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By Jenna Roberts
Collection Overview
Title: William Hume and Genevieve Johnston Clay Family Papers, 1790-1980
Extent: 0.22
Date Acquired: 02/01/2022
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The William Hume and Genevieve Johnston Clay Family Papers are a collection of personal papers from both the Clay and Johnston families. This collection is separated into 2 series. William Hume Clay is from Winchester, Kentucky and became a tenured professor in the EKU Social Science Department. Genevieve Johnston Clay was born in Tennessee but spent most of her life in Kentucky where she worked in the EKU Library. Her family is from South Carolina and includes several Presbyterian preachers. The first series includes the personal correspodence of William Hume Clay along with several unidentified photos of his family. The second series contains documents from the Pearson family, who were ancestors of Genevieve Clay. There are sermons and personal letters to members of the Pearson family. There are also multiple legal documents from the state of South Carolina including a summons for a law suit and a property deed.
Collection Historical Note
Dr. William Wilson Hume Clay was born in Winchester, Kentucky on October 1, 1940. He graduated from Clark County High School in 1957 and graduated from Eastern Kentucky State College in the early 1960s. He then went to the University of Kentucky where he recieved his masters and doctorate degrees. He began teaching at EKU in the Social Sciences department in the fall of 1966. It was here that he met his wife, Genevieve Johnston Clay. He retired in the 1980s and died April 11, 2013.
Genevieve Johnston Clay was born in Kingsport Tennessee on February 5, 1940. She spent much of her childhood moving from town to town because of her father's career as a Presbyterian preacher. Many of Genevieve's ancestors lived and preached in South Carolina.The family eventually settled in Kentucky where she graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1958. She then attended Southwestern-at-Memphis (now Rhodes College) in 1962 with a BA in Bible. She started working in the EKU Library in the Fall of 1966. She married Dr. William Hume Clay on December 22, 1975. She retired from the EKU Library in 2002 as librarian emeritus. She died in January 17, 2022.
Administrative Information
Repository:
Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives
Acquisition Source:
Johnston, Thomas
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[
Folder OS1],
[
All]
- Box 1
- Barcode: 31234013925811
- Series 1: William Hume Clay
- Folder 1: Flemingsburg Methodist Church Programs, 1959
- Church programs outlining the church services held on June 7, 1959 and April 19, 1959,
- Folder 2: Letters of the Clay Family, 1942-1979
- A collection of letters both sent to and from members of the Clay Family, most beginning to or from William Hume Clay. These are the personal correspondents of the family. The folder is organized starting with the oldest dated letter.
- Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings, 1960, 1963
- Two newspaper clippings, one of which is an article in the Lexington Herald detailing the collegiate success of William Hume Clay. The other is the obituary of his grandmother Mattie Neal Clay.
- Folder 4: Photos
- A collection of photos of unidentified members of the Clay family. There also images of unidentified buildings.
- Folder 5: Prayers of William Hume Clay
- Pages of both prayers written by William Hume Clay and copied prayers William Clay transcribed.
- Series 2: Genevieve Johnston Clay
- Folder 6: Bank Statements, 1869, 1874
- Hand-written receipts of purchases made. These purchases were both personal and church related.
- Folder 7: Church Writings
- A collection of sermons and commentaries on the bible. These sermons were written by Rev. William H. Pearson and Rev. William Franklin Pearson.
- Folder 8: Funeral Cards, 1905, 1914
- Folder 9: Legal Papers, 1791-1924
- Various legal documents including a summons for a lawsuit between A.A. Pearson and Mary Wilson, a deed for a property in South Carolina, and a certificate of annual return.
- Folder 10: Letters to Mother, 1916-1925
- A collection of letters addressed to mother or grandmother. The majority of these personal correspondents are addressed to Eugenia Pearson.
- Folder 11: Letters to Reverend, 1875-1913
- A collection of letters addressed to a reverend and begin with dear brother. The majority of these letters are addressed to Rev. William Franklin Pearson.
- Folder 12: Miscellaneous Papers, 1827, 1835, 1870
- Three documents from the state of South Carolina related to the Pearson Family.
