“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…