Joseph Clay Jr. (August 16, 1764 – January 11, 1811) was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Georgia The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

and was a Baptist pastor.

Education and career

Clay was the son of

Joseph Clay Joseph Clay (July 24, 1769August 27, 1811) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Joseph Clay was born in Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Ei ...

, an American Revolutionary War figure. Born on August 16, 1764, in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Province of Georgia,

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

, Clay graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1784 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in 1790. He entered private practice in Savannah, Georgia from 1790 to 1796.

Federal judicial service

Clay received a recess appointment from President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

on September 16, 1796, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Nathaniel Pendleton Nathaniel Pendleton (October 27, 1756 – October 20, 1821) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia. Education and career Born on October 27, 1756, in New Kent County, Colony of Virgi ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Washington on December 21, 1796. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 27, 1796, and received his commission on January 2, 1797. His service terminated on May 12, 1801, due to his resignation. Clay was nominated by President John Adams to the United States Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit on February 21, 1801. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 24, 1801, but declined the appointment.

Later career

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Clay resumed private practice in Savannah from 1802 to 1804. He was an assistant pastor in Savannah from 1804 to 1807. He was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts from 1807 to 1809. Clay died on January 11, 1811, in Boston.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Joseph Jr. 1764 births 1811 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia United States federal judges appointed by George Washington 18th-century American judges Judges of the United States circuit courts United States federal judges appointed by John Adams American Christian clergy United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law