John Richard Clay, Sr.

JOHN  RICHARD  CLAY,  SR.

John Richard Clay, Sr. was born August 26, 1842 in Silverdale in the parish of Keele, in Staffordshire, England.  His parents were Richard Clay and Elizabeth Taylor.  The Clay name is sometimes spelled Claye or Clays.  He had one sister, Sarah that we know about.  He was first married to Elizabeth Holden but nothing more is known of this marriage or of Elizabeth. 

He later married Margaret Rosser on May 8, 1868 at Wolstanton in the Burslem parish of Staffordshire, England.  Their first son, John Rosser Clay, was born about 1864 (?) at Wolstanton, and died sometime before 1880 in Wales where John was a coalminer.  A daughter, Anne Elizabeth Clay, was born 2 November 1866 (?) in Howarden, Flint, Wales.  A second daughter, Mary, was born to them in Mold, Flint, Wales 31 August 1868 but died sometime before 1880 in Wales.

A second son, Franklin Richard Clay, was born 1 April 1870 in Saltney, Flint, Wales.  After coming to America, Franklin was very unhappy that his father had another family and deserted his mother and her family.  He left home after the death of his mother and his whereabouts after 1888 have not been discovered.

John came to America sometime in the mid-to late1870’s by himself and was to find work, save money, and send money back to Margaret so she and the two remaining children, Anne Elizabeth and Franklin Richard, could come to America to join him.  After a while, he quit sending letters and money back to England and his family was not sure what happened to him.  In the early to mid-1880’s, Margaret was able to get enough money to bring herself and the children to America and to Utah where she found her husband—now married to his third wife, Isabelle Adams, and with children from that marriage.  John was 21 years older than Isabelle and she was only 15 years old when they married in 1878.

Margaret moved to Provo, Utah to be with her 3 sisters who lived there.  She died 3 May 1888 and was buried there on 6 May, 1888.

Marker in Randolph, Utah cemetery for Samuel

John and Isabelle first lived in the Oxford, Oneida, Idaho area then moved to Almy, Uinta, Wyoming where John and his 15-year-old son, Samuel, worked in the coal mines near there.  In March of 1895, the No. 5 mine where the two worked had a mighty explosion killing and injuring several miners.  Samuel was killed and John was injured but eventually recovered. 

John and Isabelle had 13 children; two of them died as infants.  They were:

Emma Clay, born 17 March 1881, Oxford, Oneida, Idaho—died 5 May 1974

Samuel Clay, born 15 April 1879, Oxford, Oneida, Idaho—died 20 March 1895

Sarah Clay, born 31 October 1884, Oxford, Oneida, Idaho—died 26 January 1905

Elizabeth Clay, born 4 October 1886, Almy, Uinta, Wyoming—died 9 May 1951

John Richard Clay, jr. born 24 April 1888, Almy, Uinta, Wyoming—died 20 April 1972

Margaret Clay, born 18 March 1890, Almy, Uinta, Wyoming—died 16 May 1956

Don and Bessie Clay, twins, born 21 August 1892.  Don died at birth, Bessie died19 August 1976.

Isabelle Clay, born 22 January 1896, Almy, Uinta, Wyoming—died 27 September 1971

Henry Clay, born 24 December 1897, Randolph, Rich, Utah—died 8 December 1954

Joseph Clay, born 18 August 1899, Randolph, Rich, Utah—died 24 April 1973

Baby Clay, born and died 1900, in the Rexburg, Madison, Idaho area

Alice Ann Clay, born 22 April 1906, Rexburg, Madison, Idaho—died 13 September 1980

Wilford Olive, grandson of John by his wife, Margaret, said that when John and Isabelle moved from Randolph, Utah to Idaho, John worked at one time as a Pony Express rider in the lava beds area south of Pocatello to Idaho Falls which was called Eagle Rock at that time.  He also said that John made violins and a cello, and that he played the harmonica or mouth organ as they sometimes called them.  Wilford said his grandfather was a farmer in the Rexburg river bottoms where he lived in a log house which Wilford remembered being in, and that there were “billions of mosquitoes there”. 

Isabelle died from complications of childbirth when the youngest girl, Alice Ann, was born leaving John to be cared for by his children.  Two of John’s daughters, Elizabeth and Bessie, were married to Clements men and the Clements family established “Clementsville” outside of Rexburg in Teton County.  John was living there when he died three months before his 68^th birthday.  Both John and Isabelle are buried in the Rexburg, Idaho city cemetery.

Compiled by Darline G. Burke 6/2003 from family information, Rexburg Cemetery records, writings of the children of his daughter, Anne Elizabeth Olive.

If anyone has any further information, I would appreciate being notified of that information.