John Morrison Clay (also called ''John M. Clay''; February 21, 1821 – August 10, 1887) was a
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
breeder, a son of statesman
Henry Clay
Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
, and a husband of
Josephine Russell Clay and the brother of
Henry Clay, Jr. and
James Brown Clay.
Upon his father's death, Clay inherited a portion of the large estate,
Ashland. To distinguish John Clay's land from the mansion and lands that went to his brother,
James Brown Clay, John's holdings were called Ashland Stock Farm, Ashland Stud, or, sometimes, Ashland-on-the-Tates-Creek-Pike.
In 1866 John M. Clay married his nephew's widow, who became known as
Josephine Russell Clay. The couple had no children, but they poured their time and energy into training and racing horses for about twenty years. John Clay traveled the racing circuit throughout the East, South, and Midwest. Josephine ran Ashland Stud. Their famous race horses included
Skedaddle,
Survivor
Survivor(s) may refer to:
* one who survives
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series
* ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
,
Star Davis,
Sauce Box,
Squeeze 'em, and
Victory
The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...
. Victory (Vic), in 1873, was bought by General
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...
who rode him at the
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northe ...
in 1876. It is believed that Vic died in the battle.
Clay died in 1887, following an illness. He is interred at
Lexington Cemetery. Josephine Clay continued to very ably run Ashland Stud until her own death in 1920.
See also
*
Clay family
Sources and external links
Ashland
The Josephine Clay Papers at the University of Kentucky
Discussion about Vic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, John Morrison
1821 births
1887 deaths
American people of English descent
American racehorse owners and breeders
Kentucky culture
Henry Clay family