Joseph Clay, Jr. (1765-1811) was a prominent Georgia lawyer, Federalist judge, slaveholder, and minister. Joseph Clay's son, Thomas Savage Clay (1801-1849) attended Harvard, then assumed control of his father's rice and cotton plantations. when Thomas Savage Clay died, he gave his sister, Eliza Clay, control over his plantations and slaves. His son, Thomas Carolyn Clay (1841-1897) attended Yale in 1860 but resigned after the Civil War began. Clay served in the Confederate Army and came back to find his home and property destroyed by Sherman's troops. He married Caroline Matilda Law (1842-1909) and had seven children, including Elizabeth Clay and Thomas Savage Clay II (d. 1949). After years of unsuccessfully planting rice, Thomas Carolyn Clay moved to Savannah in 1887. He spent the rest of his life working as a clerk and participating in the Savannah Port Society as its secretary and treasurer.
From the description of Clay family papers, 1810-1937. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 47164376
