Augustus Jay (October 17, 1850 – December 25, 1919) was an American diplomat and member of the prominent

Jay family Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...

Early life

Jay was born on October 17, 1850, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was the only child of Peter Augustus Jay and Josephine (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Pearson) Jay (1829–1852). His mother died on January 3, 1852, at just twenty-two years old. After her death, his father committed to his sole care before his death three years later on October 31, 1855, in New York City. His paternal grandfather was Peter Augustus Jay, a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

and

Recorder of New York City The recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boa ...

, and grandson of

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

and first

United States Chief Justice The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary power ...

. Jay graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1871 and from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1876.

Career

Although admitted to the New York bar, Jay never practiced law, instead he entered the diplomatic service. From 1885 to 1893, he was Secretary of the American Legation in Paris. On his retirement as Secretary of the American Legation in Paris, the

French Government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

made him an

officer of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. After they returned from France, they spent much time in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, where Jay was one of the most prominent New York residents. In Newport, he was a stockholder of the Newport Reading Room and a member of the Newport Fishing Club. They owned Oakwold, located at 65 Old Beach Road, and designed in 1883 by architect

Clarence Sumner Luce Clarence Sumner Luce (1852–1924) was an American architect who practiced first in Boston, then at Newport, Rhode Island, and finally in New York. He is best known for his design for the Holyoke Opera House, and his designs for a series of Newp ...

(designer of the

Holyoke Opera House The Holyoke Opera House was a theatre operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1877, and christened on March 25, 1878, the theater was built by then-mayor William Whiting who privately funded its con ...

Wistariahurst Wistariahurst is a historic house museum and the former estate of the Skinner family, located at 238 Cabot Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was built in 1868 for William Skinner, the owner of a successful silk spinning and textile business, ...

, and the

James Henry Van Alen James Henry Van Alen (August 17, 1819 – July 22, 1886) was a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life James Henry Van Alen was born in 1819, in Kinderhook, New York. He w ...

house).

Personal life

On October 3, 1876, Jay was married to Emily Astor Kane (1854–1932), a daughter of DeLancey Kane and Louisa Dorothea (née Langdon) Kane. Emily, a descendant of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

, was the sister of

DeLancey Astor Kane DeLancey Astor Kane (August 28, 1844April 4, 1915) was an American soldier and horseman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. He was called the "father of coaching in the United States." Early life Kane was born on August ...

, Commodore S. Nicholson Kane,

John Innes Kane John Innes Kane (July 29, 1850 – February 1, 1913) was an American explorer, scientist and philanthropist who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Kane was born in 1850, one of eight children born to Oliver DeLa ...

, Sybil Kent Kane, and

Rough Rider The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

Woodbury Kane Woodbury Kane (February 8, 1859 – December 5, 1905) was a yachtsman and bon vivant, and member of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. A director of the Metropolitan Register Company, Kane served aboard the ''Columbia'' in the 1899 America's ...

, all cousins of

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

. Together, Augustus and Emily were the parents of: * Peter Augustus Jay (1877–1933), also a diplomat who served as U.S. General Consul to Egypt, U.S. Minister to El Salvador and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. He married Susan Alexander McCook, a daughter of Civil War officer and attorney John James McCook (and a granddaughter of

Daniel McCook Daniel McCook (June 20, 1798 – July 21, 1863) was an attorney and an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was one of two Ohio brothers who, along with 13 of their sons, became widely known as the “Fighting McCook ...

of the "

Fighting McCooks The Fighting McCooks were members of a family of Ohioans who reached prominence as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Two brothers, Daniel and John McCook, and thirteen of their sons were involved in the army, making the fam ...

"). * DeLancey Kane Jay (1881–1941), who married Elizabeth Sarah Morgan (1889–1975), a granddaughter of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Edwin D. Morgan, in 1910. He was a member of the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

, Union Club, and

University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a gentlemen's club, private social club at 1 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebra ...

. Jay died of heart disease on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

1919, at his home, 960 Park Avenue in Manhattan. After a funeral at Trinity Church, he was buried in the John Jay Cemetery in Rye like his father before him. His widow left an estate valued at $450,000 upon her death.

Descendants

Through his eldest son Peter, he was a grandfather of Emily Kane Jay (1911–1926) and Susan Mary Alsop (1918–2004). Through his second son DeLancey, he was a grandfather of six: Elizabeth Morgan (née Jay) Etnier Hollins (1911–1991), Peter Jay (1913–2000), Sybil Kane (née Jay) Waldron (1914–1997), Theodora Moran (née Jay) Stillman Rahv (1918–1968), Augusta (née Jay) Huffman (1921–2000), and Katharine Archer Morgan (née Jay)

Bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

(1928–2013).

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Augustus 1850 births 1919 deaths Diplomats for the United States Harvard College alumni Columbia Law School alumni Jay family