Henry Clay searching for his mother Mathilda Gill
MR. EDITOR: ---- I wish to find out if possible the whereabouts of my mother Mathilda Gill. We were separated in 1843, in Wake connty, North Carolina, when I was about one year old. We belonged to Col. Waddia,, (who was my father). He sold us to Israel Gill. My mother being high tempered, Gill sold her from me to a preacher Rev. Purefil, who carried her to Roseville, where he kept a hotel. When Israel Gill bought mother from Col. Waddia, we lived near Raleigh, N. C., then Gill wandered with me to Texas. Address me at San Felipe, Austin county, Texas, care of Mr. C. H. Graves.
HENRY CLAY.
HENRY CLAY.
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Alan Welsh
Records for the correct Henry Clay of San Felipe, Austin County Texas have been located. Several confusing twists are present, but Henry married Jane Nichols, and they had two known children, Sarah Jane (1874-1951) and Jordan (1876-1940.) Henry and Jane were on the 1870 census taken in Austin County (without children.) Henry also registered to vote in 1867 in San Felipe. Jane was listed as a widow on the 1880 census and is listed as "mother-in-law" to the head of household Charles Graves, who stated he could read and write.
Note the ad asked replies to be sent to the care of C H Graves. This is one of the twists: it would appear Henry died sometime between 1875 and 1880. Jane was born in NC, but Charles wife Jerry or Terry, born during the time of slavery, shows her mother was born in Liousianna and her father in NC. Janes children Sarah and Jordan show both of their parents having been born in NC.
Since the ad was not placed until 1883 it would seem that Jane or their children placed the ad for themselves and on behalf of their deceased father used the details he had shared with them. The good news is, if we are able to locate Henry's mother we have a large list of living decendants to share the news. Sarah married Will Dabney and their list of decendants in Houston is quite large. My hope is we can find Henry's mother "Mathilda" and report the good news to Henry's family. (Jordan married Dora Gasper/Jasper and had one child Ollie, but he does not appear to have had any children.)
I live in Wake County and am familiar with several sources to locate slave holder details. Unfortunately, the details in the ad have not netted any solid leads. I believe "Rev. Purefil" is actually James Sampson Purefoy, a Baptist Minister affiliated with "Wake Forest College" of Wake County. The school's roots were in training Baptist ministers and went on to become today's Wake Forest University. The location where Purefoy lived with his family was Forestville, which was about 3-5 miles from "Roseville" and is actualy Rolesville. This does not help us to locate Henry's mother, but it is a place to start.
Alan Welsh
Additionally, I suspect "Israel Gill" is the slaveholder Ezra Thomas Gill, Sr. (1797-1869.)