The Untold Clay Book Series releases July 26th

The long-awaited Untold Clay series will be released on Friday, July 26 at a book signing from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Clay County Historical Society at 202 Main Street in downtown Manchester. Author Gary Burns will be on hand to sign the four-volume set which is packaged in a handsome matching slipcase.

As a part of their 40th anniversary celebration, the Clay County Historical Society is presenting four books about infamous characters from Clay County's fascinating past. Written by noted author and historian, Gary Burns, the books are the culmination of years of research and reveal thrilling aspects of Clay County history...Untold, Unknown, and Unbelievable! The book will be available for $59.95 (+tax; s/h).

Volume I, Lyttle Clay: The Greatest Bandit Never Heard Of presents

the story of George Lyttle, aka Dick Fellows, the notorious bandit

and stage robber of the 1880s Wild West. Fellows grew up in Clay

County during the 1850s, and after the Civil War drifted to

California where he assumed his new name and lived two

lives—mild mannered schoolteacher and inept desperado. His

largely unsuccessful criminal career led to several stints in San

Quentin and Folsom prisons, before he came home to Kentucky

following his ultimate parole in 1908. Dick Fellows disappeared from history in the early 1920s, but his exploits are recorded for all time in Lyttle Clay: The Greatest Bandit Never Heard Of.

Volume II, Bad Clay: The Dark Side of the County describes the

vigilante justice that permeated Clay County, and much of

Appalachian Kentucky, for nearly two centuries. In this county,

family roots run deep, and for many families the murder of a

loved one required vengeance in kind. In Bad Clay, author Gary

Burns describes the seemingly endless cycle of revenge killings

throughout the 1800s and into the 20th Century, and the more

notable personalities and events that defined the era.

Volume III, Chesnut Clay: Bob Chesnut and the Real West tells the

story of Robert "Bob" Chesnut, the cowboy, rancher, wagon boss, teamster,

hunter, prospector, inventor, alleged murderer and sometimes

town drunk who left his childhood home on Sexton’s Creek for

adventure on the Great Plains in the late 1800s. Chesnut’s greatest

claim to fame was as a wagon boss traveling across dangerous

frontier country, later settling in Chesnut Valley, Montana, named

in his honor. By his own admission, Chesnut spent his sunset years

hiding from the law in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma but

his life reflected the real story of the Old West.

Volume IV, Foster Clay: Survival at the Little Bighorn provides the

gripping story of Private Samuel James Foster, who survived the

Battle of the Little Bighorn. Foster left his Clay County home in

1872 and joined the Seventh Cavalry Regiment, commanded by LT COL George Armstrong Custer, staying with the regiment during the Indian Wars leading up to the ill-fated battle in 1876. Assigned to Major Marcus Reno’s detached wing, Foster made

it through the battle wounded, but alive, later mustering out of

the Army in 1879 and returning to Clay County, where he would

live for another five years.

The author Gary Burns grew up in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. His heritage comes

through generations of proud, patriotic Eastern Kentucky

mountaineers. Following their example, he volunteered for the Marine

Corps at age seventeen and after a successful thirty-year career retired to pursue his dream of becoming a historian. He achieved that dream with the assistance of Eastern Kentucky University. Burns has written or contributed to four nonfiction books, as well as more than twenty

magazine articles. He and his wife Trish divide their time between their homes in the Kentucky mountains and the Texas Hill Country.

Mike White, president of the historical society commented, "We are so proud of this 40th anniversary project! The initial work began in 2022 but there were so many interesting stories that the road was longer than anyone expected. Gary Burns had been writing terrific articles for our historical society magazine for years so we knew he had to author these books. I'm sure when he agreed he never realized it would require nearly two years of his already busy life to create this historic work - we are eternally grateful. We are also grateful to our publisher, Acclaim Press of Sikeston, Missouri - who we first worked with in 2017 to publish our photography books - they made the process so easy. We hope to offer more books in the future ... famous women of Clay County, men of color who became Buffalo soldiers, and the list goes on and on. There are so many Clay County stories to tell and we want to tell them all! "