Imperial County CA Archives Biographies.....Clay, Henry E. 1885 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 21, 2006, 4:36 pm Author: F. C. Farr (editor, 1918) HENRY E. CLAY, the subject of this review, is one of the practical .ranchers of Imperial County. He owns 160 acres of land at Brawley, in Water Company No. 8, and has the distinction of having brought his property up to a highly productive state, and is a firm believer in the conservation of natural resources. Mr. Clay came to Imperial County in 1904, when this part of the country was a rolling desert waste. He was born at Prescott, Arizona, July 10, 1885, the son of James W. and Sarah F. (Graham) Clay. The father of Mr. Clay died in 1909 and is buried in Mendocino County, California. Incidentally, Mr. Clay's mother resides in Modesto, California. Mr. Clay received his early education at Escondido, California, and left the high school during his junior year, which was in 1900. After leaving school, Mr. Clay tried his hand at the grocery business, and while he achieved success in this venture, he eventually turned to farming, being employed first as a farm hand, until he rented the present property from his father. Later he purchased the holding from the family estate and immediately stocked the plantation with livestock. Here Henry E. was successful. He finally laid out the property, planting 2000 trees and constructing a substantial dwelling, which, together with numerous other outbuildings, has greatly added to the general and modern appearance of the place in general. Henry E. was married in Brawley, the event in fact being the first since the organization of the town. This nuptial affair occurred June 11, 1908. The bride was Miss Lena Neil, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Neil, pioneers of Mendocino County, where also resided the father of Mr. Clay. It has been primarily through the conscientious efforts of Mr. Clay that he has succeeded in the ranch world as he has. He has received little assistance during his endeavors and is thereby entitled to all the emoluments of the season for his sterling achievements. Additional Comments: From: THE HISTORY OF IMPERIAL COUNTY CALIFORNIA EDITED BY F. C. FARR IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED Published by ELMS AND FRANKS BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1918 Printed by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/imperial/bios/clay590bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 2.7 Kb