Henry Clay presentation items

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0098-F0154

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains presentation memorabilia related to Henry Clay, American Statesman, given to Henry Clay Reed, University of Delaware professor and historian, by Henry Clay Conrad, historian and State Archivist of Delaware. Items include two copies of engravings of Henry Clay, a silk ribbon commemorating Clay, and a presentation letter (1929) from Conrad to Reed. Reed had worked for Conrad at the Delaware State Archives. In the letter, Henry Clay Conrad explains that he is sending two prints of Henry Clay engravings to Reed because both men are his namesakes; Reed later added the ribbon to the engravings and had all three pieces mounted for display.

Dates

Creation: circa 1840, 1929

Creator

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Henry Clay (1777-1852)

Henry Clay (1777-1852) was a U.S. senator and representative from Kentucky. President John Quincy Adams appointed Clay Secretary of State during his term, from 1825 to 1829. Clay was also the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Democratic Republican Party in 1824, of the National Republican Party in 1832, and of the Whig Party in 1844.

Henry Clay Conrad, Esq.

Henry Clay Conrad, Esq., was born in Bridesburg, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 1852, to Aaron and Sarah Conrad. He made a career in public service in Delaware. From 1882 to 1885, he served as a member of the Wilmington City Council. From 1897 to 1921, he also served the Delaware as city solicitor, Postmaster of Wilmington, Associate Judge of the Delaware Supreme Court, and founder of the Public Archives Commission. It was during his tenure as State Archivist, from 1924 to 1930, that he met Henry Clay Reed.

Henry Clay Reed

Henry Clay Reed, born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania in 1899, moved to Newark, Delaware, in 1924 to accept a position teaching at the University of Delaware. He taught at the University of Delaware until his retirement in 1964, publishing many scholarly articles and two books on Delaware history.