NOTES
PART I
1. Clay, Clay Family, 63–88; Clay Family Belcher Genealogy, “Clay Family.” There are many sources published and unpublished, both online and in various books, that contain this information. These are just two of them.
2. Clay, Clay Family, 63–88; Clifton’s Collectibles Genealogy, “Neale’s Clays.” There are many sources published and unpublished, both online and in various books, that contain this information. These are just two of them.
3. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 17.
4. Ibid.
5. Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches, vol. 2, 143.
6. Clay, Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay, xi.
7. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 46.
8. Ibid., 39.
9. Payne, Frontier Memories III, 51.
10. Ibid.
11. This quote has often been credited to the showman P.T. Barnum. However, the banker David Hannum was more than likely the man who said the famous phrase in reference to the knock-off that Barnum created of the Cardiff Giant. Ironically, the Cardiff Giant also turned out to be bogus. It was created by George Hull (who claimed to have excavated the stone being) and purchased by Hannum and a group of investors.
12. Madison County Court Order Book B, 125. Green Clay initially studied under commissioned surveyor James Thompson; Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches, 142.
13. Madison County Court Order Book C, 15–16.
14. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 45.
15. Cassius M. Clay to Sidney P. Clay, June 11, 1820, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
16. Madison County Court Order Book B, 290–95.
17. Lexington Reporter, “Taverns to Rent.” Green Clay had the advertisement: “Taverns to rent at Estill Court House and the Sweet Spring…The houses are large, new and well-furnished…the great resort of people to the Sweet Springs, which are within a half mile of the Court House, where all the leading roads to the upper country centre, make these places very valuable for public houses.”
18. Madison County Court Order Book B, 125.
19. Madison County Court Order Book C, 484.
20. Madison County Court Order Books A and B.
21. Kentucky Court of Appeals Deed Books, January 1814, 325.
22. Old Kentucky Series Land Deeds, 1805–28, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives.
23. Ibid.
24. Madison County Court Order Book D, 310–12, 356, 374.
25. Commonwealth of Kentucky Circuit Court, “Bledsoe & Clay,” private collection. Copy of reference in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
26. French Tipton Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Eastern Kentucky University, vol. 1, 40, 53.
27. General Green Clay will, dated September 3, 1828, proved November 3, 1828, Madison County Court Order Book D, Richmond, Kentucky, 465. Copy in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
28. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 41.
29. Ibid., 41–42.
30. Green Clay will, Madison County Court Order Book D, 465.
31. Leslie R. Miller to Lashé D. Mullins, September 4, 2008, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
32. Clay Family Belcher Genealogy, “Clay Family.”
33. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 22.
34. Ibid., 23.
35. Ibid., 41.
36. Ibid., 24.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid., 21.
39. Ibid., 21–22.
40. Ibid., 21.
41. Ibid.
42. Harding, George Rogers Clark and His Men, 113.
43. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 44.
44. Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches, 776.
45. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 39.
46. Ibid., 46.
47. Ibid., 45.
48. Ibid., 38.
49. Green Clay to Sally Clay, January 8, 1820, Green Clay Collection, Filson Historical Society.
50. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 40.
51. Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches, 521. Tanner’s station is listed as being “80 yards nearly east of Gen. Cassius M. Clay’s residence, six miles north-west of Richmond; settled by John Tanner in 1781, but Station not built until 1782.”
52. Clay, “Whitehall,” 3.
53. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 20.
54. Ibid., 35.
55. Ibid., 40.
56. Green Clay to Helen, August 24, 1947, private collection. Copy in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
57. Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches, 523.
58. Heflin, Clay’s of White Hall, 3.
59. Green Clay will, Madison County Court Order Book D, 465.
60. Written on the inside cover of an original copy of Cassius M. Clay’s Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, vol. I: “Fort Gen. Green Clay—Now ‘White Hall, Ky.’ 10 25 1899,” White Hall State Historic Site.
61. Mary Jane Warfield Clay, Cassius’s first wife, makes reference to “the farm” in numerous letters from the 1840s.
62. Tate and Fitzsimons, “Initial Study.”
63. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 42.
64. Green Clay will, Madison County Court Order Book D, 465.
65. Cassius M. Clay to Sidney P. Clay, June 11, 1820, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
66. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 41.
67. Ibid., 45.
68. Clay, “Whitehall,” 7.
69. Cassius M. Clay to Sidney P. Clay, June 11, 1820, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
70. Wikipedia. “Clay County, Kentucky.”
71. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 38.
72. Green Clay will, Madison County Court Order Book D, 467.
73. Ibid., 465.
74. Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, restricted collection. Copy in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
PART II
75. Many people today will ask if the famous boxer Muhammad Ali was named after Cassius M. Clay the emancipationist. Technically, Ali was named after his father, Cassius M. Clay Sr., as Muhammad Ali’s birth name was Cassius M. Clay Jr. However, it is believed that both men acquired their name because of the original Cassius. A follow-up question is generally, “Was Ali and his family connected in any way with Cassius M. Clay the emancipationist?” Some would speculate that Muhammad Ali’s ancestors were slaves of Cassius M. Clay. Others claim that they are direct descendants. In reality, solid supporting documentation has not been found at this point that directly relates the two houses. Having said that, research in African American roots in the United States is difficult at best. In reviewing Muhammad Ali’s genealogy, there simply is no concrete evidence that Ali is a blood relation of Cassius or a descendant of slaves once owned by him. The name coincidence may have simply been in honor of the original Cassius M. Clay and nothing more.
76. Clay, Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay, xii.
77. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 22, 34.
78. Ibid., 47.
79. The Transylvanian, “Burning of the Main Building,” 452–54.
80. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 164.
81. Ibid., 55.
82. Ibid., 23.
83. Ibid., 25.
84. Ibid., 25–26.
85. Commonwealth v. Mary a Slave, May 18, 1820–October 10, 1821, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
86. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 27.
87. Commonwealth Warrant of Reprieve, November 16, 1821, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
88. Madison County Court Order Book D, 464.
89. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 25.
90. Ibid., 45.
91. Ibid., 27.
92. Ibid., 25.
93. Smiley, Lion of White Hall, especially 48 and 57, discusses this topic well.
94. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 25.
95. Clay, Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 292
96. Madison County Court Order Book D, 462.
97. Cassius M. Clay to John G. Fee, 1855, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
98. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 559.
99. Ibid., 560.
100. There are several letters in which Cassius discusses the issue of slavery to his brother Brutus, and almost in the same breath, Cassius would ask his brother if he could use his slaves. Perhaps these were trust slaves, and Cassius felt somehow entitled.
101. Commonwealth v. Emily, April 15, 1845, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky. Emily was acquitted of this crime, but she was still sold south by Cassius. Clay discussed Emily and his reasons for selling her in his Memoirs, 559–65.
102. New York Times, “Cassius M. Clay’s Ready Pistol”; Courier-Journal, “Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury.” Cassius discussed Perry White in his Memoirs, 560–69.
103. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 106.
104. Ibid., 58.
105. The most famous racehorse that Elisha Warfield would breed was Lexington. Although a great racehorse that won six out of his seven starts, Lexington’s real claim to fame was that he was the leading sire in the latter part of the nineteenth century in North America sixteen times. Lexington’s bones belong to the Smithsonian. For further reading, try Clark, “Dr. Warfield’s Colt Lexington,” The Kentucky, 266–81.
106. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 66.
107. Ibid., 47.
108. Clay, “Dora, My Child Wife.” In this article, Cassius wrote, “I am six feet high in socks and slippers without heels.” In the summer of 2012, an analysis was done on Cassius’s height. Dimensions were taken from a photograph of Cassius M. Clay standing in military dress, with a presentation sword at his side. The sword, which White Hall owns, was measured and then the size converted into the photograph. Based on the size of the sword in comparison to the size of Clay in the picture, it was determined that Cassius was about five foot eight. It’s possible that Clay could have been exaggerating; however, his father, Green, was also rather tall, according to Collins’ Historical Sketches.
109. Ibid. Clay stated, “I have weighed, throughout the prime of life, 183 pounds.”
110. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 162.
111. Ibid., 35.
112. Ibid., 67–68.
113. Ibid.
114. Marriage Book Number 1, Fayette County Courthouse, Lexington, Kentucky, 115. Cassius and Mary Jane were married on February 26, 1833.
115. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 71–73.
116. Ibid., 74.
117. Lancaster, Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky, 145.
118. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 73.
119. Louisville Courier-Journal, “Peaceful End.”
120. Even while he was alive, there were legends floating around about Clay’s fighting nature. Clay debunked one of these myths in his Memoirs, 75. “The legend goes, and was so illustrated by an engraving, that I placed a pistol on the book-board, and a Bible by its side saying: ‘For those who obey the rules of right, and the sacred truths of the Christian religion, I appeal to this Book; and to those who only recognize the law of force, here is my defense,’ laying my hand upon my pistol. Thus related, it would seem that I had made a prepared and threatened exhibition of my courage and prowess, when, in fact, I was exerting all my powers of appeal and argument to avoid a conflict; for such avoidance was victory. Had I laid my pistol on the book-board, some enemy was most likely to seize it. I had by carpet-bag with my arms and notes, as usual, at my feet, unseen; and the Bible on the board was always left there in the country meeting-houses.”
121. Ibid.
122. Sally Lewis Clay Dudley to Cassius M. Clay, August 2, 1840, J.T. Dorris Collection.
123. For the full description in Cassius’s words regarding the Robert Wickliffe duel, see Clay’s Memoirs, 80–82.
124. Dudley to Clay, August 2, 1840.
125. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 82.
126. For Cassius’s view on the Samuel Brown fight, see Clay’s Memoirs, 82–85.
127. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 84.
128. Clay v. Commonwealth, September 19, 1843, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives.
129. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 86–90.
130. This had been done in the past to other antislavery publications. Clay was well aware of the risk, as he mentions on page 106 of his Memoirs.
131. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 107.
132. Ibid., 109
133. Ibid., 175.
134. Ibid., 108.
135. Observer & Reporter, “Gen. C.M. Clay’s Arrival.” In this article, there is a description of the welcome Cassius received when he returned home from the Mexican-American War.
136. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 167.
137. Ibid.
138. For Cassius’s words on the Cyrus Turner fight, check out his Memoirs,184–86.
139. In numerous letters to Mary Jane, Cassius never failed to mention at the end of his letters to “Kiss Annie” for him, as well as remembering him to the other children.
140. Filson Club History Quarterly, “Biography of Cassius M. Clay,” 254–55.
141. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 570–71.
142. Ibid., 212.
143. Cassius may have given Fee all of the credit in his 1886 Memoirs, but a decade later, he would have a battle of words with Fee in the newspapers over who deserved accolades concerning Berea College. In an August 22, 1896 article, “Grows Warm,” from an unknown paper, Fee claimed that “for the last forty years he has been the leading spirit of that famous institution.” This is in retaliation for Clay’s statement made in an earlier publication that Clay was the “undisputed founder, donor and defender” of the college.
144. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 232.
145. Ibid., 233.
146. Ibid.
147. Ibid., 324.
148. Ibid., 249–57.
149. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Katy, March 12, 1861, Special Collections and Archives, University of Kentucky.
150. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 269–72.
151. Ibid., 299.
152. Simon Cameron wanted to pass a policy that allowed fugitive slaves into armed military service, a view too radical at the time for Lincoln.
153. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 310.
154. Ibid., 310–12.
155. Ibid., 312.
156. Ibid., 236–37.
157. Ibid., 238.
158. Clay, Oration of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 3.
159. Cassius M. Clay’s tombstone reads that he was born on October 10, 1810, and died on July 23, 1903. In reality, Clay was born on October 19, 1810, and died on July 22, 1903.
160. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, March 25, 1863, Special Collections and Archives, University of Kentucky.
161. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 107.
162. Lancaster, “Major Thomas Lewinski,” 19.
163. Coleman, Sketches of Kentucky’s Past, 71.
164. Lancaster, “Major Thomas Lewinski,” 13. McMurtry apprenticed for a short time with architect Gideon Shryock.
165. Fountain City Tennessee History, “Fountain City Places that Made a Difference—Botherum.” Although this website mainly deals with certain buildings of architectural interest in Lexington, Kentucky, there is also some information regarding builders of the time.
166. Lancaster, Back Streets, 79–80. Lancaster relates that McMurtry makes this claim in “Observations on Architecture,” published in the Lexington Daily Press on June 2, 1887.
167. Lancaster, “Metamorphosis of Clermont,” 10.
168. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 23, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
169. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, November 27, 1863, and Brutus Clay to Laura Clay, February 4, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection. The 1863 letter has Mary Jane stating, “There were secrets in my letters which was the reason I wanted any letters burned. You are fond of secrets & therefore I wrote to you.” In the 1866 letter, Brutus mentioned to Laura that Mary Jane (again) wants Laura to burn all of her letters.
170. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 18, 1863, Esther Bennett Collection.
171. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, January 25, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
172. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, March 13, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
173. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
174. Sallie Lewis Clay to Laura Clay, April 29, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
175. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 23, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
176. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, June 3, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
177. Brutus Junius Clay to Laura Clay, November 19, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
178. Clay, “Whitehall,” 5.
179. Sarah Lewis Clay to Laura Clay, December 5, 1864. Letter on loan from Bennett family, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
180. Mary Barr Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, January 12, 1865, Esther Bennett Collection.
181. Sarah Lewis Clay to Laura Clay, October 18, 1865, Esther Bennett Collection.
182. Cornelia Walker Clay to Laura Clay, December 3, 1865, Esther Bennett Collection.
183. Sarah Lewis Clay to Laura Clay, January 14, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
184. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, January 20, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
185. Mary Barr Clay Herrick to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, January 18, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
186. Laura Clay to Mary, June 19 and 20, 1861. Original location unknown, copy in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
187. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Jule, October 28, 1861, Bill Scott Collection.
188. Ibid.
189. Ibid.
190. This room is set up in the museum today as having a sink in it. A recently discovered photograph shows the original wooden structure to have been too low to serve as a sink. Because of the height placement, some believe that the room actually had a toilet or urinal in this room. However, because the door will not shut and give the person privacy, the most reasonable explanation for this room’s usage is that of a wastewater disposal area.
191. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
192. Mary Barr Clay to Laura Clay, November 12, 1863, Esther Bennett Collection.
193. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
194. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, October 18, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
195. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
196. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 11, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
197. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, March 24, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
198. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
199. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, January 14, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
200. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 13, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
201. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
202. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, March 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
203. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 13, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
204. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, April 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
205. Cassius M. Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, December 15, 1864, original location unknown.
206. Ibid.
207. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 27, 1866, Esther Bennett Collection.
208. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, undated, Esther Bennett Collection.
209. Ibid.
210. The Beverly Hillbillies comedy show ran on CBS from 1962 to 1971.
211. Historic American Buildings Survey, “White Hall.”
212. See Sally Clay’s October 18, 1865 letter to Laura Clay and Cornelia Walker Clay’s December 3, 1865 letter to Laura Clay.
213. This is evidence by 1960s pre-restoration photographs taken of the basement by Mr. James Cox of Madison County.
214. Clay, “Whitehall,” 4.
215. Ibid., 8. All of the recollections of the flora and fauna in this paragraph have come from this writing.
216. Ibid., 7–8.
217. These buildings still exist today and are part of the park.
218. Clay, “Whitehall,” 8.
219. Cassius M. Clay to “Doctor,” circa 1876, Thomas D. Clark Collection, Kentucky Historical Society. Copy in White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
220. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, iv.
221. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, December 29, 1879, Esther Bennett Collection.
222. Census records for 1870 show Cassius M. Clay, age sixty, residing in Yonkers, New York. Interestingly, Clay’s occupation listed at the time was oil merchant. Also around this time, Clay could add inventor to his professional list, as he had patented a gasoline lamp. Patent 80137, July 21, 1868, manufactured at C.M. Clay & Company, 45 Liberty Street, New York, www.//lampguild.org/QandApage/archivesQ0003513.htm.
223. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 547.
224. Ibid.
225. Cassius M. Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, December 29, 1850, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
226. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 548.
227. Julian Hawthorne, a reviewer in the New York World, made this assumption, prompting Cassius to state, “I have no enmity towards Mrs. C., and should feel bound to defend her against such attacks as Hawthorne’s for her children’s sake if justice to her did not demand it.” For this, Hawthorne apologized to Clay, and the two did not duel. Interestingly, this defense of Mary Jane took place many years after their divorce, when Cassius was seventy-six years old.
228. McQueen, Freedom’s Champion, 41. McQueen quoted a section of this letter but did not give a citation for it.
229. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 540.
230. Ibid., 160–61
231. Clay, “Dora, My Child Wife.”
232. Cassius M. Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, October 21, 1865, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
233. “Public Sale,” unknown newspaper, April 15, 1856. Clay’s house, possessions, livestock and slaves would go up for auction as a result of the bankruptcy.
234. To put this amount into perspective, in today’s money the final cost of the building—if the bill was paid in 1867, when the mansion was more than likely completed—would have been around $57,900,000. www.measuringworth.com.
235. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 541.
236. Cassius M. Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, October 21, 1865, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
237. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 547–48.
238. Ibid., 436–37.
239. Ibid., 467.
240. Ibid., 463–64.
241. Ibid., 468.
242. The Chautum story ran in the Cincinnati Commercial, and Clay’s retort was placed in the Register.
243. According to Cassius, Mary Jane’s accusations took place in 1866, and he was so disgusted and hurt by her disbelief in him that he stopped writing her.
244. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 540.
245. Ibid., 549.
246. Cassius M. Clay v. Mary Jane Clay, December 28, 1877–February 7, 1878, Kentucky Department for Library and Archives.
247. It was a stipulation in the divorce that Mary Jane could not remarry while Cassius was still alive.
248. Although the womenfolk in his family were women’s suffrage advocates, Cassius M. Clay took a decidedly chauvinistic opinion. When asked his view on the subject once, he replied in an October 15, 1884 Courier-Journal interview, “I have no objections to it, but I think women make better bed-fellows than voters. Notice the whole animal kingdom, and you will see the males rule.”
249. Sarah Lewis Clay to Laura Clay, December 5, 1864, White Hall State Historic Site Archives, reference to fear of house burning. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, March 8, 1863, Esther Bennett Collection, reference to horse thieves.
250. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Laura Clay, May 23, 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
251. Louisville Courier-Journal, “Lonnie Clay’s Arrival at Richmond.”
252. Madison County Courthouse, August 11, 1873. This particular record stating that Cassius M. Clay adopted Leonide Petroff and changed his name to Launey Clay is not in the public records. Permission was granted to the curator to view the document by the Madison County clerk in 2012.
253. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 555.
254. Clay, “Dora, My Child Wife.”
255. Louisville Courier-Journal, “Happy With His Bride.”
256. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 550.
257. Ibid., 554.
258. Clay, “Dora, My Child Wife.”
259. Ibid.
260. Ibid. Clay compared Dora to Tiziano Vecellio’s (known in English as Titian) painting Young Woman at her Toilette (1515), where a girl of radiant complexion holds a portion of her long red hair while gazing into a mirror.
261. New York Times, “Gen. Clay Weds Pretty Dora.” According to this short article, the marriage took place at ten o’clock in the morning, with Squire B. Douglass as the officiant.
262. Ibid. As the reader can see from the newspaper, even those in New York could read about the marriage.
263. Although countless newspapers of the time reported that Dora Richardson was fifteen years old when she married Cassius, some (including her descendants, who stated she was thirteen) claimed that Dora was younger. Clay himself stated in the newspaper article “Dora, My Child Wife,” “[S]he was really not fourteen.” Although an actual birthdate has not been found at this point for Dora, numerous sources stated that she was born in 1880. By this rationale, Dora could actually have been fourteen at the time of her marriage. When Dora passed away in 1814, several papers reported her age as thirty-five, so Dora could have been born as early as 1879, making her descendants right in their claims that she was indeed thirteen years old.
264. Odem, Delinquent Daughters, 14. This age is listed for Kentucky for the year 1885, so it is assumed that the year before would had the same age qualifications. Surprisingly, twelve was not the youngest age that a girl could marry at the time. Delaware’s legal age of consent was seven years old!
265. Courier-Journal, “The Sage of White Hall.”
266. Ibid.
267. Lexington Herald-Leader, “Bodyguard’s Notes Concerning Cassius Clay I Are Revealing.” At the time of his second marriage, Cassius had a bodyguard working for him who years later recorded his recollections of his time in employment to Clay. John J. James’s reminiscences give insight on what it was like to live around White Hall and also show a little of how Cassius’s mind was working at the time. Although the memoir was written thirty-seven years after James ended his employment with Clay, it is the belief of the authors that there is still great merit in what he recorded.
268. One of the most treasured stories regarding Cassius and the posse that came to rescue Dora involves what is referred to as the “Dear Judge” letter. In this correspondence, supposedly the leader of the posse, Sherriff Josiah P. Simmons, made a report back to the county judge, John C. Chenault, about the fight that occurred in the group’s attempt to “rescue” Dora. It is a funny epistle, and its only known source is William H. Townsend. He used the letter in his “Lion of White Hall” speech. The original letter has never resurfaced, and it was discovered in 2011 that Josiah Phelps Simmons, who supposedly wrote the letter, actually died in 1885, a full nine years before the letter was even written.
269. Clay, “Dora, My Child Wife.” Clay included multiple letters in this article that were written by him to Dora and vice versa.
270. New York Times, “Gen. Clay Divorced.” The divorce restored Dora back to her maiden name.
271. New York Times, “Wants Child Wife Back.”
272. Dora’s son was named Cassius Marcellus Clay Brock.
273. San Francisco Call, “Aged General Clay Besieged by Women.” The ages of the women who proposed to Clay ran the gamut from middle-aged women to girls.
274. The “Lion of White Hall” was a moniker given to Cassius because of his fiery nature and long flowing mane-like hair.
275. The children actually paid Cassius rent for their family farms. Once Clay passed away, they received the land as their own.
276. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 550.
277. Courier-Journal, “Cassius M. Clay.”
278. General Green Clay will, dated September 3, 1828.
279. Courier-Journal, “Cassius M. Clay.”
280. Mount Sterling Advocate, “The Famous Herd.”
281. Courier-Journal, “Cassius M. Clay.”
282. The Culture of Watermelons is framed and hangs on display in the History Room of White Hall State Historic Site.
283. On one tour in the 1990s, a visitor mentioned to the curator that one of his ancestors relayed the story of a visit to Cassius. This gentleman was offered watermelon by Clay, which he politely declined. A few minutes later, Cassius once again offered some watermelon, which was again refused by the guest. The third time, Clay made an offer by stating, “I said do you want some watermelon!” To this, the guest then nervously accepted a slice.
284. Courier-Journal, “Clay.”
285. Ibid. Clay would also discuss how the seeds in his watermelon were “as white as snow.” Evidently, Cassius had perfected the art of “seedless” watermelons way before they became popular.
286. Courier-Journal, “Clay.”
287. Ibid.
288. Ibid. Interestingly, the front hall is decorated much this same way today, with even the czar in the sleigh being hung on the right wall, and this article was found years after the decorating took place.
289. Courier-Journal, “Historic Homes of Kentucky.” Cassius went on to state that he didn’t think a landscape would be complete without sheep and that in England and in the eastern part of the United States, sheep were “placed in the public park as ornaments.”
290. Louisville Courier-Journal, “Sage of Whitehall.”
291. Some venture that the third intruder was actually Riley Brock, Dora Richardson Clay Brock’s second husband. Perhaps Riley had seen what the old man had while he was working at the estate and thought that he would be easy to rob. This is, however, simply speculation, as the third man was never positively identified.
292. This is a much-loved and long-cherished narrative about Cassius. Up until this juncture, there has not been any primary source proof that the account ever took place. This story is included because it is a wonderful tale and, at this point, cannot be disproved.
293. Atlanta Constitution, “Vendetta.” According to this account, Clay wanted to give Dora an interest in his estate. He had sent Mary Barr out to talk to her siblings about his request, and when she returned, he did not believe her answers to him. Cassius reportedly put a gun to Mary Barr’s head and told her, “[L]eave my house and never come here again.”
294. Daily Leader, “Cassius Clay: Opens Fire”; Daily Leader, “Is Gen. Clay Wounded?”; Sunday Leader, “Dead Line.”
295. Lexington Leader, “Siege of White Hall.”
296. Daily Leader, “Holds the Fort Alone.”
297. Bourbon News, “A Constable.”
298. Mount Sterling Advocate, “To Take Charge.”
299. San Francisco Call, “General Cassius M. Clay Is Deprived of Weapons.”
300. Pope Leo XIII passed away on July 20, 1903, two days before Cassius M. Clay.
301. Reportedly, when told of the pope’s demise, Clay quipped with, “Well, I won, and I’m not even infallible.”
302. Louisville Courier-Journal, “Peaceful End.”
303. Morning Herald, “Will.” Interestingly enough, Cassius’s father, Green Clay, had assisted in the establishment of this particular church.
304. Lexington Leader, “Death Mask.” This is stated in Clay’s June 21, 1900 will but also in this particular article, which also reported that African American sculptor Isaac Scott Hathaway made a death mask of Cassius.
305. Cincinnati Enquirer, “Tribute.”
306. Richmond Climax, “One of His Wills.”
PART III
307. See one of Cassius Clay’s many wills.
308. Lexington Leader, “Gen. Clays Treasures.”
309. Report of Sale list copy in White Hall archives.
310. The Central Record had fun with this turn of events in an August 14, 1903 edition. The paper reported, “Gen. Cassius M. Clay, ‘the Old Lion,’ who was known in life as a fighter, in every sense of the word, seems to have determined to keep the ball rolling after death, as he left six wills for the courts to grind on.”
311. Morning Herald, “Will.” White Hall also has several original copies of Cassius M. Clay’s will.
312. Lexington Leader, “All Wills Void.”
313. Numerous contemporary papers reported that Dora declared she would contest the court ruling, but no evidence has been found up until this point that proves she actually did. Many people will ask what ever became of Dora. After marrying five times, she died at the age of thirty-five (or possibly thirty-four) of tuberculosis on February 11, 1914. Lexington Herald, “Former Wife of General Cassius M. Clay.” Dora was not even to have a legitimate marker. Years later, the Kentucky Historical Society would put up a small metal plaque in Midway Cemetery to memorialize the final resting spot of a girl who once caused national headlines for her matrimony to a man almost six times her age.
314. Lexington Leader, “White Hall.”
315. Ann Bennett, in an e-mail recollection to Lashé Mullins, June 27, 2012.
316. Ibid.
317. This information was derived from interviews with people familiar with the estate, as well as from studying the agricultural census records from the time.
318. A guest at White Hall in the summer of 2012 once worked on the estate in Warfield Bennett’s time and recalled hauling hay bales up to the second story for storage.
319. Johnny Cox, the current farm manager for Bennett farm, has worked on the farm since he was a young man, and he recalled a tractor parked in the front hallway in the years before restoration.
320. Schweder, “Whitehall.”
321. Ann Bennett to Lashé Mullins, e-mail.
322. Betty Alexander, in phone interview with Lashé Mullins, April 2012.
323. Schureman, “Cassius Clay’s Decaying Mansion,” 7.
324. Judy Ballinger King, in an interview with Lashé Mullins, September 7, 2012.
325. Ibid.
326. Courier-Journal & Times, “Kentucky to Exorcise Ghosts.” The first trespassers to leave their names and dates on the walls visited not even a year after Clay’s death, for the date of 1904 was written beside the signatures.
327. Balke, “Whitehall’s Furnishings Coming Home.”
328. The last tenants to live in the mansion were the McKinney family. A daughter of the family visited in the summer of 2009 and relayed this story to the park manager and curator.
329. White Hall Guest conversation with Lashé Mullins in 2009.
330. Nina Berlin in a discussion with Lashé Mullins, July 26, 2012
331. James Cox, in an interview with Lashé Mullins, July 26, 2012.
332. Ibid.
PART IV
333. Louisville Courier-Journal & Times, “White Hall’s Lion.”
334. Helen Chenault, in an interview with Lashé Mullins, August 14, 2012.
335. Ibid.
336. Ibid.
337. Madison County Newsweek, “White Hall Restored.”
338. Ibid.
339. James Cox interview.
340. Ellison, Man Seen But Once, 188.
341. Martinson, Historic American Buildings Survey.
342. Historic American Buildings Survey, “White Hall.” Copies of the initial report are housed in White Hall Archives; however, elevation drawings can be viewed online.
343. In a July 11, 1967 letter from the Assistant Commissioner of Kentucky Department of Parks Albert Harbenson to Thruston Moore of Heather Enterprises, Harbenson discussed the steps that had already taken place in preparation for White Hall to be purchased by the State of Kentucky.
344. Madison County Court Order Book 236, 290–96.
345. Lancaster, “Metamorphosis of Clermont,” 6.
346. Ellison, Man Seen But Once, 189.
347. Ibid.
348. Even today, the copper lining is the bane of the curator’s existence, as it is very hard to polish; on the flip side, though, it is very striking once cleaned.
349. When viewing the cistern from a crawl space below located in the bathtub closet, one can see the original locations of these drains. The drains seen from the third floor are not in the initial locales.
350. Ellison, Man Seen But Once, 189.
351. Ibid., 190.
352. This information is based on numerous Kentucky state letters and memos that were perused by the curator.
353. Nolan, “White Hall.”
354. Coleman, Joel T. Hart. Hart took the bust he made of Clay overseas to drum up business. In 1838, Hart made a bust of Andrew Jackson, who stated that Hart “may be ranked with the best artists of the age.”
355. Richmond Register, “Cassius M. Clay’s Cannon.”
356. Nancy Turner, Former Employee Questionnaire, September 2011, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
357. For more information on this affliction, see Porter and Rousseau, Gout.
358. An advertisement for Clay’s Memoirs was found discussing the works’ subject matter, the four grades the book was available in for purchase (along with the cost associated with each grade) and a timeline for which volumes 1 and 2 were to be delivered to the purchaser. A copy of this advertisement is located in White Hall Archives.
359. Clay, Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay, 301.
360. Mary Jane Warfield Clay to Julia, October 28, 1862, Bill Scott Collection.
361. Mary Barr Clay to Mary Jane Warfield Clay, February 1864, Esther Bennett Collection.
362. A picture of Bullock with a short description was found in the scrapbook of Green Clay (Mary Barr Clay’s son).
363. Fortune, “Past Comes Home.”
364. Courier Journal & Times, “Whitehall’s Restoration Is Viewed.”
365. Memorandum from Commissioner S.W. Palmer-Ball to Commissioner Albert Chisten, July 6, 1971. The drive originally was meant to be cobblestoned with bricks.
366. Sutton, “Beula Nunn Winds Up Her ‘Job.’”
367. Ellison, Man Seen But Once, 189.
368. Sutton, “Beula Nunn Winds Up Her ‘Job.’”
369. Richmond Daily Register, “Cassius Clay’s Freedom Goal.”
370. Courier Journal, “Clay Mansion Bought by State.”
371. Fortune, “Past Comes Home.”
372. Courier-Journal & Times, “White Hall.” There is some debate on the actual final price tag for the restoration; some state that the work cost upward of $1 million or more. The amount given in this book is the official sum given by the Kentucky Department of Parks in 1971.
PART V
373. Unknown newspaper, “Madison Countians’ Day.”
374. Richmond Daily Register, “Cassius Clay’s Freedom.”
375. Ibid.
376. Bean, “White Hall Dedicated.”
377. According to Kentucky State Park letters and memos viewed by the authors, the name change would have taken place in 1986.
378. National Register of Historic Places, “Kentucky—Madison County.” Although basic information can be accessed online, a copy of the nomination form is located in the White Hall Archives.
379. Interestingly, the call letting the curator know that White Hall was to be honored with this award came on October 19, 2010, the 200th anniversary of Cassius M. Clay’s birth. What a birthday present!
380. Courier-Journal & Times, “Historic Homes of Kentucky.”
381. Paula White, interview with authors, May 12, 2012.
382. Ibid.
383. Ibid.
384. Barbara McMahan, Former Employee Questionnaire, September 2011, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
385. Turner questionnaire.
386. Paula White interview.
387. Ben Fryer, Former Employee Questionnaire, September 2011, White Hall State Historic Site Archives.
388. Schureman, “Cassius Clay’s Decaying Mansion,” 13.
389. See Cassius M. Clay’s March 1901 will.
390. In Norse mythology, Odin was a god who once a year would undergo a deep, twenty-four-hour deathlike sleep, after which he would revive rejuvenated and stronger.