Jonas Fay (1737 - 1818)

Born 17 Jan 1737 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Fassett) Fay — married 1 May 1760 (to 1779) in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts

Husband of Lydia (Warner) Fay — married 20 Nov 1777 (to 6 Mar 1818) in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Mar 1818 at age 81 in Bennington, Bennington, Vermont, United States

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Biography

Staff Officer Jonas Fay served with Colonel Seth Warner's Extra-Continental Regiment, Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Jonas Fay is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A039521.

Fay, Jonas DAR Ancestor A039521 Service: Vermont Rank(s): Civil & Patriotic Service, Staff Officer - Doctor & Surgeon in the Green Mountain Boys under Colonel Seth Warner. Was Member Board of War, Vice President of Council of Safety, July 1777 and Councilor and Judge of Probate. Spouses(s) 1) Sarah Fassett 2)Lydia Safford. ^[1]

Dr. Jonas Fay was the son of Stephen Fay and Ruth Child ^[2]

Note

The State of Vermont, Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783, Published by Authority of the Legislature, Compiled and Edited by John E. Goodrich, A Member of the Vermont Historical Society, Rutland, Vermont: The Tuttle Company, 1904, 814: "A List of the Field Officers, Captains and part of the Lieutenants of the Regiment of Green Mountain Boys, consisting of seven companies. July 4, 1775, Colonel Allen's royal list of loyal Officers: Jonas Fay, Doctor & Surgeon. ^[3]

Wikipedia

Jonas Fay (January 17, 1737 – March 6, 1818) ^[4] was a military and political leader of Vermont during its period as an independent republic, and during the early years of its statehood. Born in Massachusetts, he served in the militia during the French and Indian War, studied medicine, and became a physician. His father moved to Vermont during its formative years, and Jonas Fay moved with him. Fay was active in the Green Mountain Boys and their resistance to New York's efforts to assume jurisdiction over Vermont. In 1775, he served as physician for the contingent of Green Mountain Boys that captured Fort Ticonderoga. ^[5]

Fay served as secretary of the 1777 constitutional convention at which Vermont declared its independence, and was a primary author of the declaration by which Vermont announced this decision. He served as Vice President of the Council of Safety that administered Vermont at the start of the American Revolution, and as a member of the Governor's Council after the Governor and Council replaced the Committee of Safety. He also visited the Continental Congress as an agent of Vermont and attempted unsuccessfully to persuade Congress to allow Vermont to join the Union. Fay was also one of eight Vermont founders originally aware of the details of the Haldimand negotiations, in which British authorities worked to make Vermont a British Province. ^[6] After the war, Fay served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and Judge of the Probate Court for Bennington County. He died in Bennington in 1818 and was buried at Old Bennington Cemetery. ^[7]

Notes

Note NI416

Excerpts below may have been taken from: ^[8]

Jonas Fay received a good education and was a man of extraordinary energy and versatility of talent. He was in the sanguinary battle near Lake George, Sep 8, 1755, when at the age of 19, and in 1756 was clerk in Capt. Samuel Robinson's Company in the French war at Fort Edward.

He studied medicine and soon after 1760 commenced practicing the healing art in Hardwick, ranking high as a physician and still higher as a politician and patriot. He practiced several years, also taught school, residing at the place marked "Mr. Wesson" in the Ruggles map.

May 19, 1761, he purchased 4 1/2 acres of land in Hardwick near the 10 acres that were "reserved for a burial place, a training field, and to set a meeting house on". In 1761 he was called Ensign on the town records. Sept. 23, 1762, he was one of ten who were licensed as inn holders in the town of Hardwick, "during the time by law appointed for keeping the "Fair" in said town who recognized". He was assessor in 1766 and 1767.

He removed to Bennington, VT in 1768, residing in a house that stood on the Blue Hill, a mile south of the meeting house, and at once became conspicuous as a physician, a leading politician, and occupied a prominent position among the settlers on the "N.H. Grants", as well in the contests with NY as in that of the mother country and also in the organization of the state government. In 1772 when Gov. Trvon of NY invited the people of Bennington to send agents to NY to inform him of the grounds of their complaint, he (and his father) were appointed for that purpose.

He was clerk to the convention of settlers that met Mar 1774; resolved to defend by force. Allen, Warner and others, who were threatened with outlawry and death by the NY assembly, and as such clerk, certified their proceedings for publication.

He was surgeon in a regiment of the "Green Mountain Boys" at the capture of Ticonderoga and the expedition of Allen and was continued in that position by the committee of the Mass. congress who were sent to the lake in July 1775, and also was appointed by them to muster the troops as they arrived for the defense of that post. He was also surgeon for a time to Col. Warner's regiment.

In Jan, 1776, he was clerk to the convention at Dorset that petitioned congress to be allowed to serve in the common cause of the country as the inhabitants of the NH Grants and not under NY, and was also clerk of the convention held in the same place in July following. He was a member of the convention which met at Westminster in Jan 1777, and declared Vermont to be an independent state and was appointed chairman of a committee to draw up a declaration and petition announcing the fact and their reasons for it, to congress' of which declaration and petition he was the draughtsman and author.

He was secretary to the convention that formed the constitution of the state in july, 1777, and was on of the "Council of Safety" then appointed to administer the affairs of the state until the assembly provided for by the constitution should meet. In was this "Council of Safety" which assembled in the "Catamount Tavern" on the day of the Battle of Bennington, Aug 16, 1777. "Jonas Fay was vice president and one of the most active members. There were gather there, Ira Allen, Thomas Chittenden, Jonas Fay, and their staunch comrades. There was one Catomount on the sign post and twelve Catamounts within."

He was also a member of the State Council for 7 years from 1778, a judge of the supreme court in 1782, judge of probate from 1782 to 1787 and was one of the three side judges Sept 11, 1782 for the trial of prisoners in a special term of the superior court held at Westminster, VT and Moses Robinson was chief judge.

Jonas Fay was a member of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia as the agent of the state, under appointments made in Jan 1777, Oct 1779, June 1781 and Feb 1782.

On the occurrence of the birth of twin sons, Jan 12, 1779, he named one of them Ethan Allen and the other Heman Allen after his two friends of those names.

Dr. Fay was a man of extensive general information, decided in his opinions and bold and determined in maintaining them. His education was such as to enable him to draw with skill and ability the public papers of the day of which many besides the Declaration of Independence before mentioned, he was the reputed author. In 1780 he in conjunction with Ethan Allen, prepared and published a pamphlet of 30 pages on the NH and NY controversy which was printed at Hartford, Connecticut.

After the year 1800, he removed to Charlott, for a few years, and afterward to Pawlett, but returned again to Bennington where he died, Mar 6 1818, aged 82 years.

Sources

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed June 20, 2019), "Record of Fay, Jonas", Ancestor # A039521. Meehan-411
2. ↑ This person was created through the import of Middletown families minus.ged on 10 February 2011.
3. ↑ Page 202-3 "Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom, Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys...," Christopher S Wren. 2018. Simon & Schuster, New York, London. Pages 198-9. Call 973.3443 WRE
4. ↑ Wikipedia:Jonas_Fay
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4GQ-ZF8: 10 November 2020), Jonas Fay, 28 Jan 1737; citing Birth, Westborough, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009543.
6. ↑ Soldiers of the Champlain Valley Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association Vol. 17 (1919), pp. 346
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/15016949/jonas-fay: accessed 02 June 2021), memorial page for Dr Jonas Fay (28 Jan 1736–6 Mar 1818), Find A Grave: Memorial #15016949, citing Old Bennington Cemetery, Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, USA; Maintained by the moo (contributor 46834101).
8. ↑ https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~fayfamily/genealogy/jonas1737b.html

Acknowledgements

• Fay-523 was created by Bob Fox through the import of 4-6-14 FOX Tree final.ged on Apr 8, 2014. User ID: 61F6592773704A92AA22BF707A5A1B2EAECF.