YOU ARE HERE -> c1820s-1852 Henry Clay lived in an era when appearing to be a “commoner” was advantageous for one’s political image.  Andrew Jackson benefited from this perception.  But it seems that Henry Clay was naturally unpretentious and—especially when home at Ashland—markedly informal.  Clay’s grandson-in-law Major McDowell said that Henry Clay was a “believer … More We Were Soon Perfectly At Home, As Everyone Must Be With Mr. Clay