Start your family tree. We'll start searching. It's FREE. - Enter a few simple facts about recent generations of your family. We'll use what you enter to try and find more about your family in the world's largest online collection of historical records and family trees.

SEARCH THIS SITE

SEARCH Other States

AL	AZ	AR	CA	CO	CT
DE	FL	GA	ID	IL	IN
IA	KS	KY	LA	MA	MD
ME	MI	MN	MO	MS	MT
NE	NV	NH	NJ	NM	NY
NC	ND	OH	OK	OR	PA
RI	SC	SD	TN	TX	UT
VA	VT	WA	WV	WI	WY

Clay County History and Information

Clay County Facts

See D.O.T. Maps for a Detailed County Map

Clay County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 29, 1858. It was created from parts of Braxton and Nicholas Counties.

The Clay County Seat - The act creating Clay County declared that the county seat was to be located on the McCalgin (or McOlgin) farm, near the mouth of Buffalo Creek. The area was then known as Marshall. The earliest settlers in the area were Colonel W. E. R. Byrne, A. J. Stephenson, Ellis Myer, Clabourne Pierson, and T.B. Stephenson. The local citizens generally referred to the town as Clay Court House, because the courthouse was the town's main reason for existing, and was the town's primary source of social and economic interaction. On October 10, 1863, the state legislature changed the town's name to Henry, honoring Henry Clay. In 1927, the town's name was changed to Clay.

The first county court was held at the residence of Justice William G. Fitzwaters on July 12, 1858. Mr. Fitzwalters, Jonathon Riffle, Josah Hamrick, Norval Shannon, John Jones, John Sands, William Ewing, Levi Rogers and Charles Duffield were named Justices of the Peace. After setting the dates for electing the county government's officials and future court meetings, the county court adjourned. The first public elections were held on the fourth Tuesday of May in 1859. At that time, there were 293 registered voters in the county. Jacob Salisbury was elected county clerk, Clayburn Pierson was elected county surveyor, and Christopher Campbell was elected sheriff. Norval Shannon was later also named superintendent of schools.

Clay county was named in honor of Senator Henry Clay (1777-1852). Born in Hanover County, Virginia on April 12, 1777, his parents moved him to Kentucky as a young boy. He was later lead the Whig political party, and represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate for many years (1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1831-1842, 1849-1852), and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1811-1821, 1823-1825). He was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1811 and served in that capacity until 1814, and again in 1815-1820, and in 1823-1825. He also served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1825-1829, authored the famous "Compromise of 1850," which sought to avoid the Civil War, ran unsuccessfully for President three times (1824, 1832 and 1844), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest legislators in American political history. He advocated funding for internal improvements, including the extension of the National Road to Wheeling. When that road was completed in 1818, Wheeling became a major trading center and rest stop for pioneers heading west. He died on June 29, 1852. See also Extended History for more historical details.

Areas adjacent to Clay County are Calhoun County (north), Braxton County (northeast), Nicholas County (southeast), Kanawha County (west), Roane County (northwest).. Clay County Cities and Towns Include Bentree, Bickmore, Big Otter, Bomont, Clay, Dille, Duck, Fola, Glen, Harrison, Indore, Ivydale, Lizemores, Maysel, Nebo, Ovapa, Pigeon, Procious, Valley Fork, Wallback, Widen

Official County Government/ Community Website
Clay County, West Virginia History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

Clay County Court Records

See Also West Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

Clay County Clerk has Land Records from 1858, Marriage Records from 1858, Probate Records from 1858 and Birth & Death Records from 1858 -Present and is located at the Courthouse, 207 Main Street, P. O. Box 190, Clay, WV 25043; 304-587-4259 ,Fax: 304-587-7329 .
The County Clerk's many duties include some of the following: the issuance of marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, record births, marriages and deaths in the county, serve as the recorder of all documents, prepare and send to all heirs a Notice to Redeem and take care of publications, redemptions or recording deeds with regard to delinquent property, issue military service discharge records and probate wills and assist in administration of estates.

Clay County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1858 and is located at the Courthouse, P. O. Box 129, Clay, WV 25043-0129; 304-587-4256, Fax: 304-587-7329 .
The County Clerk of the Circuit Court's many duties include some of the following: Serve as the Clerk to the Circuit and Family Court, Issue mesne (during the progress of a case) process, Issue final process to enforce and execute judgements, Appoint guardian ad litem where required, Responsible for all papers filed in the office; serve as registrar, recorder and custodian for all pleadings, documents and funds pertaining to cases filed in circuit court and family court, Responsible for the administration and management of the petit and grand jury systems in the county

Since West Virginia was part of Virginia prior to 1863, see Virginia Databases for all records before that date.

Built in 1902, the Clay County Courthouse exhibits an early 20th century eclecticism, reflected in the structure’s combination of classical elements of style. Although the lines of the building are simple, the presence of the Beaux Arts-style domed cupola and Doric-columned portico add grace to the somewhat utilitarian facade. This stone structure was built to replace log buildings that once served as working space for both county court and clerk. Local legend holds that, during quarrying for the new courthouse, loose stones from the quarry fell and demolished the old log structure. Designed by local architect Frank L. Packard and virtually unchanged since its dedication, the Clay County Courthouse retains both its integrity and its place as focal point of the Clay community.

Below is a list of online resources for Clay County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Clay County Court Records by clicking the link below:

West Virginia Marriage Records, 1863-1900
Clay County, West Virginia Court Books at Amazon.com
West Virginia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Clay County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

While people were taxed in Virginia prior to 1782, not many tax lists for that early period have survived, and the originals that have survived are at the Virginia State Library. Colonial period taxes were imposed on the personal property of males who were twenty-one and older, and called "tithables." While there is no comprehensive list or collection of early tax lists, many fragments are printed throughout Virginia genealogical literature

West Virginia has one of the most complete sets of old tax records in existence. Land tax records dating from 1782 to 1936 for all counties, with some through 1959, are available at the Archives and History Library in Charleston. Most county clerks have duplicate copies in their offices. As noted in the section on Virginia, the Virginia State Library has the original unindexed personal property tax records from 1782 to 1863.

Below is a list of online resources for Clay County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Clay County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Clay County, West Virginia Tax Books at Amazon.com

Clay County Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Clay County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Clay County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

The Clay County Landmarks Commission and Historical Society, P. O. Box 670, Clay, WV 25043
Local West Virginia Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
West Virginia Archives and History, The Cultural Center; 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E.; Charleston, WV 25305-0300. Read here before requesting research
Publication: West Virginia History. This facility consists of the library, archives, and a museum containing materials from 1760 to present.
West Virginia Genealogical Society, Post Office Box 249, Elkview, West Virginia 25071
West Virginia Historical Society, PO Box 5220, Charleston, WV 25361
West Virginia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
West Virginia Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Clay County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search West Virginia Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Clay County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Clay County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Many religious groups have deposited their records at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. Church record inventories compiled as part of the Historical Records Survey are available there and at the FHL. For a complete discussion of early church records, see Virginia-Church Records.

The most extensive collection of West Virginia tombstone inscriptions was compiled by the Historical Records Survey. Available at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and on microfilm at the FHL, the collection includes inscriptions through 1939-40. The DAR and others have published volumes of cemetery records.

Below is a list of online resources for Clay County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Clay County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of West Virginia obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a West Virginia newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from West Virginia.
West Virginia Cemetery Readings, 1941
Clay County, West Virginia Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Clay County, West Virginia Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search West Virginia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Clay County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Clay County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Search 60 Years Of Everton Data: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Clay County ] [ West Virginia ] [ Main Page ]
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
West Virginia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Clay County, West Virginia Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

The First Settlers

The first native settlers in central West Virginia (Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Roane, Upshur, and Webster counties) were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of their civilization have been found throughout northern West Virginia, with many artifacts found in the Northern Panhandle, especially in Marshall County.

The following is a brief history overview :

Several thousand Hurons occupied present-day West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s.
During the 1600s, the Iroquois Confederacy (then consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca tribes) drove the Hurons from the state and used it primarily as a hunting ground.
During the early 1700s, the Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, and other Indian tribes also used present-day West Virginia as a hunting ground. West Virginia's Potomac Highlands was inhabited by the Tuscarora. They eventually migrated northward to New York and, in 1712, became the sixth nation to formally be admitted to the Iroquois Confederacy. The Cherokee Nation claimed southern West Virginia.
In 1744, Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster.
The Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee sided with the French during the French and Indian War (1755-1763). The Iroquois Confederacy officially remained neutral, but many in the Iroquois Confederacy allied with the French.
When the French and Indian War was over, England's King George III feared that more tension between Native Americans and settlers was inevitable. In an attempt to avert further bloodshed, he issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Proclamation was, for the most part, ignored.
During the summer of 1763, Ottawa Chief Pontiac led raids on key British forts in the Great Lakes region. Shawnee Chief Keigh-tugh-qua, also known as Cornstalk, led similar raids on western Virginia settlements. The uprisings ended on August 6, 1763 when British forces, under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet, defeated Delaware and Shawnee forces at Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania.
In 1768, the Iroquois Confederacy (often called the Six Nations) and the Cherokee signed the Treaty of Hard Labour and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, relinquishing their claims on the territory between the Ohio River and the Alleghenies to the British.
In April 1774, the Yellow Creek Massacre took place near Wheeling. Among the dead were Mingo Chief Logan's brother and pregnant sister. Violence then escalated intoLord Dunmore's War.
On October 10, 1774, Colonel Andrew Lewis and approximately 800 men defeated 1,200 Indian warriors led by Shawnee Chief Cornstalk at the Battle of Point Pleasant, ending Lord Dunmore's War.
The Mingo and Shawnee allied with the British during the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783). One of the more notable battles occurred in 1777 when a war party of 350 Wyandot, Shawnee, and Mingo warriors, armed by the British, attacked Fort Henry, near present-day Wheeling. Nearly half of the Americans manning the fort were killed in the three-day assault. Following the war, the Mingo and Shawnee, once again allied with the losing side, returned to their homes in Ohio. As the number of settlers in the region grew, both the Mingo and the Shawnee move further inland, leaving western Virginia to the white settlers.

Clay County's European Pioneers and Settlers

Philip Hammond is believed to be the first European to set foot in present-day Clay County. He was a courier sent from Point Pleasant (in Mason County) to Fort Donaldson (in Greenbrier County) after the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. That battle led to the end of Lord Dunmore's War with the Shawnee Indians, led by Chief Cornstalk.

Adam O'Brien was another early Englishman to roam the Clay County area. He reportedly had two wives, one in present-day Braxton County and the other in present-day Clay County. Another early visitor was William Strange. A renowned hunter of fox, buffalo, and bear, he reportedly became lost, or disabled, in the forest, and died at the foot of a large beech tree in 1792 or 1793. Several years later his skeleton, gun, and other personal remains were found. Carved on the tree was the passage "Strange is my name and strange the ground, and strange that I cannot be found." Strange Creek, West Virginia was named in his honor.

Sinnett Triplett may have been the first permanent English settler in the county. He arrived around 1812 or 1813 and camped near present-day Clay. He was soon joined by David McCalgin (or McOlgin). The two men became life-long friends. A few years later, Triplett married and moved away, but, a few years after that, returned to the area.

Jacob Summers built a cabin along the Elk River in 1813. A veteran of the War of 1812, he married a Miss Davis and they had fourteen children. He then had another seven children with his second wife, Eleanor Conrad. Most of Jacob Summers' progeny remained in the county, and, for many years, the Summers' name was the most common name in Clay County.

Important Events in Clay County during the 1800s

The county's first newspaper, the Clay County Star, began publishing in 1883. William D. Gould was the editor, and it was printed at the Clay County Court House.

The opening of the Charleston, Clendenin, Clay and Sutton Railway in 1895 opened up Clay County for further economic development. Until then, the primary means of transportation in the county was rafting along the Elk River. After the railroad opened, the number of rafts traveling the Elk River fell dramatically. However, rafts were still being used to transport people and goods on the Elk River as late as 1927.

The Elk River Coal and Lumber Company was organized in 1904 and soon became the county's largest employer. In June 1919,
the first cars made their way to Calhoun County. The owners were entrepreneurs who visited remote areas and charged local residents ten cents a ride (soon increased to twenty-five cents a ride). They reportedly made $126 in two nights and a day before heading south towards Charleston.