Joseph Clay

Who was Joseph Clay?

Joseph Clay was a soldier and public official from Georgia.

Born in England, he immigrated to the United States and in 1760 settled in Savannah, Georgia. During the American Revolution, he served on the local council of safety and was a delegate to the Georgia Provincial Congress in 1775. He was a major in the Georgia Line of the Continental Army during the War of Independence. He was appointed by the Continental Congress as deputy paymaster general in Georgia with the rank of colonel on August 6, 1777. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1778, but did not attend. He was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia from 1786 to 1801, and a United States circuit court judge from 1801 to 1802. He was the grandfather of William Henry Stiles.