LEXINGTON, Ky. — Visitors to Ashland, Henry Clay’s estate in Lexington will soon see a new addition to the tour.

What You Need To Know

  • UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center transferred an image of Henry Clay's enslaved valet to Ashland 

  • Aaron Dupuy was enslaved at Ashland and worked as Clay's personal valet and coach driver 

  • The stereograph of Dupuy is rare, as many enslaved people weren't photographed while they were still slaves 

  • The original image is believed to be from the 1850s when Dupuy was enslaved and worked at Ashland 

Ashland and University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center exchanged a rare image of a slave that worked at the estate and was Henry Clay’s personal valet. 

Ashland curator Eric Brooks said the small image is a big get for Ashland. “It puts a face to a story,” Brooks said.

That story is of Aaron Dupuy, one of over 120 slaves owned by Henry Clay at his Ashland estate. Dupuy served as a personal valet and coach driver for Clay.

Brooks said the estate has tried to gather the names of all enslaved people at Ashland and while they have identified most, only two pictures exist of the slaves forced to work at Clay’s Lexington home.

“It makes the story all that more real, all that more personal. It’s not just another name, it’s a face that you can attach to that,” Brooks said.

This stereograph is believed to be from the 1880s and the original image thought to be from the 1850s when Dupuy was still a slave for Clay.

Brooks said it is rare to have a photo of an identified enslaved person while they were still a slave.

“Very, very few sites have these sorts of images and we have one that we not only have but we know a lot about the person. We have a lot of story about Aaron,” Brooks said.

The Henry Clay Memorial Fund and UK Special Collections ceremoniously exchanged one of two copies of the stereograph into the possession of the Ashland estate. Dean of UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center Deirdre Scaggs said the library has retained the two copies since the 1990s, but was thrilled to transfer ownership to Henry Clay Memorial Foundation.

“Preservation is number one but as a land-grant institution at the University of Kentucky, we really want to make these as publicly available as we can,” Scaggs said.

Ashland hopes to have its copy of the stereograph displayed soon. Brooks said he hopes visitors take away that slaves were very much a part of the history at Ashland.

“These are human beings who did amazing things just to survive. We hope they will remember that and I think having pictures like Aaron makes it far easier for people to do that,” Brooks said.

Ashland also has a Traces tour option, which focuses on the lives and stories of enslaved people on the grounds and not Clay himself.

Aaron and his son, Charles Dupuy, are the only two known slaves to have their photographs taken while working for Henry Clay.

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