WLLAY

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WILLIAM L. (Preacher Billy) LAY
1809-1907

HE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
HE KEPT THE FAITH
By Gerald Lay and Don Lay

1809

In 1809, James Madison became the fourth president of the United States. He would serve two terms. This was during the Revolutionary War period that formally ended with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

This was the year that Abraham Lincon was born, that Washington Irving wrote his memorable story of Rip Van Winkle, and on Christmas day, 1809, William L. Lay was born. To Bird and Elizabeth Lay. Census records indicate William L. Lay was born in Knox County, Tennessee. He was first of the five known children of Bird and Elizabeth Lay. The book, HISTORY OF KENTUCKY, written by Connelly and Coulter, edited by Judge Charles Kerr, also states William L. Lay was born in Knox County, Tennessee. This book has an interesting article about William L. Lay and his grandson, Lewis P. Lay, a prominent citizen of Whitley County, Kentucky.

Evidence indicates William L. Lay's father, Bird Lay, was born about 1780, the son of John and Martha Lay of Caswell county, North Carolina. It is not known when Bird Lay located in Tennessee.

William L. Lay had three sisters born, 1810, 1812 and 1815. And a brother Jesse, born ca. 1818. Little is known of the three sisters. Jesse married Connie Lay, daughter of William B. Lay. Little is known about William L. Lay's childhood, but it appears he was well prepared for life. During his ninety-seven years on earth he would sire eighteen children with two wives, be a prominent land owner and serve as Justice of the Peace.

William L. Lay was distinguished from other William Lays in the area by the initial L. Most referred to him as Billy Lay and some as Preacher Billy L.

1813

General Andrew Jackson began the war with the Creek Indians.

1818

In 1818 the United States bought western Tennessee from the Chickasaw Indians.

1829

Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States.

1830

In October of 1830 when William was twenty years old, his father bought property in Kentucky on the lower end of Elk Fork Creek near the Tennessee border. Elk Fork Creek empties into Clearfork River about two miles inside Kentucky.

About a year after Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States, William L. Lay married Elizabeth Ellison. She was the daughter of William Ellison, Sr., of Wolf Creek, Kentucky. For a while they lived in Whitley County, Kentucky.

Their children by order of birth:
1-Mary was born 3/1/1831 in Kentucky. She married Lewis Baird Jr.
2- Helen b. 6/24/1832, d.12/26/1911, married Harvey Grant
3- Hiram b. 7/24/1833 d. In Pine Hill, KY. married Conny Lay
4-Jesse b. 6/24/1835, d. 9/5/1917 married (1) Jency Peace (2) Elizabeth Quinn
5-William Paris b. 11/2/1837, d. 1880 married (1) Jane Poteet (2) Lucy Robinson
6-James b. 7/25/1838 d. 8/3/1918 married Emily Botkin 12/11/1856
7-Lewis b. 2/27/1840 d. 7/22/1898 married Martha (Patsy) Lay
8-Michael M. b. 12/16/1842 d.11/12/1931 married Elizabeth Lay / Emily (Lay) Braden
9-Ida b. 4/12/1845 married John Brooks
10-John L b. 12/1/1847 d.7/5/1877 married Elizabeth (Betsy) Baird
11-Nancy b. 7/27/1850 married Matthew Douglas
12-Rachel b. 2/15/1853 d.1/24/1926 married Joseph Peace Jr.
13-Isaac b.1/15/1854 d.7/9/1905 married Milly Gray
14-Berry b. 6/11/1855-d.2/7/1916 unmarried.

In the early 1840's they acquired property in and moved to Elk Valley, Tennessee.

1845

Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the United States died. James K. Polk, lawyer from Columbia, Tennessee, became the eleventh President of the United States.

1846

The Campbell County Clerks office records that William L. Lay, Justice of the Peace, performed marriages in Campbell County, Tennessee.

1849

In 1849 he bought a piece of property at a tax sale. On August 23, 1849, he obtained a land grant, #27248, from the State of Tennessee for fifty acres.

1853

In February, 4,1853, he obtained another grant, #28695, for 250 acres. All this land was in the area of Lone Mountain, a small mountain or ridge separating the main valley from Pine Mountain at the northern end of Elk Valley. Another small ridge farther South in the valley is called the Little Lone.

THE CAVE

William L. Lay owned land at both ends of the Lone Mountain and parcels on both sides. There is a cave on this property, probably used for storing winter food. It is a well-known landmark mentioned in deeds, and has a crystal clear branch flowing from it called "the Cave Branch" Later the property with the cave was bought and commercialized by Nat Swell of Corbin, Kentucky. He dammed the stream and created a lake for boat rides.

William L.'s son, Rev. Michael M. Lay, spoke of having played in the cave as a child. Gerald Lay remembers his dad telling a story about a dog getting lost in the cave. Later the dog was seen in Stinking Creek on the other side of Pine Mountain. This led to speculation that the cave ran through the mountain to another opening, but no other opening is known.

1861 -- 1865
SECESSION AND THE CIVIL WAR

At first, Tennesseans favored remaining in the Union although they recognized the right to secede. Then in June 1861, Tennesseans voted on the issue of secession: 104,903 for secession and 47,238 against secession. Campbell County clearly favored the Union. They voted 1,059 against and 59 for secession.(10) One hundred thousand Tennesseans fought for the South and 30,000 fought for the North.

Few Elk Valley residents owned slaves. However, William's brother in law, Sampson Stanfill, did own slaves; but he was not a Confederate.

Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union. Tennesseans were both divided and defiant; and this was part of the great tragedy of the Civil War: brother fighting brother and neighbor fighting neighbor. There were over 400 Civil War engagements fought in Tennessee. The first was the Battle of Shiloh, which was also the bloodiest. More blood was shed in Tennessee than in any other state except Virginia.

When the war started, Jefferson Davis immediately established a military stronghold in Knoxville, approximately forty miles from Elk Valley. There was a lot of pilfering and plundering in this area of East Tennessee, perhaps because the people were so divided and defiant.

STATE OF SCOTT

The most defiant act came when the Scott County Court of Common Pleas and Quarterly Sessions voted to secede from the State of Tennessee and create the Independent State of Scott. They organized the "Home Guard." This did little but annoy the Confederates and create difficulty between locals and the Confederate soldiers.

Confederate Soldiers plundered, stole, and confiscated in Elk Valley. They even robbed the bees for honey. During these forays, the men who had not joined Confederate Army would hide. In Scott county, the confederates at Buffalo creek, captured a relative of William L. Lay, Lewis M. Baird, with two companions, Lark Cross and a Mr. Vanover . His two companions were "hanged on the spot in a apple tree". Lewis was spared because of his age and fact that he was the head of a family of importance in the area. He was taken as a prisoner of war to the infamous prisoner of war camp in Salisbury North Carolina. He later was offered his freedom if he would take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, he refused to do so and died in Salisbury prison in 1864. He was buried in a common grave with 11,000 other union supporters.

Louis Grant tells of one foray when soldiers came to the Grant farm, adjacent to the William L. Lay farm, and attempted to take the Grant's horse. The men were in hiding, and Grandma (Helen) Grant, a daughter of William L., took a butcher knife and stood with her back to the barn door and dared them to try taking the horse. She saved the horse.

William L. Lay, like most East Tennesseans, was a republican and a unionist. His son, William P. Lay, served in the Second Tennessee Voluntary Regiment. Another son, Lewis, belonged to the First Tennessee Voluntary Infantry that was mostly made up of men from Campbell County. There were organized and drilled just inside the Kentucky line near Lot.

1861

In 1861, William L. Lay sold part of the property to a son, Jesse C. Lay.

1863

On November 8, 1863, William L. Lay, Justice of the Peace, performed the wedding of Pryor Lay and Rebecca Stanfill. Then, on September 2, 1864, he married Andrew Baird and Louisa Hix as a Minister of the Gospel, or "MG", as it is recorded in the marriage book. Is not known how many years he served as Justice of the Peace.

1865

In 1865, he sold property to son, Lewis Lay.

Records show that William L. Lay served as juror. Once he served on the Circuit Court Jury when a Confederate sympathizer was indicted for treason in September 1865. The indictment accused the man of "Knowingly, wittingly, unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously did enlist in the army of the so called Confederates States of America and did procure and persuade _________ to enlist in the army of the so called Confederate States of America and did procure and persuade fifty men whose names to the jurors aforesaid are unknown to enlist in the army of the so called Confederate States of America and furnish one hundred meals and diets to be used in ordaining, preparing, and levying the said war so traitorously commenced, prepared and levied as aforesaid, and thereby to enable him, the said _______ and the said Isham G. Harris", etc. This kind of indictment was typical after the war, while the Union Army governed Tennessee.

During April 3, to June 12, 1865, the first session of the Tennessee Legislature passed the Franchise Act, disenfranchising all former Confederate officers and soldiers, and all that had aided the Confederacy in any way. It also provided a reward of $5,000 for the capture of Isham Harris, former governor of Tennessee.

1867

In 1867, because the railroad had acquired right of ways from others that made it difficult for him to have ready access to his timber, he traded a right of way for access over railroad property.

1870 - 1872

Between 1870 and 1872, William L. Lay's wife died. They had fourteen children. Her gravesite is unknown. Her great, great grandchildren hope it will be discovered one day and properly marked.

1872

On December 14, 1872, Reverend S. P. Douglas married William L. Lay and Elizabeth (Betty) Anderson. He was sixty-three years old; his new wife was thirty-three. They had four children: Louisa, b.1873 d.1908, who married Lee Romines; Jane (Jennie), b.1875 d.1911 who married Cal Trammel; Samatha (Mattie), born April 1880, who married Albert Neal; and Calvin, born 1878.

1873

It is recorded that William L. (Billy) Lay preached the introductory sermon at the fourth annual meeting of the West Union Association of United Baptists of which Elk Fork Church in Elk Valley is a founding Member. He had been chosen at the preceding meeting. There is a Wm. Lay listed as a deceased minister in a list of deceased ministers which is published in their annual minutes.

1877

John L. Lay expired in 1877. He was the tenth child of William L. and Elizabeth Lay.

1890

March 10, 1890, William sold the bulk of his Elk Valley land, 345 and 3/4acres, to James Lawson of Capuchine in Scott County. It was sold for"$3500 in hand paid and secured by note receipt where of is hereby acknowledged". A note dated January 29, 1898, recorded March 1, 1904, Added to the side of the deed confirmed the payment .

1895

In 1895, William L. and Elizabeth Anderson Lay bought land in and moved to Whitley County, Kentucky. Whitely became McCreary County in 1912. This property was bought from Calvin and Hannah Lay. The relationship of Calvin Lay to William Lay unknown. According to the deed, this property bordered the Williamsburg and Huntsville Road.

Originally, William and son, Reverend Michael Lay, were aligned with the United Baptist Church . A short article of the history of Whitley County, Kentucky, published in the Tribune, a local paper in 1959, said that Reverend Horace Meadors, Reverend M. Lay and Reverend J.M. Burnett "continued the religious work with the Union Church, preaching in the public school building at Williamsburg".

A Missionary Baptist effort around 1880 originated Sunday schools and churches in that area. This Missionary effort was responsible for the establishing of Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, near Cumberland Gap.

William L. Lay broke away from the United Baptist Church and founded the Lower Marsh Creek Church a Missionary Baptist Church.

Once there was some disagreement over church missions, and the church doors had been locked, which probably prompted the establishment of the Missionary Church on Lower Marsh Creek. Mattie Lay Neal told daughter, Dessie Neal Creekmore, that William L. Lay "held his church on the outside and he had the greatest audience that had ever been there".

1906

Evidently, by the spring of 1906 William L. (Billy) Lay was suffering from the ills of old age because he made provisions for Michael to care for him. ( A deed / will states: "That the party of the first part, (W.M. Lay) for and in consideration of the sum of $300 three hundred dollars, five dollars in hand paid to me paid receipt where of as hereby acknowledged. And two hundred & ninety five dollars to be paid by having some person to take care of me and paying them for it: Or said M. Lay taking care of me himself and such pay shall be when my other means have executed. And whatsoever said M. Lay may think to be just for such care for me and having me will come for during my natural life. The deed / will also states: "and subject to a homestead for my wife Betty Lay during her natural life is one reason I tell it so. Cause and to enable me to have some one paid to care for me during my natural life". William L. Lay signed this deed/will with an X. It is thought he was too weak to sign his name because this is the only time known that he used an X for his signature.

Michael's daughter, Mamie, said her grandfather lived with them briefly. She said she remembered him sitting on the side of the bed, that it "seemed to me like he was a slender man, tall, and he had lots of hair, and it was sandy looking. Daddy said that he was almost red headed. He must have been 96 or 97 when I remember him". It is not clear why William L. went to live with Michael, for his wife Elizabeth (Betty) Anderson Lay was still living. In an interview, Dessie Neal Creekmore says her grandmother (Betty Lay) lived with her mother Mattie Lay Neal. So it is not clear if Betty Anderson Lay continued to live on the William L. farm after William L. went to live with Michael. It is assumed that their children were married and gone by this time.

William L. Lay was born in rugged, pioneer times, when it was a matter of "survival of the fittest." Today's easy to cure diseases meant certain death for people at that time.

1907

January 30, 1907, at the age of 97 years one month and 5 days, William L. Lay slipped quietly into eternal rest, to be with the Heavenly Father and Savior that he taught and preached about. He was buried among other members of his family at the Upper Marsh Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

The inscription on his tombstone, befitting a great man, reads:

I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT.
I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH.
I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE.
FAREWELL FAREWELL TO ALL BELOW
MY JESUS CALLS AND I MUST GO.

All of William L.'s descendants can be proud of this ancestral forefather. He stood for God and Country. The moral and ethical standards that he instilled in his children have been passed down through the generations, and we trust they will be passed on to all future generations.

Direct all comments and EMAIL to Don: