Clay family memorabiliaMSS.94.5Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections

Arthur J. Morris Law Library580 Massie RoadUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia 22903archives@law.virginia.eduURL:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-05-21 11:01:25 +0000.Description is written in: English, Latin script.Describing Archives: A Content Standard Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Clay family memorabilia Clay family MSS.94.5 Archival Resource Key Previous Archival Resource Key Previous Archival Resource Key Previous Archival Resource Key /repositories/4/resources/695 16 items 1892-1925 English Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to the Law School by the Clay family through the UVA Foundation in October of 1994.

 Biographical / Historical

Buckner Clay was one of the younger members of the distinguished Clay family of Kentucky, and the early associations of his life and the beginning of his career as a lawyer were in old Bourbon County.

He was born near Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, 31 December 1877, son of Col. Ezekiel and Mary (Woodford) Clay. He is a descendant of John Clay, who came to America from England in the first years of the Virginia colony.

Col. Ezekiel F. Clay, father of Buckner Clay, was a son of Brutus J. and Amelia Clay, and was born in Bourbon County, 1 December 1840. He left college to enter the Confederate army, became a colonel of cavalry, and was an officer until taken prisoner in the spring of 1864. After the war, he settled on his estate, known as Runnymede, in Bourbon County, a place he made celebrated as the home of some of the finest Kentucky thoroughbreds. Col. Ezekiel Clay married, in 1866, Mary L. Woodford, a daughter of John T. and Elizabeth (Buckner) Woodford, representing another noted family of Kentuckians. The fourth of their six children was Buckner Clay.

Buckner Clay graduated from Kentucky University AB with the class of 1897, and received his degree in law from the University of Virginia in 1900. He was admitted to the bar at Paris, Kentucky, but in June 1903 went to Charleston, where for a number of years he was the junior member of the law firm of Price, Smith, Spilman & Clay.

 Memorabilia photographs Clay, Buckner, 1877-1923 Gold (18k) pocket watch with initials "WC" on case, inscribed "Woodford Clay from Mother, Sept. 20 - 1892"Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75583Sept. 20 - 1892MSS 94-53 U.Va. Law Diplomas belonging to Buckner Clay, 2 dated 1899, and 1 dated 1900; signed by William M. Lile and Raleigh C. MinorArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/755841899-1900MSS 94-5Silver urn with horn handles; black wooden standArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75585MSS 94-5Framed photo of Ezekiel Field Clay and his motherArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75586MSS 94-5Matted photo of "Mr. Spilman"Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75587MSS 94-5Oil portrait of Buckner Clay, painted by Wilford S. Conrow, 1925; 47" wide, 41.5 " tall; gold frame with light mounted aboveArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/755881925MSS 94-5Shot gun manufactured by L.C. Smith, in black and white caseArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75589MSS 94-5Bronze memorial plaque honoring Buckner Clay's work for the Edgewood Country Club (no date), along with a photograph of the plaqueArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75590MSS 94-5Wooden box with hinged lid (11 x 25 x 6.5 cm) made from ash grown on the estate ("Ashland") of Henry Clay. Contains an unmounted brass plate bearing name "Juliet Staunton Clay"Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75591MSS 94-5Engraving of Major General Cassius M. Clay (from a photograph by Brady) in oval wooden frameArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75592MSS 94-5Engraving of John Marshall in oval wooden frameArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75593MSS 94-5Photographs of Buckner Clay alone (3) and with Buckner, Jr. (3)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75594MSS 94-5Obituaries of Buckner Clay from various newspapers and in typescript by "M.J."Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75595MSS 94-5Printed program for testimonial dinner for Buckner ClayArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75596June 15, 1914MSS 94-5Printed memorial for Buckner ClayArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/75597[1923]MSS 94-5Ten dollar gold coinArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/755981899MSS 94-5