Clay was born in
Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Herman H. Clay (March 1876 – February 1, 1954) and Edith E. Greathouse (December 1889 – December 30, 1972). He was named in honor of the 19th-century Kentucky-born Republican politician and staunch abolitionist
Cassius Marcellus Clay. He had a sister and four brothers, including Nathaniel Clay. Clay's paternal grandparents were John Clay and Sallie Anne Clay. His sister Eva said that Sallie was a native of
Madagascar. According to DNA research,
Muhammad Ali's paternal grandmother was
Archer Alexander's (1816–1880) great-granddaughter. Clay painted
billboards and
signs. He also played the piano, took piano lessons and wrote music. Around 1933, he married
Odessa Lee O'Grady. He was a heavy drinker, which led to legal entanglements for reckless driving, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery. When asked in 1970 why he had not become a
Muslim as his son had done, he said: "my religion is my talent, that which supports me." Clay died at the age of 77 on February 8, 1990, after suffering a
heart attack while leaving a department store in Kentucky. ==Legacy==