Joseph Clay papers, 1767-1800

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Summary

Creator:
Clay, Joseph, 1741-1804
Abstract:
Joseph Clay was a businessman, slave trader, and politician in Savannah, Georgia, during the late 18th century. The Joseph Clay papers consist of a few letters and legal documents related to or written by Joseph Clay, including one referring briefly to the acquisition of two enslaved men from Jamaica, and an unbound volume of depositions regarding the seizure of the brigantine Bachelor, suspected of supplying British troops in South Carolina in late 1782.
Extent:
.1 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13119

Background

Scope and content:

The Joseph Clay papers consist of a few letters and legal documents related to or written by Joseph Clay. Included are: one note or letter fragment, likely written by Joseph Clay, referring briefly to the acquisition of two enslaved men from Jamaica, whom he intends to sell; a letter from Abraham Baldwin (then U.S. Senator from Georgia) to Joseph Clay regarding Clay's brother Joseph, then Postmaster General of the U.S.; and an unbound volume of depositions given before Joseph Clay as a U.S. District Court judge regarding the seizure of the brigantine Bachelor, suspected of supplying British troops in South Carolina in late 1782. Also included are a few legal documents and letters, including one from Edward Telfair, then Governor of Georgia.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Clay was a businessman, slave trader, and politician in Savannah, Georgia, during the late 18th century. He was born in England in 1741 and moved to Savannah in 1760. He was part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, awarded the rank of Colonel and serving as paymaster general of Georgia. After the war he was elected treasurer of Georgia and was judge of the United States Court for the District of Georgia 1786-1801.

Clay founded an import business with his cousin James Habersham, Jr., which imported enslaved people into Georgia, claiming many were direct from Africa, especially The Gambia. He also owned enslaved people himself.

Joseph Clay was married to Ann Legardere Clay and had four children, Joseph Clay Jr., Mary Clay Cuthbert, Elizabeth Clay Young, and Catharine Clay Stiles. He died in 1804.

Sources: Joseph Clay (Georgia soldier), Wikipedia, viewed 2025 January 29, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Clay_(Georgia_soldier)

"Princetonians in Georgia", Princeton and Slavery site, viewed 2025 January 29, https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/princetonians-in-georgia

Wikipedia entries for James Habersham Jr., Abraham Baldwin, and Joseph Habersham, viewed 2025 January.

Joseph Clay in Findagrave.com, viewed 2025 January 29.

Acquisition information:
The Joseph Clay papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in 1966, 1972, and unknown.
Processing information:

Processed by Tracy M. Jackson, 2025 January

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joseph Clay papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m18m9c