Clay, the forty-seventh Kentucky county, was formed in 1806 from parts of Floyd, Knox, and Madison Counties. Manchester is the county seat. The county is named for General Green Clay.
The Clay County Clerk, whose duties are numerous and diverse, records and maintains various legal instruments and Fiscal Court records. In addition, the clerk registers motor vehicles (KRS 186.020); issues and records marriage licenses and certificates (KRS 402.080, 402.220, 402.230); and receives, maintains, and reports voter registrations (KRS 116.045, 116.075, 116.095). The county clerk also serves as chair of the county Board of Elections (KRS 117.035) and has a variety of primary and regular election responsibilities.
The Office of County Court was established in each county when Kentucky became a state in 1792. Many of the duties and functions of the new county courts were carried over from those of the existing courts of Virginia, and as such may not have been specified in the Kentucky Constitution or by the Kentucky General Assembly (1792 Acts, Ch. 23, Sect. 6). The stated jurisdiction of the county courts included appointing guardians, recording deeds and wills, and overseeing matters concerning mills and roads. Justices of the peace in each county were appointed by the governor. The justices duties included presiding over a monthly meeting of the county court (1792 Constitution, Art. II, Sect. 8; 1792 Acts, Ch. 23, Sect. 1-4). In 1796, each county court was given the power to erect and maintain a courthouse and a jail (1796 Acts, Ch. 256, Sect. 5).
Each county court was permitted to appoint a clerk (1792 Constitution, Art. VI, Sect. 5). The constitution of 1850 provided for the election of a county clerk, a presiding judge, and two associate judges to four year terms (Art. IV, Sect. 29-30; Art. VI, Sect. 1). The associate judge offices were abolished the next year (1851 Acts, Ch. 419, Sect. 1). The 1891 constitution reaffirmed the election to four year terms of a county judge and county clerk (Sect. 99).
Occasionally, the jurisdiction of the county court was altered by the General Assembly. For example, in 1851 the county courts were given concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in all actions involving sums of over fifty dollars but less than one hundred dollars, and in granting writs in relation to idiots and lunatics (1851 Acts, Ch. 419, Sect. 9, 11). In 1851, the judge of the county court also became judge of the newly created quarterly court in each county (1851 Acts, Ch. 419, Sect. 8). In 1906, a juvenile court was formed as a branch of the county court, with the county judge presiding and the county clerk in charge of its records (1906 Acts, Ch. 64, Sect. 2).
In the 1970s, the General Assembly made significant changes to Kentucky's court system. The office of county judge/executive was created, and the various judicial duties of the county judge and county court clerk were transferred to the circuit and district courts. Since the county judge/executive is in charge of the administrative affairs of the county (1976 Acts, Ch. 20, Sect. 2-6), the title "county clerk's office" is now used to more accurately reflect its present nature.
The county clerk may, except in counties with a city of the first class, serve as clerk of the fiscal court. The county clerk's office also serves as the official repository for fiscal court records (KRS 67.120).
From the description of Agency history. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145414100
