The Birthday of Eternity

John Jay, died May 17, 1829

In 1801, John Jay retired to the life of a farmer at his 24-room farmhouse in Westchester County, New York.

Jay Homestead

His wife of 28 years, Sarah, died in 1802.  

Sarah Jay

In 1807, he transferred the remains of his ancestors from the family vault in the Bowery in Manhattan to Rye, New York, establishing a private cemetery. 

Jay, who served as vice-president (1816–21) and president (1821–27) of the American Bible Society, believed that the most effective way of ensuring world peace was through propagation of the Christian gospel. In a letter addressed to Pennsylvania House of Representatives member John Murray, dated October 12, 1816, Jay wrote, 

"Real Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others, and therefore will not provoke war. Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

He also expressed a belief that the moral precepts of Christianity were necessary for good government, saying, 

"No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely doomed."

Jay maintained a close interest in state and national affairs, evidenced in his correspondence with his sons, Peter Augustus, who was active in local Federalist political circles, and William, who, among other things, became an outspoken abolitionist.

In the last two years of his life, he was unable to walk without assistance.  On the night of May 14, 1829, Jay was stricken with palsy, probably caused by a stroke. He lived for three days, dying in Bedford, New York on May 17, at the age of 83. 

Jay's farm and home were inherited by William Jay, John's second son. The Homestead became a center in the anti-slavery movement.

Jay chose to be buried in Rye, where he lived as a boy.  Today, the Jay Cemetery is an integral part of the Boston Post Road Historic District, adjacent to the historic Jay Property. The Cemetery is maintained by the Jay descendants and closed to the public. 

John Jay Gravesite