U.S. Senator, Presidential Cabinet Member. He graduated from Yale College in 1815, studied law at the Litchfield Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1819 and practiced law in Dover, Delaware. He was a member of the Delaware State House of Representatives in 1824 and Delaware Secretary of State, (1826-28). In 1829, he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the United States Senate, serving until he resigned in 1836. He was Chief Justice of Delaware, (1837-39) and again elected as a Whig to the United States Senate, serving (1845-49). In 1849, he accepted the position of Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Zachary Taylor, serving until 1850. While as Secretary of State he negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Great Britain. In 1853, he was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and served until his death at age 60.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Family Members
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James George Clayton
1761–1820
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Sarah Middleton Clayton
1774–1829
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Sarah Ann Fisher Clayton
1799–1825
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Elizabeth Clayton
1801–1822
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James Fisher Clayton
1823–1851
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Charles McClyment Clayton
1825–1849
Flowers
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