The Cassius Marcellus Clay papers

SCOPE AND CONTENT

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The Cassius Marcellus Clay papers, spanning the dates 1842-1901; n.d., consist chiefly of correspondence from various 19^th century personalities to the American statesman and diplomat, Cassius Marcellus Clay, as well as various original documents such as Clay’s passport, military commissions, and certificates. Among the correspondents are the following: Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, John Bigelow, Sir Andrew Buchanan, Simon Cameron, Salmon P. Chase, Charles A. Dana, Gustavus V. Fox, John C. Fremont, Prince Gortchacow, Horace Greeley, John Lothrop Motley, Carl Schurz, Edwin M. Stanton, Baron Edouard de Stoeckl, Charles Sumner, and Henry Watterson. The collection is arranged chronologically.

The bulk of the correspondence spans the years 1855 to 1886, comprised chiefly of incoming correspondence. The collection of correspondence and original documents was acquired by Lincoln Memorial University in 1936 from the Stewart Kidd Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The provenance is unknown.

Several of the letters were published in Clay’s memoirs: The Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay: Memoirs, Writings, and Speeches …, which was first published in 1886. The majority of the letters in the collection are unpublished, with the exception of being published in microfilm format.

The Addendum includes the following material: a printed flyer, inscribed by Clay, entitled “Removal of the Capital: Call for a National Convention at Louisville, October 20^th, 1874;” a certificate issued by the State of Kentucky, Executive Department (Sept. 24, 1874), appointing Clay as a delegate to attend and represent Kentucky in the National Convention (1874); and a document issued by Governor McCreary (Nov.11, 1878), of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, appointing Clay a delegate to the Convention for the promotion of American Commerce; and a certificate of membership issued to Cassius M. Clay by the Audubon Society, signed and dated Aug. 21, 1886.

Collateral material is available in other related collections, including: the Seiberling Collection of material which includes an original scrapbook of newspaper clippings presumed to have been compiled by Cassius Marcellus Clay; various 19^th century biographical newspaper clippings; and several rare pamphlets. This particular collection was donated by the founder and first president of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company: Mr. Frank A. Seiberling, a former trustee of Lincoln Memorial University.

Other Clay-related material is located in an artificial collection of assembled material: Cassius Marcellus Clay Collection, which includes contemporary newspaper clippings; photographs of Clay’s estate, White Hall, before the restoration; various published articles, such as brochures and pamphlets; two letters of Brutus Junius Clay; and a handwritten note to Kentucky historian and author, Prof. Thomas D. Clark, by a namesake of Clay’s (his great-nephew). The provenance of the items in the collection is unknown.

Brutus Junius Clay (1847-1932) was a son of Cassius M. Clay; he served as the U.S. Minister to Switzerland (1905-1910). The two letters of Brutus Junius Clay referred to above are both incoming correspondence from the following correspondents: David Jayne Hill (American diplomat, Berne, Switzerland), written Mar. 31, 1905; and John W. Kern (U.S. Senator), written ca. 1916. A handwritten note, not dated, of Clay’s great-nephew and namesake, Cassius Marcellus Clay (1895-1959) is to be found in the same collection.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The Cassius Marcellus Clay Papers consist chiefly of incoming correspondence to Cassius Marcellus Clay; the correspondence is arranged chronologically. The majority of letters and documents are written in English; some are written or printed in French or Russian. A few documents, such as three Certificates of Commission (military) and a passport, are found within the series; additional documents are located in the Addendum.

Series and Container List:

Cassius Marcellus Clay Correspondence

Box 1-Folders 1-20, Pre-1860 Corresppondence, 22 items

Box 1-Folders 21-52, 1860 Correspondence, 32 items

Box 1-Folders 53-103, 1861 Correspondence, 51 items

Box 2-Folders 1-66, 1862 Correspondence, 67 items

Box 2-Folders 67-101, 1863 Correspondence, 36 items

Box 3-Folders 1-58, 1864 Correspondence, 58 items

Box 3-Folders 59-74a; 74b-91, 1865 Correspondence, 34 items

Box 4-Folders 1-40, 1866 Correspondence, 40 items

Box 4-Folders 41-89, 1867 Correspondence, 49 items

Box 5-Folders 1-19, 1868 Correspondence, 21 items

Box 5-Folders 20-32, 1869 Correspondence, 13 items

Box 5-Folders 33-80, 1870-1879 Correspondence, 50 items

Box 6-Folders 1-34, 1880-1889 Correspondence, 38 items

Box 6-Folders 35-68, 1890-1899 Correspondence, 38 items

Box 6-Folders 69, 1900-1909 Correspondence, 1 item

II. Addendum

Box 6-Folders 70-72, Addendum, 4 items

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the NHPRC (National Historical Publications and Records Commission), for providing funding to identify, process, and create descriptive finding aids and machine-readable cataloging records for the archival materials in the repository. Thanks goes to Lincoln Memorial University for contributing matching funds, and to the museum staff and various supporters who have contributed, in the past and during the present, their talents and efforts in the endeavor of acquiring, sustaining, and preserving one of the most significant 19^th century historical collections in the nation. Special recognition goes to Carol Campbell, Graduate Assistant; Steven M. Wilson, Assistant Director and Curator of the Abraham Lincoln Musuem; and Dr. Charles M. Hubbard, Dean of Lincolniana.

Cassius Marcellus Clay Papers Item Level Finding Aid