John Jay

In addition to his wife and family, Jay also took care of his ill and disabled siblings after the death of their father.

He died on May 17, 1829, in Bedford, New York, U.S. after suffering from palsy, probably caused by a stroke. He was 83.

John Jay was born on December 12, 1745, in New York City, New York, British America, to Peter Jay and Mary Van Cortlandt as one of their ten children. His father was a wealthy trader of furs, wheat, timber, and other commodities.

After being educated by his mother at home until he was about eight years old, he was sent to New Rochelle to study under Anglican priest Pierre Stoupe. He returned home after three years and continued his education under his mother and George Murray.

He joined King’s College in 1760 and met many people during this period who would greatly influence his thinking. He grew deeply interested in politics and became a staunch Whig. He graduated with the highest honors in 1764.

He proceeded to study law under Benjamin Kissam, a prominent lawyer and politician and completed his legal studies in 1768 following which he was admitted to the bar of New York.

John Jay is best known for being one of the signers of the Treaty of Paris which was signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783. The Treaty marked the end of the American Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and John Adams were the other signers of the treaty representing America.

Jay was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.