John Jay
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John Jay (1745 - 1829)

John Jay
Born in Bedford, New Yorkmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 28 Apr 1774 in Liberty Hall, Elizabethtown, NJmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 83 in Bedford, New York, USAmap
Profile last modified | Created 18 Nov 2008
This page has been accessed 46,874 times.
1776
John Jay participated in the American Revolution.
Join: 1776 Project
Discuss: 1776
Preceded by
Constitution ratified on
March 4, 1789





Office established
July 27, 1789






Preceded by
1st Governor

George Clinton
John Jay
1st Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
Seal of the US Supreme
1789—1795

Acting United States
Secretary of State
Department of State
1789—1790

2nd Governor of
New York
Seal of the State of New York
1795—1801
Succeeded by
2nd Chief Justice
John Rutledge




Succeeded by
1st Secretary

Thomas Jefferson




Succeeded by
3rd Governor

George Clinton
Preceded by
5th President
Henry Laurens
John Jay
6th President
of the Continental Congress
10 Dec 1778 - 28 Sep 1779
Succeeded by
7th President
Samuel Huntington

Biography

Notables Project
John Jay is Notable.
1776 Project
John Jay was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.
Activists and Reformers poster
John Jay was a part of the Abolitionist Movement.

1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and President of the American Bible Society

"By conveying the Bible to people thus circumstanced, we certainly do them a most interesting kindness. We thereby enable them to learn that man was originally created and placed in a state of happiness, but, becoming disobedient, was subjected to the degradation and evils which he and his posterity have since experienced.

"The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement "for the sins of the whole world," and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve."

--In God We Trust—The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers, p. 379.

"In forming and settling my belief relative to the doctrines of Christianity, I adopted no articles from creeds but such only as, on careful examination, I found to be confirmed by the Bible."

--American Statesman Series, p. 360.

Born into a wealthy family of New York City merchants, John Jay is remembered as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and an astute statesman, politician and diplomat. He was President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779 and the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795.

Jay was instrumental in chartering US foreign policy, serving as the ambassador to Spain and France during the American Revolution. Through the Jay Treaty, he was able to secure better than expected peace terms with both Britain and France. In 1788 he had the distinct honor of writing the Federalist Papers with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.

Serving as Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801 and the leader of the Federalist party, Jay became a strong opponent of slavery. After two unsuccessful attempts, he was able to pass emancipation for all New York slaves in 1799 - thirty years before his death in 1829.

Legacy

  • Jay County, Indiana is named in his honor.

Sources





Comments: 7

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Hi there profile managers! We plan on featuring John as the Example Profile of the Week in the Connection finder on October 6th. Between now and then is a good time to take a look at the sources and biography to see if there are updates and improvements that need made, especially those that will bring it up to WikiTree Style Guide standards. A Team member will check on the profile closer to that date we'll feature it and make changes as necessary.

Abby

posted by Abby (Brown) Glann
Holland-11419 and Jay-1 do not represent the same person because: Not duplicates, probably an accidental error
posted by Mary (Spradley) Morken
Jay, Maine is a city named for him.
posted by Gil Davis
The source below is also Also: Robison, Jeannie Floyd Jones and Henrietta C. Bartlett. (editors) The Colonial Dames of New York: Genealogical records; manuscript entries of births, deaths and marriages taken from family Bibles, 1581-1917. New York, 1917. p. 110 http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062943741;view=1up;seq=156 At Hathi Trust.
posted by Anne B
source for his grandson had been a dead link to the family bible. found it through the Wayback Machine of archive.org -

https://web.archive.org/web/20101124200721/http://www.onentofl.com/chbiblejayp.html

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
I'm also part of the Jay family! Direct Descendants I think. Through my dad, David Jay. I would love to piece everything together as well, but I don't know where to find resources.

Hope to hear from some more family members soon!

Angela

posted by [Living Jay]