A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs Clay of Alabama by Virginia Caroline Tunstall Clay-Clopton

A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs Clay of Alabama by Virginia Caroline Tunstall Clay-Clopton

Virginia Caroline Tunstall Clay-Clopton

1825-1915

Virginia Caroline Tunstall Clay-Clopton was born in Nash County, N.C. She received her education at a private school in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and graduated from the Nashville Female Academy in 1840. Her marriage to Clement Claiborne Clay in 1843 elevated her status, particularly when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1853. As a senator's wife, Clay-Clopton became a notable figure in Washington, D.C., society. However, with the onset of the Civil War and Alabama's secession, Clay-Clopton and her husband returned to their home state, where Clement Clay served in the Confederate Senate and later as a commissioner to Canada. In the 1890s, Clay-Clopton became a pioneering advocate of women's suffrage in Alabama, serving as president of the Alabama Equal Rights Association from 1896 to 1900. Her dedication to the cause continued for the remainder of her life, as she remained active in organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Clay-Clopton published a memoir titled A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs Clay of Alabama before her passing in 1915.

Alabama Authors of the 19th & 20th Centuries, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, http://alabamaauthors.org

1905

A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs Clay of Alabama. Garden City, NY; Doubleday, Page & Co, 1905.

AL Book Collection

Clay-Clopton, Virginia Caroline Tunstall, “A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs Clay of Alabama by Virginia Caroline Tunstall Clay-Clopton,” Alabama Authors of the 19th & 20th Centuries, accessed November 8, 2026, https://alabamaauthors.org/items/show/24563.