Peter Augustus Jay (January 24, 1776 – February 20, 1843) was a prominent New York lawyer, politician and the eldest son of Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

Early life

Peter Augustus Jay was born at

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest ...

", on January 24, 1776, at the home of his maternal grandparents' in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Peter was one of six children born to

and Sarah Van Brugh (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Livingston) Jay, and one of two boys (brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was born in 1789) with four sisters: Susan (born and died in 1780); Maria (b. 1782), Ann (b. 1783) and Sarah Louisa (b. 1792). Jay's paternal grandparents were Peter Jay, who was born in New York City in 1704 and became a wealthy trader in furs, wheat, timber, and other commodities, and Mary Van Cortlandt, who had married in 1728. Mary's father was Jacobus Van Cortlandt who was twice

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

. His mother was the eldest daughter of 13 children born to New Jersey Governor William Livingston (1723–1790). His aunt, Susannah Livingston, was married to

John Cleves Symmes John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, t ...

. His grandfather, William, was the son of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great ...

, himself the son of

Robert Livingston the Elder The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and Alida Schulyer van Rensselaer.Kierner, Cynthia A., ''Traders and Gentlefolk: The Livingstons of New York, 1675–1790'', Cornell University Press, 1992
/ref> Following in the footsteps of his father, who graduated from the colonial-era King's College, Peter graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1794.

Career

Following his graduation in 1794, Jay acted as private secretary to his father in London for the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

. The young Jay studied law and established a practice in New York City with his cousin

Peter Jay Munro Peter Jay Munro (January 10, 1767 – September 22, 1833) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician from New York. Early life Munro was born on January 10, 1767, in Rye in the Province of New York in what was then British America. He was ...

, carrying on a family tradition of public service. As a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, he was a member from New York City of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in the 39th New York State Legislature, during which time he was active in arranging the financing for the construction of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...

. He ran many times for Congress, but was always defeated by the

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

candidates. From 1819 to 1821, he was Recorder of New York City. He was a delegate from Westchester Co. to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821. For a time he was also a Westchester County Judge.

Philanthropy and Affiliations

In 1814, Jay and his father were both elected members of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

. Together with financier Thomas Eddy, Peter Augustus Jay also helped organize and found New York's earliest savings bank, the now defunct New York Bank for Savings in 1816 (thereby contributing to the establishment of the New York State savings bank system). In 1828, he helped found the

New York Law Institute The New York Law Institute is the oldest circulating law library in New York City and is open to Institute members and to scholars of history and the law. Today The New York Law Institute library is located in the Equitable Building and has a ...

, which today is the oldest law library in New York City. Jay was President of New York Hospital (1827–1833), Chairman of the Board of Trustees, King's College and President of the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

(1840–1842). In 1832, he was honored with a Doctor of Laws from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

for his "talents and virtues", and from Columbia, in 1835. Jay shared his father's commitment to social justice and actively pursued greater rights for African Americans. In his commitment to reform, he served as President of the New-York Manumission Society in 1816 and President of the New York Public School Society which was anti-slavery and concerned with greater humanitarianism towards the poor. Jay is best known for giving a speech in 1821 at the New York State Constitutional Convention as a delegate arguing that the right to vote should be extended to free African Americans. "Peter Augustus Jay, one of a minority of advocates of universal manhood suffrage, insisted that the idea that black people were naturally inferior had long been 'completely refuted and universally exploded.'" Despite his impassioned argument, Jay's motion for extending suffrage was overruled.

Personal life

On July 29, 1807, he married Mary Rutherfurd Clarkson (1786–1838), a daughter of General

Matthew Clarkson Matthew Clarkson (October 17, 1758 – April 25, 1825) was a colonial soldier and politician. Clarkson Street in Greenwich Village and the town of Clarkson in Western New York were both named after him. Early life Clarkson was born on October ...

and Mary (née Rutherfurd) Clarkson. Her uncle was

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

John Rutherfurd and her paternal grandfather was Walter Rutherfurd. Together, they had eight children, including: * John Clarkson Jay (1808–1891), who married Laura Prime (1812–1888) and was a physician and noted

conchologist Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It incl ...

. * Mary Rutherfurd Jay (1810–1835), who married Frederick Prime in 1829. * Sarah Jay (1811–1846), who married William Dawson in 1836. * Catherine Helena Jay (1815–1889), who married Henry Augustus DuBois (1808–1884) in 1835. * Anna Maria Jay (1819–1902), who married Henry Evelyn Pierrepont (1808–1888) in 1841. * Peter Augustus Jay (1821–1855), who married Josephine Pearson (1829–1852) in 1848. * Elizabeth Clarkson Jay (1823–1895). * Susan Matilda Jay (1827–1910), who married Matthew Clarkson (1823–1913), the eldest son of David Clarkson (president of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

), in 1852. His wife died in

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

in the north

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, southwest of Portugal, on December 24, 1838. Peter Augustus Jay died in New York City on February 20, 1843. His descendants have gone on to become educators, lawyers, diplomats and civic advocates. They include

Mary Rutherfurd Jay Mary Rutherfurd Jay (1872–1953) was one of America's earliest landscape architects and an advocate of horticultural education and careers for women."Mary Rutherfurd Jay – Garden Architect" Exhibit Catalog, Jay Heritage Center, 2015 The gr ...

, Pierre Jay, and

Jay Pierrepont Moffat Jay Pierrepont Moffat (January 7, 1896 – January 25, 1943) was an American diplomat, historian and statesman who, between 1917 and 1943, served the State Department in a variety of posts, including that of United States Ambassador to Cana ...

Jay Estate

Peter Augustus legally received the Jay Estate in Rye from his father in 1822 though original account records show that he and his wife Mary were handling household expenses as for the Rye estate as early as 1814. Under his father's aegis, Peter Augustus installed European styled stone ha-has on the property and planted elm trees. His father John Jay died in 1829. In 1836, Peter Augustus contracted with a builder, Edwin Bishop, to take down the failing farmhouse that had been barraged by the British during the Revolutionary War. Reusing structural elements from "The Locusts" where his father grew up as a boy, Peter Augustus Jay helped create the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

mansion that stands there today. Unfortunately his wife Mary would not live to see the house completed, as she died in Madeira on December 24, 1838. After Jay's death in 1843, the Rye house passed to his eldest son, John Clarkson Jay.Wells p. 42 The Jay Estate is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

within the Boston Post Road Historic District (Rye, New York) as well as a Save America's Treasures Project; NHL designation is the highest recognition conferred by the US government for a historic site—out of more than 80,000 places on the National Register, only about 2,430 are NHLs. The Jay mansion is currently being preserved and restored by the non-profit organization, the Jay Heritage Center, for use as an educational center with programs in American history. In November 2008, it became the first NHL structure in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

and the oldest NHL in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

to be fitted with a geothermal heating and cooling system. Peter Augustus Jay and John Jay's leadership roles in the

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: *Abolitionism, abolition of slavery * Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment *Abolition of monarchy *Abolition of nuclear weapons *Abolit ...

of slavery are regularly examined in a program at the Jay Heritage Center called "Striving for Freedom". It is because of this legacy of social justice that the Jay site was added to the Westchester County African American Heritage Trail in 2004.

References

;General sources * Jay, John
Memorials of Peter A. Jay
1905. G.J. Thieme * Kelby, Robert Hendre
The New York Historical Society 1804–1904
1905. Published for the Society * Wells, Laura Jay
The Jay Family of La Rochelle and New York
1938. Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America * Lamb, Mrs. Martha J. and Harrison, Mrs. Burton "The History of the City of New York, Its Origin, Rise and Progress" 1877. A.S. Barnes * Cutler, William W. "Status, Values and the Education of the Poor: The Trustees of the New York Public School Society, 1805-1853" American Quarterly, Vol.24, No.1, (Mar.,1972) pp 69–85. The Johns Hopkins University Press

External links

Official Site-Jay Heritage Center
*
The Papers of John Jay
An image database and indexing tool comprising some 13,000 documents scanned chiefly from photocopies of original documents from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York and approximately 90 other institutions.
Official Site-Save America's Treasures

The New York Law InstituteThe Amiable Children of John and Sarah Livingston Jay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Peter Augustus John Jay 1776 births 1843 deaths American abolitionists American people of Dutch descent American lawyers Columbia College (New York) alumni Livingston family U.S. Route 1 People from Rye, New York New York City Recorders Members of the New York State Assembly Members of the American Antiquarian Society New York (state) Federalists Members of the New York Manumission Society Schuyler family Jay family