page_title: John Clarkson Jay
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: John Clarkson Jay / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: The 23 acre Jay Estate in Rye is the childhood home of American Founding Father, John Jay (1745 – 1829). As a young man, Jay’s qualities of leadership and patriotism were nurtured on this piece of land; he would grow up to become one of our nation’s greatest diplomats and jurists, an anti-slavery advocate, spymaster, a Governor of New York, co-author of the Federalist papers, and with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, a negotiator of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. Later generations of Jays would become lawyers, scientists, and ambassadors; a great, great granddaughter, Mary Rutherfurd Jay would become one of America’s earliest landscape architects. Visitors to the property today will see what he saw - an unparalleled view of Long Island Sound over a 10,000 year old man-managed meadow, the oldest of its kind on record in New York State. 1.5 acres of historic sunken garden rooms bounded by stone walls are currently undergoing restoration; their design includes re-installation of a parterre planting as well as a reflecting pool and 100 foot long arbor. Buildings open to the public for tours include the 1838 Greek Revival Peter Augustus Jay House presented in various stages of historic preservation; it is the oldest National Historic Landmark in New York State with an energy efficient geo-thermal heating and cooling system. Concerts and programs in American History, Architecture, Social Justice and Environmental Stewardship for schools and the general public are offered throughout the year at the 1907 Van Norden Carriage House which acts as the Visitor Center. The site is on New York State’s Path Through History and Westchester County’s African American Heritage Trail. 210 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY
context_page_description: John Clarkson Jay was an American physician and notable conchologist as well as one of the original founders of New York Yacht Club. He was the grandson of Founding Father John Jay.
context_section_description: In addition to his practice of medicine, he made a specialty of conchology, and acquired the most complete and valuable collection of shells in the United States. This and his costly library on this branch of science were purchased by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe and presented, in memory of her father, to the American Museum of Natural History, where it is known as the Jay Collection. In 1832 he became a member of the Lyceum of Natural History (now New York Academy of Sciences), and was its treasurer 1836-1843. He took an active part in the efforts that were made during that time to obtain subscriptions for a new building to house the society's collection, and bore the principal burden in planning and superintending its construction.
  Jay was one of the original group of nine men who founded New York Yacht Club in 1844; in addition to racing in regattas, he served for some time as the club's secretary.  From 1859 until 1880, he was a trustee of Columbia College. The shells collected by the expedition of Com. Matthew C. Perry to Japan were submitted to him for examination, and he wrote the article on that subject in the government reports. Jay wrote Catalogue of Recent Shells (New York, 1835), Description of New and Rare Shells (1836), and later editions of his catalogue, in which he enumerates about 11,000 well-marked varieties, and at least 7,000 well-established species.
caption: The Jay Estate in Rye, NY
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