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…
This month’s story is that of 20th century German statesman Adam Von Trott Zu Solz (1909-1944), a descendent of John Jay through his maternal grandmother Anna Jay Von Schweinitz, daughter of John Jay II. Von Trott zu Solz is perhaps best known for his participation in the infamous Operation Valkyrie plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler…
John Jay Chapman was a lawyer, author, and the great-great grandson of John Jay. Born in 1862 in New York City, Chapman attended Harvard Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1888. After only practicing law for a decade, he dedicated the rest of this life to writing books and essays focusing on…
Our story for this month is about one of America’s earliest landscape architects, and major proponent of advancing careers for women, Mary Rutherfurd Jay (1872-1953). She was the daughter of Peter Augustus Jay (1841-1875) and Julia Post, and the granddaughter of Dr. John Clarkson Jay. Mary grew up at the Jay family estate in Rye,…