John Jay
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First Lady: Sarah Vail Brugh Livingston
Party: Vice President : Cabinet: Born : December 12, 1745 in: New York City, New York Died: May 17 1829 in Bedford, New York Buried : The Marshlands, New York Parents: Peter (Pierre) Jay, Mary Anna Van Courtland Married : Sarah Vail Brugh Livingston Children : 7 In Office : December 10, 1778 to September 28, 1779 Education: Boarding school in New Rochelle, New York King's College studied law with Benjamin Kissam Occupation: lawyer Other Political Offices : Member of the New York Committee of Correspondence, 1774 Minister to Spain in 1779 first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1793 President of the Continental Congress in 1779 Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 1784 Negotiator of Jay Treaty with Great Britain, 1794 Governor of New York in 1795 Note: He was admitted to the Bar of New York in 1768. His authorship of the Address to the People of Great Britain, published by the first Continental Congress relayed his opinion for reconciliation with Great Britain. In 1782 Jay, along with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Laurens signed the treaty of peace with Great Britain. was a very popular Governor who fought for many political reforms including judicial reform, penal reform and the abolition of slavery. He undertook road and canal projects to improve the economy of his state. He retired from public life in 1801. A negotiator, with Benjamin Franklin and john Adams, of the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolution. He drafted the first constitution of New York State. John Jay survived his wife and several of his children. The last years of his life were not comfortable. Though he was wealthy and had the support of his children, his health was poor. He died on May 17th, 1829, in the comfort of his home. During the Revolutionary War, John sent cannons to George Washington's troops in New York. He also organized a council to search for spies and traitors. He wrote five essays with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to argue for a new government structure. Their writings, called the Federalist Papers, led to the state of New York joining the Union and ratifying the U.S. Constitution. In 1840-1843 he was president of the New York historical society, and he was connected with several literary and charitable societies. He received the degree of LL. D. from Harvard in 1831, and from Columbia in 1835. In 1818 Jay was appointed to the bench of Westchester county by Governor De Witt Clinton. During the last two years of his life he was unable to walk without assistance, yet his mind was clear. |
