Posts Categorized: News

Although we have a Jay Family Story about the heroic Adam Von Trott who tried to defeat Adolf Hitler by leading a revolution from within the German government, we also have a Family Story about a Nazi sympathizer and propagandist, Douglas Chandler. Chandler is related to the Jay family through his marriage to Laura Jay…

The Huguenot Society of America was organized in 1883 to promote the cause of religious freedom, and to commemorate the memory of the Huguenots who fled France and settled in the United States. Much of the organizing and promoting that went into creating this society was facilitated by John Jay II, whose great-great grandfather Auguste…

During the years leading up to the Civil War, when tensions were highest, John Jay II and famed abolitionist Stephen Meyers worked closely to help enslaved persons escape to Canada along the Underground Railroad. Jay used his position as an attorney to free people escaping enslavement through the courts in New York City, while Myers,…

This month’s story looks at one of the most interesting and eccentric Jays of the 20th century, Chanler Chapman (1901-1982). Chanler was the only son of American writer John Jay Chapman (1862-1933) and Elizabeth Chapman (1866-1937). John was the great-great grandson of John Jay (1745-1829), and Elizabeth was an Astor descendant. Chanler grew up on…

John Jay II (1817-1894) played an integral role in the founding of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His position as President of the Union League Club of New York City enabled him to bring together prestigious artists and philanthropists together to create an art institution that would best represent America’s unique national identity. It all…

This month’s family story takes a closer look at early feminism in the Jay family.  John Jay once wrote to his daughter Sarah Louisa, “I am not anxious that you should be what is called a ‘learned Lady’ but it would mortify me to have any of my children classed with the ignorant and illiterate.” …

In honor of Black History Month, this month’s Jay Family Story is about William Jay’s (1789-1858) involvement with the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). Founded in Philadelphia in December of 1833, and modeled after London’s Anti-Slavery Society, the main objective of the AASS was to abolish slavery in the United States. By 1838, there were 1,350…

“The face of the Madonna and the eyes of a child”, is how artist John Singer Sargent described Elizabeth Chanler when he first met her in London in June 1893. Elizabeth was the oldest surviving daughter of U.S. Representative John Winthrop Chanler (1826–1877) and Margaret Astor Chanler (1838–1875).  By the time she was eleven both…

As a key figure in the anti-slavery movement in America, William Jay (1789-1858) found himself in the middle of one of the most heated political battles of the era, known as the petitioner movement in Congress. In the months leading up to May 1836, Congress was getting flooded with tens of thousands of petitions, letters,…

For many American families, A Visit from St. Nicholas is part of their yearly Christmas celebration. For descendants of John (1745-1829) and Sarah Jay (1756-1802), the poem is more than a holiday tradition. It is a family story. Whether it is a family story for all Jay descendants, or only for some, depends on who…

Dr. John Clarkson Jay (1808-1891) was a pioneer in the science and study of mollusk shells, commonly referred to as conchology. Born September 11, 1808, he was the eldest of Peter Augustus Jay and Mary Rutherford Clarkson’s eight children. John Clarkson received the prestigious elementary education that was customary for upper class families like the…

On April 6, 1917 the United States joined its allies and officially entered World War I.  Patriotism was at an all time high and Americans furiously attacked any traces of German culture in the country.  German place names were changed, German books and newspapers were burned in the streets, and sauerkraut was even renamed “Liberty…