Photos

» Show All     «Prev «1 ... 16610 16611 16612 16613 16614 16615 16616 16617 16618 ... 21514» Next»     » Slide Show

Runyon Clay, Martha Ann LDS

20260304GHLn-
Martha Ann Runyon.jpg

Tagged People
Martha Ann Runyan
Female
1712-1764
• LRZY-6F7

Contributed By
D
Dale Guilott Pickard
18 December 2025
Upload File Name
Martha Ann Runyon.jpg

20260304GHLn-
MARTHA RUNYON (1712-1764), 1st WIFE OF WILLIAM MITCHELL CLAY (1708-1774)
Martha Lewis (sister of Colonel Charles Lewis - Lord Dunsmore's War), has been verified by Wendy Browne, a
Lewis family researcher, as definitely was not the wife of William Mitchell Clay. So, this leaves Martha Runyon,
which has been my first choice over the last several decades.
Our Martha Runyon was born on February 14, 1712, in Henrico, Virginia. Some parts of Henrico later became
part of Chesterfield, Virginia, where her future husband, William Mitchell Clay, was born. Henrico must have
been an exciting place to live. It was the second city to be established in Virginia, after Jamestown (1607). It was
the most important town on the James River.
Martha Clay was lucky in some ways. She died prior to the death of her husband of 35 years, William Mitchell
Clay. William, 66, a Virginia militia volunteer, while hunting game with a friend, he was killed by an Indian. He
was the first casualty in his unit that was fighting "Lord Dunsmore's War."
Her son, Mitchell, and his wife Phoebe Belcher, faced Indian hostilities in the Shawnee Lake area of Mercer
County, West Virginia, at that time known as Clover Bottom. Three of their children, a girl and 2 boys, were killed
by Indians. Their tragedy so touched so many, a statue of Mitchell and his wife, called "A Torment in Stone"
stands by the courthouse at Princeton, in Mercer County today. Several of his daughters (there were 7 girls and 7
boys), married soldiers.
Her son, Ezekiel, was killed by Indians (?) in Montgomery, Virginia. Eventually all of her children took off for other
parts of the country. Some say she died in Cumberland.....
Her husband, William, remarried shortly. Agnes was possibly much younger. As it appeared in the Virginia
Gazette on September 22, 1768: "Whereas my wife Agnes has eloped from my bed, and robbed me of things of
considerable value, and I expect will endeavor to run me in debt, I therefore forewarn all persons from dealing
with her on my account, as I will pay no debts of her contracting. (I must admit that Agnes could be married to
another William, there were several).

Mitchell Clay and Wives Children. Dates are approximate. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Yes, there
could be other children.

. Elizabeth Clay (1735 to after 1793)
. William Clay (1733 to 1735 - 1810)
. Ezekiel Clay (1737-1777)
. Judith Clay (1737-1809)
. Obediah Clay (1738 to 1815-1818)
. Pearce Clay (1738-1828)
. Mitchell Clay (1736-1739 to 1811)
. David Clay (1740 to 1777 or after 1825)
. Meredith Clay (1742-1806)
. Nancy Clay (1744-aft. 1825) could also been
known as Hannah Clay
. Jessie Clay (1745- 1824)
. Mary Clay (1755-abt. 1810)

Note again: Please disregard her father as a Lewis. Thank you. - M. Bell
POSTED: Ancestry.com by Cheryl Lefler, 30 Jul 2022

» Show All     «Prev «1 ... 16610 16611 16612 16613 16614 16615 16616 16617 16618 ... 21514» Next»     » Slide Show