Biography:

Socialite; political hostess. Born– January 16, 1825, Nash County, N.C. Parents– Dr. Peyton Randolph and Ann (Arrington) Tunstall. Married– Clement Claiborne Clay, February 1, 1843. Married–Judge David Clopton, November 29, 1887. Education– Attended a private school in Tuscaloosa and graduated from the Nashville Female Academy in 1840. Clement Clay was elected to the U.S. Senate, 1853, and Mrs. Clay became a well-known figure in Washington, D.C. society. After the secession of Alabama, the Clays left Washington in January 1861. Clement Clay served in the Confederate Senate, 1861-63, and was appointed commissioner to Canada in 1864.  He was imprisoned for a year in  Fortress Monroe, Virginia, at the end of the war (1865-66) and was released through the efforts of his wife.  In the 1890’s Virginia Clay-Clopton became a pioneer advocate of woman suffrage in Alabama. Served as president of the Alabama Equal Rights Association from 1896 until 1900.  Active in the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Died January 23, 1915.

Source:

Notable American Women, Vol. 1 and Who Was Who in America, Vol. 4.

Publication(s):

A Belle of the Fifties; Memoirs of Mrs. Clay of Alabama, Garden City, N.Y.; Doubleday, Page & Co., 1905.