Col. Joseph Clay (1741-1804)
Deputy Paymaster General for Georgia & Member of the Continental Congress
He was born in Yorkshire, England, and was orphaned at a very young age. In 1760, he joined his uncle, (future Governor) James Habersham, in Savannah, Georgia, where he quickly established himself as a successful merchant and factor (commercial agent). On the outbreak of Revolution, he was elected a Member of the Council of Safety and Delegate to the Provisional Congress in 1775. He served as a Major in the Georgia Line of the Continental Army and was promoted to Colonel as Deputy Paymaster General for Georgia (1777-81). He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1778, but didn't attend due to his military commitments. After the war, he was an original Trustee of Franklin College, Georgia; Treasurer of Georgia (1782); and, Judge of the U.S. Court for the District of Georgia, (1786-1801). He maintained extensive correspondence with other Revolutionary figures, notably George Walton, and died in Savannah in 1804.
