will find this web page and contact us.