William "Fletcher" Claytor or Fletcher Claytor

A couple of days ago, I posted a biographical sketch of the Fletcher Claytor I already had in my family tree. However, as I reviewed my research prior to writing that post, I learned about two other men named Fletcher Claytor, both born in Floyd County. Many public trees have combined these two men into the same person. I began to realize they were different when I noted their birth dates on several records.

William Fletcher Claytor (1879-1955)
William Fletcher Claytor was born on 28 February 1879 in Floyd County, Virginia, to Jackson Claytor and his first wife, Jane Price, daughter of Chester and Clementine Price. He went by "Fletcher," instead of his first name, and his father is thought to be the brother of Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949). William Fletcher married Ida Jane Davis[1], daughter of Isaac and Malinda Davis on 19 September 1901 in Floyd County; they had several children. By 1906 Fletcher lived in West Virginia where he worked as a coal miner. Fletcher died 6 February 1955 in Fayette County.

William Fletcher Claytor's World War II Draft Registration Card; courtesy of
Ancestry.com

Fletcher Claytor (1878-1953)
Fletcher Claytor was born on 8 October 1878 in Floyd County, Virginia, to George Claytor and Serine Wilson. As a young man he made his way to Des Moines, Iowa. In 1925 he was enumerated there with a spouse named Lizzie. Also living with them was his father-in-law, Sam Jackson. However, he married Dorothy Turner, daughter of Arthur Turner and Julia Collins, on 25 May 1929. They had three known sons: Henry, Morris (also known as Ali Muhammad) and Freddie. Dorothy died in 1951 and Fletcher died in 1953.

Fletcher Claytor World War II Draft Registration Card; courtesy of Ancestry.com

At first I thought this Fletcher Claytor's father, George, was the third teen-aged boy living with Gloster and Irena Claytor in Floyd County in 1870[2]. However, that George Claytor married Frances Jane Reynolds, a sister of the wife of Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949). I feel sure all of these people are related to each other. I just don't know how yet.

The men named Fletcher Claytor, all born in Floyd County, Virginia;
created using Microsoft PowerPoint

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[1] Ida Jane's death certificate stated that her parents were Stephen and Linda Turner, but I believe her mother married Stephen Turner after Ida Jane was born.

[2] See Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free
In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free

Fletcher Claytor was born enslaved in 1859[1]. When the 1870 census was enumerated Fletcher lived in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. In the same household were three daughters born after the Civil War and assumed to be the daughters of Gloster and Irena. Also in the household were three  teen-aged boys -- George, Jack, and Fletcher. Perhaps Irena is their mother; we just don't know for sure who their parents were. This Claytor household lived in the Locust Grove district of Floyd County, Virginia. We know from cohabitation registers held by the Library of Virginia, several people formerly enslaved by Harvey Claytor,[2] a large landowner in Franklin County, Virginia, settled in Floyd County.

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949); courtesy of Daryl Watkins
via Jane Lawry

By 1880 Fletcher Claytor left home as he was not enumerated with Gloster and Irena but I have been unable to find him in that decennial census. Fletcher married Serena A. Reynolds, daughter of Harvey A. and Nancy (Guerrant) Reynolds, on 26 August 1888 in Floyd County. When the 1900 census was enumerated Fletcher owned a farm free and clear with no mortgage, and he and Serena had five children.

In September 1908 Serena became a patient at the Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. The institution was originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum and was the first such institution established in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind." Patients of the hospital were admitted for being demented, tubercular, epileptic, criminal, suicidal or suffering from psychosis. Until 1915 some of the supposed causes of psychosis included abortion, masturbation, or typhoid fever. Before the Civil War the enslaved who deserted, were emancipated, or married without permission could be diagnosed as psychotic and committed!

Central State Hospital building for chronically ill females; courtesy of
Wikipedia

Fletcher remained on his farm in Floyd County with three of his five children. Ulysses (born about 1894) and Junie V., (born about 1897) were not listed on the 1910 census or on any later record so it is assumed they died some time between 1900 and 1910. Fletcher's wife, Serena, died on 24 October 1918 at the Central State Hospital of acute dysentery.

By 1930 all of the children had left home. Fletcher continued to live on his farm. A married couple also lived on the farm and helped with farm labor and housekeeping. In 1940 a different married couple helped out with the farm and Fletcher had boarders.

Some time after 1940, Fletcher Claytor moved to Garten, West Virginia, where his daughter, Sadie May (Claytor) Ritchie lived with her husband and children.

On 7 January 1948 Fletcher wrote his last will and testament:

I, Fletcher Claytor, residing in Garten in the county of Fayette and State of West Virginia being in sound mind and disposing memory do make and ordain and declare this to be my last will and testament, by revoking all former wills and codicils by me made.

In the Fayette Co. National Bank is $3,000.00. I bequeath to the heirs of my oldest son, Leonard ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

To my son, O. M. Claytor, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars and to my daughter, Sadie Ritchie, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

I loaned to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Garten ($1,500.00) one thousand and five hundred dollars, which will be due in Nov. 1948 with 6% interest making a total of $1,590.00, one thousand five hundred and ninety dollars. This is to be divided equally among the heirs named above $530.00 each.

Lastly, I evoke[?] constitute and appoint my son, O. (Orestes) M. Claytor to be the executor of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed this the 7th day of January in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.

Fletcher Claytor (signed)

The Children

HIRAM LEONARD CLAYTOR was born about 1891 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He married Isabelle M. Chambliss on 20 January 1924 in Princeton, West Virginia. Hiram, who went by Leonard, was struck by an automobile on 21 August 1933 in Princeton and died the next day from a fractured skull. He and Isabelle had two sons: Hiram Leonard, Jr., and Clarence. Isabelle married Arthur Joseph Forney, a widower, on 17 October 1936 in Tazewell County, Virginia.

ORESTES MEREDITH CLAYTOR was born on 21 June 1892 in Floyd County. He served with the U.S. Army during World War I as a private in Company I, 802nd Pioneer Infantry. Pioneer infantry regiments were trained in infantry tactics but also combat engineering. Twenty of the 37 Pioneer infantry regiments in World War I were filled by African-Americans.

802nd Pioneer Infantry breaks stone to build roads so that guns can be brought
up to be placed in position. Chappy Meuse, France. Oct. 12, 1918; courtesy of
the U.S. Army

Orestes sailed from Brest, France, on the SS Nansemond on 28 June 1919 and was honorably discharged the following month. Some time before the 1930 census was enumerated he married, but his wife's name is not known at this time. On 1 September 1954 in Charleston, West Virginia, he married Lera Alice (Kidd) Berger; both were divorced. Orestes died in on 12 November 1975 in Charleston. He was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in that same city. No children were mentioned in his obituary.

ULYSSES S. CLAYTOR was born about 1894 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He died some time between 1900 and 1910.

SADIE MAY CLAYTOR was born on 8 November 1905 in Floyd County. She married Samuel James Ritchie on 17 August 1913 in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Samuel died on 25 June 1965 in Raleigh County and Sadie died on 21 July 1976. They had ten children: Goldie May, Lurinda, Dorothy Evelyn, Henry Orestes, James Leroy, Joseph Edward, William Orswell, Thomas Demaurice, Samuel Vatelle, and Harold Lonelle.

JUNIE V. CLAYTOR was born about 1897 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. She died some time between 1900 and 1910.

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NOTE: A Letcher Claytor born about 1860 lived in the household of David and Letitia Claytor in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1870 and 1880 but I have discounted him as being this Fletcher Claytor as other records consistently indicated Fletcher was born in Floyd County. At least that is my current working theory.

[1] Based on his age at death which was 89 years, 8 months, 15 days.

[2] Some think Fletcher Claytor was the son of Harvey Claytor and the family cook, Letitia, who was also enslaved. However, in 1870, he did not live in the same household as Letitia but rather in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. I have several DNA matches with descendants of Harvey Claytor and Letitia, but do not with descendants of Gloster or Irena Claytor. Harvey Claytor's mother was the daughter of my five times great grandfather Robert Mitchell (c1714-1799).

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

A Shot Rang Out and Tore Apart a Family

One day a shot rang out and Lizzie Tolles was wounded. In 1895 a Douglas County, Oregon, grand jury determined there was enough evidence to charge Edward "Ned" Trent Bridges, Jr. with assault with the intent to kill. Justice seemed as slow then as it does today because the final judgment in the case was not rendered until 1899.

Douglas County, Oregon, Courthouse; courtesy of Genealogical Society of
Douglas County

Perhaps in preparation for being found guilty, Ned Bridges and his brother-in-law, Enon Lilly, did some fancy land trading. Ned sold his land to Enon and then, in turn, Enon deeded the land to Ned's wife, Mary Etta (Lilly) Bridges. My supposition was these transactions were to ensure the land could not be taken as a result of Ned's legal troubles.

Ned must have held out some hope that he would not have to go to jail because he was enumerated in the 1900 census with Mary and three of their children. Their son, Edward Trent Bridges, III, must have died sometime after his birth in 1891 and before 1900 because he was not included in the enumeration of the family. But sometime after the census, Ned did a runner.

He simply disappeared.

He and Mary had married on 7 January 1886 in Mercer County, West Virginia. Ned was son of Dr. Edward Trent Bridges, Sr., and Sarah Pope Claytor, daughter of Harvey Claytor[1] and Adeline Walker. He was 25 years old and Mary was 15. She was the daughter of Johnson Keatley Lilly and Alabama Gore. Ned and Mary had four children in Mercer County before Ned's grandmother, Adeline (Walker) Claytor, died. She made her grandson, Ned, Jr., the executor of her will. The Walker and Claytor were families prominent Virginia families and owned large plantations. Though the Civil War wrecked havoc on their financial position, there was still plenty of money.

Ned's inheritance enabled he and his family, along with his brother-in-law and his family to move to Oregon. The brothers-in-law bought a tract of land together in Douglas County on 9 May 1891.

Ned and Mary's oldest daughter married Authur O. Parks in 1907. Mary and the two youngest children, Bruce and Lucy, lived at 441 Fowler Street in Deer Creek, Oregon. Mary worked as a dressmaker to support her family. Her children also contributed to the family coffers as Bruce worked for the railroad as a fireman and Lucy was a clerk for a dry goods establishment.

And Ned, well, he was still alive and kicking. His runner had taken him almost 700 miles south to Butte County, California, where he boarded with Nathaniel and Clara Burns and worked as a hired man for a blacksmith. I don't know if he kept in touch with Mary and his children or not, but Mary had clearly had enough of her absentee husband. She was granted a divorce on 24 March 1919.

News-Review, 24 March 1919; courtesy of Newspapers.com

Ned Bridges, Jr. died on 22 June 1928 in Butte County, California, and was interred in the Old Oroville Cemetery.

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[1] Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) was my first cousin five times removed. This is the second new branch I've been able to add to my family tree as a result of DNA matches with other people who are related to Harvey Claytor, including:

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)
Savior of the USS Indianapolis Survivors

Slave Name Roll Project: Tracing Descendants of Former Slaves

On 3 March 2015 I wrote a post about the Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia. I used Cohabitation Registers I found in the digital holdings of the Library of Virginia. These registers are often the first time that a former slave appeared officially in a public record and included extensive information about their families and former owners, enabling researchers to perhaps link a former slave to the 1870 census. These records also included the surname used soon after emancipation.

According to an Out of the Box, a blog written by staff members of the Library of Virginia, post, "Virginia provided no legal recognition for slave marriages. The commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed assistant commissioners of states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabitating couples in 1865. A year later the Virginia General Assembly passed an act to amend the Code of Virginia to legalize the marriages 'of Colored Persons no Cohabiting as Husband and Wife'."

I found four people formerly enslaved by Harvey Claytor, my first cousin five times removed, in the Floyd County registers. After watching the educational video entitled Documenting the Enslaved with Crista Cowan, I decided to handle the slaves owned by my ancestors in the manner outlined in the video. I went through all the blog posts I wrote about named slaves. As I created a person in my tree for each for each named slave and associated wills, estate inventories, probate documents, deeds, letters, and other documents to those people, I would search for additional records about their lives after they were freed.

Web links added to owners and enslaved people when there is no known
blood relationship. Also included is a blog link with more information;
image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Facts added to formerly enslaved Samuel "Sam" Henry Claytor. Most of
this information came from the Cohabitation Registers but I have not yet
made a source citation; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

I had success with two families I found in 2015. This post is about:

Samuel Henry Claytor and Adaline Lemons, Floyd County, Virginia

Samuel "Sam" Henry Claytor[1} was born on 13 February 1845 in Franklin County, Virginia, and was born into slavery owned by Harvey Claytor. In 1866 he began cohabitating (marriage between slaves was not legal) with Adaline Jane Lemons[2], who was born about 1849 also in Franklin County, and was enslaved by Creed Lemons at the time of her birth. On 27 February 1866 when the cohabitation registers were created, they lived in Floyd County, Virginia, but had no children.

The 1870 census indicated Sam and Adaline lived in Jacksonville, Virginia; Sam worked as a day laborer. In 1880 the family remained in Jacksonville, but Samuel may have run afoul of the law and served time in the county jail. He was also enumerated with his family in Jacksonville. By 1910 Sam's family owned a farm on Franklin Turnpike in Floyd County and he farmed his land while several of his children worked outside the home. Adaline had eleven children during their marriage and two were no longer alive. In 1920 Sam and Adaline were still living and working on their farm. Three of their sons worked the farm with them and several other children had married and left home.

Adaline died on 25 October 1922 of apoplexy and Sam died on 9 September 1923 of broncho-pneumonia following a bout with the flu. Adaline's death certificate indicated she was interred at Robertson Graveyard in Floyd County.

• Baltimore "Balty" Claytor, born 3 October 1866 in Floyd County; died 4 June 1936 in Floyd County; married Judie Loretta Banks, daughter of Bruce and Ellen Banks, on 18 December 1909 in Floyd County. Two children: Ada M. Claytor (about 1900) and Mary E. Claytor (about 1903)
• Mariah Jane Claytor, born in 1871 in Floyd County; died 9 November 1935 in Floyd County. Never married
• James Claytor, born 11 May 1873 in Floyd County[3]
• Peter Claytor, born about 1875[4]
• Adelaide Claytor, born on 30 November 1875 in Floyd County; died 10 March 1961 in Floyd County; married Doctor "Dock" Simpson Turner, son of Stephen Turner and Frances Patterson. No children.
• John Claytor, born about 1878[5]
• Mary Claytor, born 20 June 1879 in Floyd County[6]
• George W. Claytor, born about 1882 in Floyd County; married Clyde A. Jones[7], daughter of Richard and Edna Jones, on 4 November 1906 in Floyd County. No children.
• Palmer "Pal" Claytor, born 20 March 1885 in Floyd County; died 29 June 1957 in Floyd, Virginia; married Eva Baker on 11 March 1914 in Mercer County, West Virginia; divorced before 1920
• Anna "Annie" Claytor, born about 1889 in Floyd County; died 7 March 1961 in Floyd, Virginia; married Falos Morris Akers, son of David and Albina Akers, divorced; married Elliott Pritchett. One child: Vernon Akers
• Minnie Claytor, born 15 February 1897 in Floyd County; died 21 August 1958 in Radford, Virginia; married William Reed Columbus Ingram, son of George Ingram and Laura Beaver or Moran, on 6 October 1938. He was married previously with several children; Minnie had one son: Oscar Claytor.

In reviewing the Member Connect feature available through Ancestry.com, many people have some of this information, but not all of it. It appears they have worked their family trees backwards in time, as is recommended. However, I worked from the 1867 Cohabitation Registers forwards and in this particular case, it enabled me to break through the 1870 census which is frequently a brick wall for African-American family historians and genealogists. I hope this information will help descendants of Sam and Adaline (Lemons/Menefee) Claytor break through their brick walls. 

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[1] The Claytor surname is often written in records as Clayton.

[2] Adaline's maiden name was often recorded in documents about her children as Menefee. Her death certificate listed Steven and Harriett Menefee as her parents. However, she was listed in the cohabitation registers as Adaline Lemons. I do not know the origins of the Menefee surname.

[3] Information about James Claytor is from the Virginia, Floyd County Births, 1873-79.

[4] Information about Peter Claytor is from the 1880 Census.

[5] Information about John Claytor is from the 1880 and 1900 Census.

[6] Information about Mary Claytor is from the 1900 Census and the Virginia, Floyd County Births, 1873-79

[7] Clyde (Jones) Claytor married James Lemuel Redd in 1923. I do not know if George W. Claytor died before that date or if they divorced.

Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia
In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia

Harvey Claytor reportedly owned 3,000 acres of land in Franklin County, Virginia, and perhaps as many as 100 slaves. He was my first cousin five times removed and according to a DNA match was the father of William Armstead Claytor, with the family slave cook Letitia. After the Civil War William Armstead Claytor moved to Floyd County, Virginia, with his mother and several siblings. That information led me to the a record collection held by the Library of Virginia called the Register of Colored Person...cohabiting together as Husband and Wife on 27 February 1866. I could not find Letitia and her husband Henry in the register, but I did find three other slaves who were formerly owned by Harvey Claytor.

Husband: SAM CLAYTOR, 20, Farmer, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Wife: ADALINE LEMONS, 17, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by Creed Lemons in Franklin County
No children
Began cohabiting in January 1866

Husband: JOHN CLAYTOR, 51, Farmer, born in Bedford County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Wife: MILDRED CLAYTOR, 34, born in Bedford County, Virginia, residing in Floyed County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Children: FRANCES, AMANDA, SUSAN, BIRD (13), MATILDA (12), LUCY (10), SARAH (5)
Began cohabiting in 1847

Husband: ENNIS LEMONS, 43, Farmer, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by Creed Lemons in Franklin County
Wife: JANE CLAYTOR, 32, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Children: TAS (10), SARAH (9), MONROE (17), EDMUND (14), KITTY (12)
Began cohabiting in October 1835

Prior to the close of the Civil War, Virginia law provided no legal recognition for slave marriages. On 27 February 1866, the General Assembly enacted a law that entitled formerly enslaved people who had married during slavery to all of the rights and privileges as if they had been duly married by law and declared all of their children legitimate, whether born before or after the passage of this act.

Cohabitation Registers held by the Library of Virginia

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In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Several months ago I received a message via Ancestry.com about two DNA matches, cousins with a common ancestor from Bedford County, Virginia, likely the surname Mitchell. I realized I had not worked on the Mitchell family at all. Once we started digging into the Mitchell line, we got our common shared ancestor sorted out in pretty short order. (You have to love land-owning families who stayed in one place!) And we got our shaky leaf. It's like a reward.

AncestryDNA match after research built out the Beard and Mitchell line

I am actually related to these DNA matches in three ways. The mother of Effie David Beard, my great grandmother, was Barbara Ann Mitchell. She was the daughter of Daniel Mitchell, a grandson of Robert and Mary (Enos or Innes) Mitchell. And Effie Davis Beard's great grandfather, Samuel Beard, married Mary Mitchell, another daughter of Robert Mitchell.

Martha Ann Mitchell married Samuel Claytor on 25 August 1788, becoming his second wife. Samuel Claytor acquired a great deal of land in Bedford County, Virginia, as well as large tracts in Kentucky. It is thought the family lived quite comfortably. They had 10 children and Harvey Claytor was their seventh child. Harvey married Adeline Walker in 1830. The couple had three children. Before the Civil War Harvey Claytor owned 3,000 acres of land in Franklin County, Virginia, and perhaps as many as 100 slaves.

One of his slaves was Letitia who was described as a "very fair skinned, red-headed mulatto." We know nothing about her parentage but believe she was born about 1814. She was the family cook. She had a slave husband named Henry, who was the father of five of her seven children. Her youngest son, William Armstead Claytor, born in June 1849, was fathered by Harvey Claytor or one of his close male relatives as proven by DNA. According to Claytor family lore, William bore an uncanny resemblance to his father. His father was also known to be a bit of a womanizer and, of course, slaves could refuse their masters nothing.

Photograph courtesy of Ancestry.com member cclaytonarizona

After the war, William moved to Floyd County, married Judith Ann Reynolds, and started his own family, which would come to include 13 very accomplished children. He purchased land and became a farmer and was known throughout the county for his skill in caring for farm animals. The family prospered. William and his wife believed strongly in the power of an education and it showed in their children:

1. Harvey David Claytor: Farmer and teacher
2. Henry Shields Claytor: Farmer and teacher
3. John Bunyan Claytor: Medical doctor
4. William Oat Claytor: Farmer, teacher and dentist
5. Manon Irvin Claytor: Farmer and teacher
6. Solon Leonidas Claytor: Farmer and teacher
7. Eura Ellen Claytor: Attended college and married Morton Harrison Hopkins
8. Roy Homer Claytor: Teacher
9. Carrie Jane Claytor: Attended college and married John Dave Hairston
10. Dorinda Addison Claytor: Attended college and married Frederick Douglas Charlton
11. Archer Adams Claytor: Medical doctor and World War I veteran
12. Hunter McGuire Claytor: World War I veteran who died as a young adult due to a mustard gas attack
13. Robert White Claytor: Medical doctor

The Claytors accomplished much of this when a "hands off" approach to the "Southern problem" was informal federal policy. Southern states began enacting a series of laws that amounted to legalized discrimination and created near slave-like conditions for African-Americans.

It is truly amazing the people you meet and the lives you uncover as you pursue your research.

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I am indebted to Ruth C. Marsh and Margaret C. Woodbury, authors of Virginia Kaleidoscope, for capturing so much of their family's oral history. Any errors in the research are strictly my own.

52 Ancestors #31: A Savior of the USS Indianapolis Survivors

Ancestor Name: William Graham CLAYTOR, Jr.

I have an ancestor who once wrote:

"If any family tree is shaken hard enough, I am sure it will produce stories of heroes and horse thieves. Lives to be proud of and some to regret. Your family tree, no doubt will be the same, so I think it is wise to remember that we are totally responsible for ourselves and our lives but we owe no debt to the past."

This is a story about one of the heroes.

I have written about William Graham Claytor, Jr., and his father before. Both were accomplished professionals who gave much to their communities and the country. But today I'd like to write about the highlight of William Graham Claytor's service during World War II.

Lt. Wilbur C. Gwinn was on a routine patrol mission. Flying low over the ocean he spotted an oil slick and followed it until he saw several men waving madly and floating in the vast Pacific ocean. He sent an urgent message to squadron headquarters and began dropping supplies to the survivors. Gwinn was stunned; a major ship must have sunk and he had received no word of it prior to his patrol mission. Gwinn was replaced by Lt. Marks, flying a PBY. As he approached the site, he believed he was on a wild goose chase and responding to a garbled message. He was incredulous when he arrived and made his own count of the survivors. Wouldn't someone know if a vessel carrying at least 150 men had been sunk?

USS Indianapolis survivors with a shark in the
water, the survivors worst enemy during the 5 days
before they were rescued; photograph from a
French website

Then Marks heard from the commander of the destroyer USS Cecil J. Doyle. In his book, Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, Dan Kurzman describes this moment:

"...Claytor, a stone-faced officer with a will to match, who, like Marks, was a bright young lawyer and reserve officer endowed with a deep sense of personal mission in the war.

Anything up? Claytor asked.

Marks told him of our mission, but with skepticism. Claytor was puzzled by the report, too. Actually he'd heard of it minutes earlier from his own command and was heading toward the designated area to help in the rescue effort. If the report was accurate, the horror these men must be going through! What ship must have gone down? He could not have guessed that it was the USS Indianapolis -- commanded by Captain McVay, the husband of his dear cousin Louise." 

Commander William G. Claytor (center) with crew members from the
USS Cecil J. Doyle; photograph courtesy of Findagrave.com member Steve

As Claytor neared the survivors, he lit up the ship's search lights, turning the clouds a pinkish white the survivors could see. It was the first glimmer of hope they'd had in several days.

"...Claytor had given the men the a pink cloud as a symbol of hope. Whoever was guiding him, it wasn't his superiors. He was breaking Navy rules repeatedly, but like Marks, was ready to risk court-martial if it meant saving even one life. 

Though sailing in submarine territory, Claytor had ordered his seamen to switch on two 24-inch search lights -- one to find the survivors in the water and avoid running over them and the other beamed to the heavens to let them know help was on the way. The danger was that any enemy submarine lurking in the area would find his ship a perfect target. But, given the circumstances, he felt that it was a calculated risk was warranted. Claytor had been well-trained to to calculate risks, and to bend rules when conditions so required. A native of Roanoke, Virginia, he had served as president of the Harvard Law Review and law clerk to Judge Learned Hand and Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis."

The USS Cecil J. Doyle was the first Navy ship on scene and immediately began plucking survivors out of the ocean. What they found was horrific. Soon several ships had arrived and the rescue continued in earnest. It is thought nearly 800 men survived the torpedo explosions and sinking yet 112 hours later only 300 men were rescued. The rest were victims of their injuries and sharks.

Captain McVay was court-marshaled, the only Navy man so punished for losing a ship in wartime. He committed suicide in 1968 but was finally vindicated by Congress in 2001. His second wife, the former Louise Claytor, died of cancer in 1961. William Graham Claytor, Jr. went on to become president of Southern Railway, secretary of the Navy, deputy secretary of Defense, acting secretary of Transportation, and president of Amtrak.

The main hall at Union Station in Washington, DC, is named Claytor Concourse in his honor.

To learn more about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and why it took so long for the survivors to be rescued, please read my brother's guest blog. My brother is a World War II historian and will be publishing a book in the near future.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

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William Graham Claytor, Jr. was born 14 Mar 1912 in Roanoke, Virginia, to William Graham and Gertrude Harris (Boatwright) Claytor. His father was a prominent executive in the utility industry and his mother was a poet. He married Frances Murray Hammond and they had two children. He died on 14 May 1994 in Bradenton, Florida, and is buried at Fair View Cemetery in Roanoke. The reference in Dan Kuzman's book about his "dear cousin Louise" was tantalizing. No one with Claytors in their tree had a Louise Claytor. I traced her back to her great grandfather; her Claytor family came from southern Maryland and her father was a physician, who moved his family to Washington, DC, about 1900. I have yet to find a connection between the two Claytor lines.

Claytors: Building America's Infrastructure

In my family tree I have at least five generations of men named William Graham Claytor. I discovered the Claytor line after being contacted by someone who administered a few AncestryDNA tests for his cousins. I was a match for two of his second cousins, but we had no shared ancestor...then. He thought we must be related through the Mitchell family.

One of my great great grandmothers is Barbara Ann Mitchell (1841-1890). I had not worked on her line at all. She descended from Robert Mitchel or Mitchell, who immigrated to the colonies from Ireland in the 1700s. One of Robert's daughters, Martha Ann Mitchell, married Samuel Claytor. Their third son, Robert Mitchell Claytor's (1792-1865) son was the first William Graham Claytor (1821-1903). His oldest son was William Graham Claytor, Jr. (1852-1903). He also named his son William Graham Claytor (1886-1971).

A portion of my Ancestry.com tree which includes four generations named
William Graham Claytor

And it is this William Graham Claytor and his son I am writing about today.

William Graham Claytor (1886-1971)
William was born 26 December 1886 in Bedford County, Virginia. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1906 and married Gertrude Harris Boatwright sometime before 1908. Gertrude began publishing poetry in the 1920s and is probably best known for her collection entitled Sunday in Virginia and Other Poems. William was an engineer with the Roanoke Railway and Electric Company, which later became the Appalachian Electric Power Company.

His rise in the electric utility business was rapid. In 1923 he was named chief engineer of the company and two years later he was named general manager. In 1926 when American Electric Power acquired his company, he was transferred to New York and was named operating vice president of several power subsidiaries. In 1951 he became a member of the executive committee.

William was probably best known for supervising the construction of a dam, which created lake, on the New River in 1939. The lake and surrounding park were named for him.

Hydro Electric Dam at Claytor Lake; photo courtesy of the New River
Valley Economic Development Allicance

William Graham Claytor, Jr. (1912-1994)
William Graham Claytor, Jr., was born on 14 March 1912 in Roanoke, Virginia, to William Graham and Gertrude Harris (Boatwright) Claytor. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1933 and Harvard Law School in 1936. During World War II he was the commander of the destroyer escort USS Cecil J. Doyle. In August 1945, without orders, he rescued the survivors of the USS Indianapolis[1], from which only 316 men out of 1,199 survived.

He served as president of the Southern Railway from 1967 to 1977 and was appointed Secretary of the Navy under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1979. He is often recognized as leading the Navy to accept a woman's right to serve on ships. In 1979 he was appointed Deputy Secretary of Defense and also served a short stint as Acting Secretary of Transportation.

He came out of retirement in 1982 to lead Amtrak. In 1989 Railroad Age magazine named him Railroader of the Year. He was the brother of Robert Claytor, who was president of Norfolk and Western Railway in 1891 and the first chairman and CEO of Norfolk Southern.

William Graham Claytor with part of his train collection;
photograph courtesy of TTOPS magazine

The main hall at Union Station in Washington, DC, is named Claytor Concourse for his loyal service to Amtrak. He is also honored in the National Railroad Hall of Fame. He was apparently a straight-shooting, direct communicator. When a Congressman, who wanted to stop federal funding of Amtrak, asked how many passengers trains could be run; Claytor's response was "NONE!" He told an Amtrak vice president before retiring in 1993, "I don't care they fire me. I'm going to do what I think is right." There is also a semi-permanent exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke entitled, "The Claytor Brothers: Building America's Railroad."

My kind of gentleman. This is another story of the wonderful discoveries I've made since taking the Ancestry DNA test. A previous story may be found here.

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[1] The story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the men onboard at the time is a tragic tale, which I'll tell another day.