Eve

My Grandmother Eve Hardin Clay

Connection:
Eve Hardin Clay and David Peyton Clay = Sarah M. Clay
Sarah M. Clay and James M. Hatcher = Mahaney Hatcher
Mahaney Hatcher and Berry Bateman Shepherd - Sarah Margaret Shepherd
Sarah Margaret Shepherd and George T. Chambers = Lillie M. Chambers
Lillie M. Chambers and William Wayne Bentley = Nancie Bentley
Nancie Bentley and Clifton Babb = Billy Babb
Billy Babb and Rosa Mae Bloodworth = Eileen Babb

In "History of Wilkinson County" by Victor Davidson no mention is made of the Clay family. Yet they, like many other families in Wilkinson County not mentioned, settled in Wilkinson from it's creation. As in other county histories, families get left out - whether by ignorance, family dislike by the author, space in the book or lack of family information at the time of publication.
(Note: It has been brought to my attention that families were charged $250 to write their history to be published in the book)

Below is an excerpt from the orginal book "Georgia Historic Families" published in the 1930's. I believe it is in reprint now. I don't like to think of Grandmother Eve as a witch with all the negative thoughts that go with that word. I think of her as
stong-willed woman who had her way of doing things and not caring what the neighbors or some of her children thought.

Here's to you Grandmother - A Woman Before Your Time!

Excerpts From
Ga Historic Families by L.W. Rigsby

"The Welsh Witch Woman"
     "There was living in Wilkinson Co., Georgia, 83rd Subdivision, 1850, in the family of her daughter Sarah Hatcher, an old woman who was listed in the census of that year as follows: "Eve Clay, aged 80, female, born in Georgia." There was living at the time of collecting the material for this sketch, in Wilkinson County, Ga. Mrs. Susie Gilbert, in Washington County, Ga, Mrs. Mary Trawick, and in Florida Mrs. William Connell, each of whom remembered Eve Clay as mentioned above and from them I obtained the salient Points of this sketch together with traditions from my mother who remembered her quiet well and who left notes relating to her."
    " Eve Hardin was born in Georgia in 1770 of Welsh descent. During the early days of the revolution the family refugeed from state of Georgia to the Southwestern part of Virginia where John Hardin, her father participated in Dunmore's war. Later the family refugeed from this frontier settlement into Pennsylvania, her father serving in the Pennsylvania Militia, from Pennsylvania the family refugeed into either North Carolina or Virginia in the vicinity of Orange County, if not within the borders of that county. At the close of the revolution the family came into Washington County, Ga., that is the children came and it is presumed that the father is dead. The three earliest Hardins coming to Georgia were Isaac, Adam and Nicholas. Isaac appears to have gone back to Virginia and presumably he was an uncle of Adam, Eve, and others."
     "Sept. 26, 1792 Eve Hardin was married to David Clay in Warren County, Georgia. Presumably she was living at that time either with her brother Adam or her Uncle Isaac. Very little is known of her married life except that which is included in "The Georgia Branch of the Virginia Clays and Their Celebrated Cousins" but what we do know is unfavorable. She had a violet temper, was self-willed and could not be reasoned with when her temper was aroused. David Clay was a man of considerable property and owned a plantation in Washington County and one in Wilkinson County. When she was overcome with one of these rages he quietly removed himself to his Washington County Plantation until the storm blew over when all was quiet until the next time.
     Her husband died before 1820 and the more minute part of this sketch begins with her widowhood.
     After her husband's death she remarried, but the marriage was not happy. Her second husband sent her to my grandfather's on the pretext that he was sick.. He was living at that time in what is now Terrell Co. and Eve was living in Wilkinson. She went horse back carrying a negro woman with her. When she returned she found that her husband, negroes, and mules had disappeared. She was left with lands, a horse and one negro. She immediately set out in pursuit of her husband and slaves and followed them to some place either on the Gulf near Port St. Joe or Savannah. The family are not exactly agreed as to the place, but wherever it was her husband and negroes had taken ship and that was the last she ever knew of either. Whether this deranged her mind or whether she had been of the same disposition all along I do not know but now began a peculiar kind of life.
     Going back a little. After the death of David Clay and before the children began to leave home Eve Clay had fried ham for breakfast one morning. The older children knew, or thought they knew, that there was no ham in the smokehouse. They immediately began to inquire of their mother as to where she got the ham. She would not tell them or give any explanation The older children refused to eat breakfast unless she would tell and she refused to tell, so they went to work breakfastless and no member of the family, to this day knows any more about the ham than when the discussion first started.
     In personal appearance she was of medium size with gray eyes and at the time of which I write her hair was white. It was probably auburn in earlier life. She was restless, filled with boundless energy, with shame and of a most determined disposition and violent temper.
    She had a great store of Welsh superstitions and of Scotch Closeness. She united these and practiced the profession of Palmistry and "fortune-telling." In this she traveled considerable distances, usually going horseback and carrying her serving woman with her. The practice of her profession of Palmistry and "fortune-telling". In this she traveled considerable distances, usually going horseback and carrying her serving woman with her. The practice of her profession proved profitable and she was accustomed to have in her possession considerable amounts of silver. She went as far as Savannah, and even to the Gulf Ports and wherever she went her art was in demand. Her temper, and her rather uncanny skill in foretelling, or rather guessing the coming future events, built for her quite a reputation. This with her age and appearance and peculiar conduct soon attracted to he the appellation of "The Witch Woman".
    Her children disapproved of this kind of existence and every effort was made by them to get her to abandon her fortune telling and these exscusions but without avail. The struggle between Eve and her children over this, was long and persistent with Eve continuing to do as she pleased. The children finally scattered out and Peyton Clay built Eve a house near his home. Here she lived for a number of years all alone and it was here that Mrs. Susie Gilbert knew her. Her serving woman appears on the scene no more and from now on we find Eve traveling on foot. Peyton Clay was wealthy and it is presumed that there was a deliberate attempt made to prevent these excursions, but to no avail. She was too independent to ask for a horse or to be carried and on more that one occasion traveled from Wilkinson County to Sumpter and Terrell counties on foot. Her children would send her back when her time was out.
    She lived to an extreme old age and got to where she could not walk a foot log. This did not prevent her, however, from going when and where she pleased. There were no bridges and she would wade the creeks at the fords and on one occasion gave some of her grandchildren a server scolding because they had seen her come to a creek and wade it and did not offer to take her up and carry her across on the horses which they were riding home from the field. They had wanted to see her wade the creek and did not let her know they were there until after she crossed the creek. I think that she was justified in her indignation at her grandchildren at this time.
    Her grandchildren were divided as to her supernatural powers, some believed in her possessing such powers and others did not. My mother had no faith in her possessing such powers but her sister Francis who married Hiram Wadsworth did. Mrs. Luvinia Connell still relates this circumstances as proof of Eve's power. "Judith Lucindy, my sister died quite young. Before her death, I was very sick and my mother was expecting me to die. Grandma (Eve) was at our home. At that time Judith was well and playing about. Mother asked Eve to tell her if I was going to die. Grandma told my mother that I was not going to die but that Judith was. I got well but Judith was soon taken sick and died."
Mrs. Trawick remembers Eve coming over in Washington County to visit relatives. She says that at that time she was very old and always came on foot. She says that all of the children were afraid of her, and that people called here a Witch. Mrs. Gilbert of Wilkinson County gives the same account of her.
   She lived to be very old and is given by White as an instance of longevity in Wilkinson County. When enfeebled by age her daughter Sarah Hatcher appears to have taken her in her home and to have given her the necessary care and attention. Age had finally done what man had been unable to do, that is subdue and tame her proud and imperious spirit.
   These characteristics of Eve has appeared in other members of the family to a much lesser extent. In collaterals it has rarely ever gone beyond eccentricity, but in my opinion John Wesley Hardin of Texas was of this family and this characteristic explains his live and conduct, Henry Clay of Wilkinson County must have inherited a share and I have seen it in others to a less extent. As a matter of fact I have felt the surge at times in myself. This characteristic was so marked that a common expression among all descendants when one lost his temper was "Watch old Eve". That was all that was necessary to cool the temper and restore tranquility.
    Now in concluding this sketch, I know of nothing better for all descendants to do that adopt this as a permanent motto "Watch old Eve". Time and the diffusion of her blood among the blood of many others has nearly destroyed the potency of this characteristic, but is likely to be renewed at any time by a series of marriages among her descendants or with some other family of similar blood lines and with similar characteristics. She had many good and noble qualities but it is by this characteristic that she is remember and it is from this characteristic that we descendants can most profit, that is in a negative way by guarding against the development of this characteristic within our hearts."

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