William Jay (colonel)

William Jay (February 12, 1841 – March 28, 1915) was an American soldier and a lawyer. He served in the Union Army as a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War. He served as the 40th President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York.

William Jay
40th President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
In office 1908–1909
Preceded by	Austen George Fox
Succeeded by	Charles Augustus Schermerhorn
Personal details
Born	(1841-02-12)February 12, 1841 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	March 28, 1915(1915-03-28) (aged 74) White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.
Spouse	Lucie Oelrichs ​ (m. 1878)​
Relations	William Jay (grandfather)
Children	3
Parent(s)	John Jay Eleanor Kingsland Field Jay
Alma mater	Columbia College Columbia Law School

Early life

Jay was born on February 12, 1841. He was the only son born to John Jay (1817–1894), a lawyer and diplomat, and Eleanor Kingsland (née Field) Jay (1819–1909). He was the brother of Eleanor (née Jay) Chapman, wife of Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (the president of the New York Stock Exchange, son of abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman, and father of John Jay Chapman); John S. Jay, who died young; Augusta (née Jay) Robinson, wife of Edmund Randolph Robinson (son of prominent civil engineer Moncure Robinson); and Mary (née Jay) Schieffelin, wife of William Henry Schieffelin (son of author Samuel Schieffelin).^[1]

His paternal grandparents were Judge William Jay and Augusta (née McVickar) Jay. He was the great-grandson of Founding Father John Jay, the 1st Chief Justice of the United States. His maternal grandparents were Eleanor and Hickson Woolman Field (uncle to Benjamin Hazard Field). His grandfather was a prominent merchant in New York City.^[2]

Jay entered Columbia College, graduating in 1859.^[1]

Career

Jay, who reportedly inherited his father's anti-slavery views, entered the United States Army at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War and served throughout the conflict, earning the rank of brevet Lieutenant Colonel and serving on the staff of General George Meade, Commander of the Army of the Potomac.^[1] Jay fought in the Battles of Gettysburg, Mine Run, Chancellorsville, and Appomattox.^[3]

After the War ended, Jay returned to Columbia where he entered the law school, graduating in 1868. Upon passing the bar exam, he entered into a partnership with Flamen B. Chandler known as Jay & Chandler and located at 48 Wall Street. Chandler was formerly the partner of Edgar S. Van Winkle, who in turn had been partners with Daniel Webster. Jay focused his extensive practice on important trusts and estates as well as railroad an industrial matters. He was also attorney for James Gordon Bennett Jr., publisher of the New York Herald.^[4]

Jay also served as the vice president of the New York Herald, president of the New York Cab Company and the Valley Farms Company. He was a director of the Commercial Cable Company and the New York Mortgage and Security Company.^[1]

Society and sporting interests

A noted horseman, he was the first president and one of the founders (along with his friend DeLancey Astor Kane) of The Coaching Club in 1876, the pioneer coaching club, serving until 1896.^[5] He was also one of the earliest members of the Westminster Polo Club and serving as president of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club in Long Island.

He was a member of the City Club, the Century Club, the Knickerbocker Club, the Sons of the Revolution, the New-York Historical Society, the American Geographical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Society of the Army of the Potomac, and former president of The Huguenot Society of America.^[1] Jay also served as the 40th President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York.^[6]

Personal life

In June 1878, Jay was married to Lucie Oelrichs (1854–1931).^[7] Lucie was the daughter of Henry Ferdinand Oelrichs, a leading New York merchant, and Julia Matilda (née May) Oelrichs, and the sister of Hermann Oelrichs and Charles May Oelrichs. Together, they resided at 22 East 72nd Street and the old family estate, known as Bedford House in Katonah, New York. William and Lucie were the parents of:^[8]

• Julia Jay (1879–1896), a twin who died aged 17.^[9]
• Eleanor Jay (1882–1953),^[10] who married Arthur Iselin (1878–1952),^[11] grandson of Adrian Georg Iselin,^[12][13] in 1904.^[14][15]
• Dorothy Jay (1887–1889), who died in infancy of diphtheria.^[3]

Jay died of heart disease on March 28, 1915, at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia.^[1] After a funeral at Trinity Church, Jay was buried in the Jay Family vault at Saint Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard in Bedford, New York.^[16] His estate was valued between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000 at his death.^[17]

Descendants

Through his daughter Eleanor, he was the grandfather of Dorothy Iselin Paschal (1905–1981), the wife of Guy Sherman Paschal;^[18][19] and William Jay Iselin (1908–1951), the father of John Jay Iselin;^[20] Arthur Iselin Jr.; and Eleanor Iselin, who married Thomas Frothingham Mason (grand-nephew of Edward Sandford Martin, founder of Life magazine) in 1932.^[4]

References

1. "Col. William Jay Expires Suddenly. Lawyer Under Treatment for Heart Trouble at White Sulphur Springs. Was a Famous Horseman, Vestryman of Trinity Church, and Vice President of N. Y. Herald Co" (PDF). New York Times. March 29, 1915. Retrieved February 2, 2009. Colonel William Jay of New York was found dead in bed at 7 o'clock this morning in his apartments in the Greenbrier Hotel here. Heart disease, from which he had been suffering for some time, was the cause of his death
2. Pierce, Frederick Clifton (1901). Field Genealogy: Being the Record of All the Field Family in America, Whose Ancestors Were in this Country Prior to 1700. Emigrant Ancestors Located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Virginia. All Descendants of the Fields of England, Whose Ancestor, Hurbutus de la Field, was from Alsace-Lorraine. W.B. Conkey Company. p. 563. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
3. "John Jay Homestead • The Jays at Bedford". johnjayhomestead.org. April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
4. "MISS ISELIN TO WED THOMAS F. MASON; She Is Descendant of John Jay and Represents 6th Generation to Live in House He Built. | STUDIED SCULPTURE ABROAD | Bride-Elect Also a Kin of Charles M. Oelrichs of Newport--Mr. Mason of Old New England Family". The New York Times. September 13, 1932. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
5. "Coaching Club Has Gay Parade In Park. Col. William Jay, with Famous Old Dorchester, Leads Drags Decorated with Flowers" (PDF). New York Times. May 8, 1910. Retrieved February 2, 2009. The Coaching Club had an ideal day for its annual parade. It was an agreeable surprise to many to find that after two years this old established function had been resumed. The plans of the parade were only settled a few days ago, and much is due to the indefatigable efforts of the President, Col. William Jay, in getting up at short notice such a muster, and making an excellent showing.
6. Youngs, Florence Evelyn Pratt; Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1914). Portraits of the Presidents of The Society, 1835–1914. New York, NY: Order of the Society. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
7. "MRS. WILLIAM JAY DEAD OF APOPLEXY; Widow of Distinguished Lawyer --Founded Anti-German Music League in World War". The New York Times. January 30, 1931. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
8. N.Y.), Bedford (Westchester County (1977). Historical Records. p. 184. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
9. "FUNERAL OF MISS JAY.; Her Body Buried in the Family Plot at Betlford" (PDF). The New York Times. November 14, 1896. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
10. "Mrs. Arthur Iselin, Is Dead in Katonah" (PDF). The New York Times. November 6, 1953. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
11. "Arthur Iselin Dead; a Textile Executive" (PDF). The New York Times. May 7, 1952. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
12. "WILLIAM E. ISELIN, MERCHANT, 89, DIES; Partner for Many Years in the Family's Wholesale Dry Goods Concern Here" (PDF). The New York Times. January 27, 1937. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
13. "MRS. W. E. ISELIN DIES; WAS OF OLD FAMILY; Her Grandmother Inherited Two City Blocks Between Fifth and Park Avenues" (PDF). The New York Times. October 23, 1932. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
14. "ISELIN-JAY ENGAGEMENT.; Arthur Iselin Will Marry Col. Jay's Daughter Eleanor" (PDF). The New York Times. September 20, 1904. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
15. "ISELIN-JAY WEDDING IN ST. AGNES CHAPEL; Arthur Iselin and Miss Eleanor Jay Married by Dr. Dix" (PDF). The New York Times. November 30, 1904. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
16. "THRONG AT COL. JAY'S BIER.; Many Prominent in Public and Social Life at Trinity Services" (PDF). The New York Times. April 2, 1915. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
17. "ESTATE OF COL. JAY RUNS INTO MILLIONS; Fortune Estimated Between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000 Left to Widow and Daughter. NO BEQUESTS TO CHARITY Bedford House, Silver, and Family Portraits by Sargent Go to Mrs. Arthur Iselin" (PDF). The New York Times. April 7, 1915. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
18. "DOROTHY ISELIN ENGAGED TO WED; Her Troth to Guy S. Paschal Is Announced by Her Parents at Bedford House, Katonah" (PDF). The New York Times. September 7, 1926. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
19. "BARBARA PASCHAL PROSPECTIVE BRIDE; Granddaughter of the Arthur Iselins to Be Wed in June to Richard B. Dominick" (PDF). The New York Times. April 7, 1948. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
20. Weber, Bruce (May 7, 2008). "John Jay Iselin, Public TV Innovator, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

External links

• William Jay at Find a Grave
• Portrait of Col. William Jay by John Singer Sargent, 1888.