{"product_id":"augustus-jay-john-jay-s-huguenot-grandfather-rare-colonial-new-york-receipt-signed-1718","title":"Augustus Jay—John Jay’s Huguenot Grandfather—Rare Colonial New York Receipt Signed, 1718","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJAY, AUGUSTUS (1665–1751).\u003c\/strong\u003e Colonial manuscript receipt signed \u003cstrong\u003e“Augustus Jay,”\u003c\/strong\u003e New York, September 26, 1718. One oblong manuscript slip on laid paper, recording the receipt of forty pounds from \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Livingston Jr.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn 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 \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Jay\u003c\/strong\u003e, Founding Father, co-author of \u003cem\u003eThe Federalist Papers\u003c\/em\u003e, President of the Continental Congress, diplomat, Governor of New York and first Chief Justice of the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe payer was apparently \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Livingston of Clermont (1688–1775)\u003c\/strong\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52740883775770,"sku":null,"price":3250.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2502.jpg?v=1787657586","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/products\/augustus-jay-john-jay-s-huguenot-grandfather-rare-colonial-new-york-receipt-signed-1718","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}