Augustus Jay—John Jay’s Huguenot Grandfather—Rare Colonial New York Receipt Signed, 1718
JAY, AUGUSTUS (1665–1751). Colonial manuscript receipt signed “Augustus Jay,” New York, September 26, 1718. One oblong manuscript slip on laid paper, recording the receipt of forty pounds from Robert Livingston Jr.
A remarkable early document connecting two of colonial New York’s most prominent families. Augustus Jay acknowledges receiving “of Mr. Robt. Livingston Junr. ye Sume of forty pounds,” signing boldly beneath the entry.
Born Pierre Jay in La Rochelle, France, Augustus Jay was a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Settling in New York, he became a successful merchant and established the American branch of the Jay family. He was the grandfather of John Jay, Founding Father, co-author of The Federalist Papers, President of the Continental Congress, diplomat, Governor of New York and first Chief Justice of the United States.
The payer was apparently Robert Livingston of Clermont (1688–1775), son of Robert Livingston the Elder and a member of the powerful Livingston family. He served in the New York colonial assembly and was the grandfather of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
More than three centuries old, this receipt preserves an extraordinarily scarce autograph of the immigrant patriarch of the Jay family while documenting an early financial transaction involving the closely connected Jay and Livingston mercantile dynasties.
Original folds, age toning and light staining; small edge loss or mounting remnant at upper right, not affecting the manuscript. The writing and rare full signature remain strong and distinct.
JAY, AUGUSTUS (1665–1751). Colonial manuscript receipt signed “Augustus Jay,” New York, September 26, 1718. One oblong manuscript slip on laid paper, recording the receipt of forty pounds from Robert Livingston Jr.
A remarkable early document connecting two of colonial New York’s most prominent families. Augustus Jay acknowledges receiving “of Mr. Robt. Livingston Junr. ye Sume of forty pounds,” signing boldly beneath the entry.
Born Pierre Jay in La Rochelle, France, Augustus Jay was a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Settling in New York, he became a successful merchant and established the American branch of the Jay family. He was the grandfather of John Jay, Founding Father, co-author of The Federalist Papers, President of the Continental Congress, diplomat, Governor of New York and first Chief Justice of the United States.
The payer was apparently Robert Livingston of Clermont (1688–1775), son of Robert Livingston the Elder and a member of the powerful Livingston family. He served in the New York colonial assembly and was the grandfather of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
More than three centuries old, this receipt preserves an extraordinarily scarce autograph of the immigrant patriarch of the Jay family while documenting an early financial transaction involving the closely connected Jay and Livingston mercantile dynasties.
Original folds, age toning and light staining; small edge loss or mounting remnant at upper right, not affecting the manuscript. The writing and rare full signature remain strong and distinct.
