Contra Costa-Santa Clara-San Francisco County CA Archives Biographies.....Clayton, Joel 
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Author: W. A. Slocum & Co., Publishers (1882)

JOEL CLAYTON, (deceased).—This well-known gentleman was the son of John and Mary
(Bater) Clayton, and was born in Bugsworth, Derbyshire, England. He there
received his education, and resided until 1837, having learned the trade of a
block cutter and wood carver, which he followed there. In that year he
immigrated to the United States, first settling in Lowell, Massachusetts,
afterwards moving to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he joined his uncle, who
resided in that city. Here Mr. Clayton engaged in the manufacture of oil-cloth,
until 1839, when he went to St. Louis, Missouri. He was soon after joined by his
father's family, and upon their arrival, moved to New Diggings, Jo Davies
county, Illinois, where he embarked in lead mining. Early in 1842 he proceeded
to the head-waters of the Platte river, Wisconsin, and there commenced the
extracting of zinc from ore, a difficult task he prosecuted with much vigor, but
owing to the want of proper appliances for the manufacture of retorts, he was
ultimately compelled to abandon the industry. In 1845 he removed to Mifflin,
Iowa county, Wisconsin, and was, as a matter of fact, the founder of that town.
Here he resided until 1850, in which year he came to California, bringing with
him a number of practical miners to work in the gold mines, as also a
considerable drove of stock. He first settled in Santa Clara county, and
permitted the miners who had accompanied him to start whithersoever they
listed—the only recompense he asked being the return of the amount expended on
their outfit. At the end of one year he moved to Stockton, and established a
butchering business, which he continued until the Fall of 1853, when he located
in San Francisco, took up the twenty-five acre tract now comprised within the
boundaries of Broadway, Webster, Clay and Pierce streets, and started a milk
ranch. At the end of a twelve-month he disposed of this business, proceeded to
Bellingham Bay, Puget Sound, and became connected with the coal mines there. In
1856 he was joined by his family in this State, and with them settled at San
Francisco Pass, thirty miles from Los Angeles. In 1859 or 1860, with some
others, Mr. Clayton located land near the now famous Black Diamond coal mines,
in Contra Costa county, and finally established his domicile at Clayton, a
pretty little village to which he gave his name. He died there, March 9, 1872,
justly regretted. An excellent portrait of Mr. Clayton will be found in this volume.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.

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