Show GEN CASSIUS M CLAY DEAD famous kentuckian passes away in his N nety fourth year in his for fortress like home at white hall surrounded by his children some of whom had been exiles from their father fathers s house tor for bears ears gen cassius M clay died july 22 the man noted once as a leading abolitionist diplo matist and author and in later years for his choice of a child wife his feuds and his duels had for some mouths months been losing his former rugged health and lately had been restrained on the ground of insanity he was 93 years of age his children were all at his bed side some of them had not been in their fathers father s house or seen him in years because of his peculiar hal hat luct nation that they were in a ven detta sworn to kill him death was due to general decline from old age he was found a few days ago desperately III and since then has had every care riis ills children long estranged because of his eccentricities were again able to be with him the surviving children are brutus J clay prominent in national poll ties tics of richmond miss laura clay noted as an exponent of woman s suf frage lexington mrs dabney cren cron shaw richmond va mrs mary barr clay and mrs james bennett of rich mond ky cassius M clay was a cousin of ot henry clay he was born oct 19 1510 1810 in madison county the son of green clay in 1832 he was graduated from yale college he took an early stand against slavery after hearing a speech by william lloyd garrison and he treed freed his own servants after service in the kentucky legis lature in 1833 and 1839 his anti slavery views caused his defeat and he started a weekly paper the true american at lexington advocating the abolition of slavery his place was often besieged by mobs and finally was ransacked and the whole outfit shipped out of the state clay resumed the publication at cincinnati his name became known throughout the country and hated in the south when lincoln became president clay was appointed minister to rus sla and he did much to hold russia friendly to the united states for a short time he served as major general in the union army then re turned to his post in russia he had also served in the mexican war clay took considerable part in na lional politics he supported greeley mat acia in 1872 and tilden in 1876 then switched to blame blaine in 1884 and taking his last stand as a gold democrat in 1696 clay was married in 1833 to miss mary jane ld of lexington ky she died many years ago they had a family of ten children in 1894 when he was in his eighty fourth year clay entered on the final chapter in his stirring pie the coun try had almost forgotten him when he called attention to himmell by marry ing dora richardson the 15 year old daughter of a poor jamily of his vi cikity this was the signal for hos hog tili ties in the clay family the gener goner als al s sons undertook to use force to bev prevent 0 rit the marriage but the old fighter rallied his servants armed them mounted a cannon in his door vay and proclaimed martial law gen orally around his old homestead whitehall the general won his battle with his sons but he could not keep his wife the child soon became discontented in the gloomy barricaded old house k ME 0 WM the late gen cass us M clay though her aged husband tried to win her with presents of dolls and sweet meats in a few months the girl wife ran away to marry riley brock a rustic youth after many attempts to bring hert he back gen clay divorced his young wife and provided a comfortable home for her and her new husband re bently brock died and the general again sought to make dora his wife but she preferred prefer red to seek fame on the stage clay was determined to leave all his money to her any way but here his family again stepped in and this time succeeded a few days ago in having the old man restrained on the grounds of insanity |