The Clay Family

 By Bea Clay Stanley

Joseph Leonard Clay was born January 18, 1887 to William Jiles and Lurania Bentley Clay at Beefhide, Kentucky.  Jiles, “Grandpa,” was born May 7, 1852 to Maston and Nancy Anderson Clay near Myra, Kentucky.  Greatgrandpa, Maston, left for Civil War duties after the birth of his second son, Joseph Leonard Clay, Sr.  His family now resides in Ohio.

Jiles and Lourania’s children:

Rosa, married Sam Mullins, Their children were Lillie Logan, Pressley, Cotella, Andeline, William, Nora, Pearlie and Nila.

Nancy married Ben Wright; children were Pearlie, Lee, Delphia and Vina.

Annie married Alfred Stanley; children were Dacie, William, Corbett, Sally, Ferbie, Woodrum, Dorsey, Opal and Edith.

Vina married James Mathew Stanely; children were Versie, Everette, Annette and Joseph Clyde, “JC.”

Liza married Von Christian; their children were Bethel, Mae, Leonard, Rae, Hazel, Cordella and Pearl.

Leonard, the only son, married Linda Stanley; children were Cecile, Norman, Greathel, Arnold, Beatrice, “Bea,” Sally Lourania, “Lura,” Orleana, Vergie, Leonard Jr., Leo, Eddie, Darrell and Linda Lucille, (who died in infancy).

Vergie, “Dolly,” married A. B. Yates; children were Renie, Grayson, Carl, Morris, Cova, George, “Kip,” Rhea and Henry, Kenneth Giles.

Lurania, “Grandma,” Clay was the daughter of Simeon and Nancy Hall Bentley. Her sisters were Lovina Bentley Austin and Nora Bentley Crigger and her brothers were Joe, Pharoah, Ulysses and Hiram.

We knew more about Uncle Dave and Aunt Vina Austin’s family because they lived at Pound, Virginia and their daughter Nancy married Peter Whitaker and moved to Dickenson County with their family.

Grandma Lourania died in childbirth and Grandpa married Annie Mullins and came to Dickenson County.  They first settled at Darwin, Virginia, then they moved to Caney Ridge and lived in the house nearest Lebanon Old Regular Baptist Church.  We always called it Grandpa’s Church.  After Grandma Annie died, Grandpa came to live with us and was a loved member of our family until his death, October 16, 1938.

On August 31, 1907 Leonard Clay married Linda Stanley, the daughter of Jonathan and Sally Reedy Stanley.

Grandpa Stanley’s brothers and sisters were:

Larkin married Jane Hill; their children were Elcanab,,Lydia, Jennie, J. Roley, Sally Ann and Carolyn.

Betty Stanley married Flat John Mullins

Waitzel married Mary Mullins; their children were Margaret, Love, Bell, Polly, Fayette, Waltz, Dock and Ellen.  Later Waitzel married Mira Counts; their children were Nannie, Etta, Phoebe, Ed, Shirley, Frank, Charley and Barton.

Frank Stanley married Linda White; their children were Melvina, Elvira, Lee and Wiley.  Lee was clerk of Dickenson County for many years.

Lovel Stanley’s children were Riley, Ollie, Sally, Calvin, Kelly, Vina, Cynthia, Ritta and Orlena.

 

The children of Jonathan and Sally Reedy Stanley (Mama’s family) were

Polly Ann Elmira Yates

Nancy Elizabeth Louvina, Jane Ball

Orella Sylvania Allifair Adkins,

Sara Catherine Sofronia Frances Pucket,

Aley Labelia Victoria Ellen Yates,

Bethana Lour Emma Eve Yates,

Malinda “Linda” Lavoda Cordella Josephine Clay,

Joseph William Larkin Stanley,

Isaac Edward Lovel Peter Stanley, Mary Magdeline. “Maggie,” Hale.

Grandma Stanley was the daughter of Peter and Nancy Jane Adams Reedy.  Her brothers and sisters were:

Wilburn, Linville, Granville, Hezekiah, William, Mary Ann “Polly” Wright, Amanda Mullins, Thomas Lee and James Michael.  Many of them lived on Reedy Ridge, part of Caney Ridge named for them.  There is not a single Reedy living there now.

The son of Hezekiah, “Uncle Carr,” was Emory Reedy and his son Clyde Reedy both lived on Reedy Ridge and each was pastor of Peuther Chapel Church.  They had a great influence on the whole community.  Claude Reedy, another son, married Versie Stanley.  Beuna Reedy married Everett Stanley, son of uncle James Matthew and Aunt Vina Clay Stanely.

Grandpa Stanely’s parents were Lovel and Vina Wright Stanley.

 

Leonard and Linda Stanley Clay Family

 

Joseph Leonard Clay and Linda Stanley were married August 31, 1907.  They lived most of their lives on Caney Ridge in Dickenson County, Virginia.  They moved from place to place for timber jobs for a few years.  Their first son died at birth.  Soon after the birth of Cecile and Norman they bought a place on Caney Ridge at Omaha, Virginia.  Greathel and Arnold were born in the original house located in a beautiful orchard with many large Black Hart Cherry trees.  They built a new house more convenient to the road, muddy and rutty as they all were then.  Beatrice (Bea) was the first child born in this house with Lura, Orlena, Vergie and Leonard, Jr. following.

 

The Yates school ground and our yard joined which gave us an early taste of school life.  Alpha Kerr Smith and Lessie Daugherty started many of us in school.  We would slip off from Mama and join the children at recess and the noon hour.  Each of us would go with a sibling quite often.

 

Our parents were doing quite well in the timber business but it was dangerous.  I can remember Papa lying in front of the fireplace to thaw the frozen and stiff legs of his overalls.  We had a grist mill to grind corn into meal in a little mill house. One day Norman and Greathel didn’t go to school but played in the woods.  They were afraid to come home, so the whole neighborhood was out looking for them.  They were behind a log behind the school house and every time Greathel tried to yell “Here we are Mama,” Norman would put his hand over his mouth.  Part of the punishment was locking Norman in the mill house.  I remember standing at the door crying for Papa to let him out.

Papa went into the road contracting business and did right well.  I am told he helped build the Birchfield Road and the old road to Haysi using teams of horses and mules with big hand scrapers.  I saw that being done in 1938 on Caney Ridge near Rugby School where I taught.

 

Later Papa was elected the Commissioner of the Revenue and bought Mama’s old home place, three miles down the road at Millard, Virginia near Bise School and Peuther Chapel Church.  Grandpa Stanley had given everything to Uncle Larkin Stanley and lived with him and they wanted to move to Florida.  One day Papa came home and told Mama her home place was already sold and she cried and cried.  After a few days they learned Grandpa wouldn’t sign the deed because a daughter wanted it.  Now there were many level acres for farming and Grandpa Clay had come to live with us, making fifteen people around the wall to wall table for meals.  He, Mama and the children kept the farm going while Papa worked.  He attended every School Board and Board of Supervisors meeting.  He deeded contracts and several children needed teaching jobs.  Mama had taught before marriage and encouraged each of us.  She would read the Bible to us at night.  We were a very happy family.

 

Leo was the first child born at the new home.  Then followed Eddie, Darrell and Linda Lucille who died at thirteen months.  Mama was an invalid the last twenty years of her life.  They sold the farm to De Sote Rose and move to Florida for her health.  She died in April, 1951.

Twelve children lived to have homes and families of their own.  Eight of them finished the first two years of collage at Hiwassee College Madisonville, Tennessee.  Each child helped the next one in line.  The other two years were finished at East Tennessee State University, Emory and Henry College, Pikeville College and Tennessee Technical Institute.  The first one started to Hiwassee College when Martin Reedy, a relative, was President there.

 

 

Children of Leonard and Linda Stanley Clay

 

Cecile Clay married Francis Mullins; their children were Clyde, Hazel Doris “Lucille,” and Eula Jean.  Cecile died in 1965 and Jean died in September 1991, both with cancer.  Francis died in —– with Parkinson’s disease.  Lucille and husband Sloan Southerlin, were teachers.

Norman married Edith Erwin, both teachers, and their children were Lewis, married Sarah Graham, Bertha Jo Green and Jeannie Wester were all teachers.  Norman died in January, 1986 with a stroke.

Greathel married Ruth Bise and their children were Helen Bea, who married Coeburn Rasnick, Donald, who married Ramonabelle Fleming, Roger who married Cheryl Smith, Clara who married Gene Conley, Gary who married Lois Stanley, Ronald who married Teresa (wrtles ?) and left one daughter, Paige Clay when he was killed in a mining accident,  Bobby who married Reba Fleming, Sammy who married Catherine Counts and Jackie who married Wanda Stidham.  Greathel died November 1976 with lung cancer and Clara, who had a liver transplant, later died in August, 1995.  Clara’s daughter, Gail, was a teacher and died in 2009.

Arnold married Eda Carty, both teachers, and their children were Aileen who married Dr. Ted Hood, a dentist, Gloria who married —- Wallace and later —–Lucchese, Carolyn Sue, who married Don Turner and later ——–.  Carolyn earned a doctorate and was vice president of Prestonsburg Community College.  Arnold died in May 1987 with cancer.

Beatrice (Bea) married Radford (Rad) Stanley, both teachers, and then merchants at Modern Hardware and Furniture Company.  Their children were Patricia Ann, who married Danny Hopkins, both teachers, John is a merchant.

Lura, a teacher, married Lawrence Kiser.  Their daughters were Linda, a teacher, who married Fred Leedy, both teachers and both died of cancer, Thelma Kay is a research chemist.  Harriette married Jerry Mullins and lives with her three children in Ohio.  Lawrence was a television technician during his working years.

Orlena married Conrad Stallard, both teachers, and lived most of their lives in Oregon.  Their children were Donna Jean who married Pete Cruz and was secretary to the governor of Saipan; Jerry married Dianne Hastings who is in the educational field working with foreign students.  Conrad died in 1983.

Vergie married Bernard Boggs and lives at Pound, Virginia. Their sons were Voin who married Irene Hatfield, Grergory who married Lynn Riddle and John, a military man, who married Kathy Horne.

Leonard Jr. married Helen Harvey. Their children were Larry who married Sharon Day and does counselling to prison inmates, Cathy who married Gene Rowland, both teachers; Randy who married Ellie Lincoln, both in the medical field.

Leo married Shirley Harvey and was a computer analyst.  Their children were Debra who married Dr. John Mills, a dentist, Terry who married Wayne Gillispie, Robin who married Larry Oliver and Gigi who married Alan Clark.  They all live in and near Clarksville, Tennessee.

Eddie, who worked in the nuclear field, married Virginia Broyles, a teacher.  Their children were Lucinda, who married Alan Sienkiewicz, both teachers, Lindsey who married Catheryn Shugart and is a computer analyst.

Darrell married Lucille Serfass and worked for the Patent Office in Washington, D.C.  Their daughter Suzanna married Scott Maker, a broker.