Jay, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy
Contents
Brief History
The Town of Jay was originally known by two different names. The Wyllis family, had petitioned Vermont for a northern land grant. The petition was honored by the legislature in March of 1780 for a town to be called Wyllis. This grant was forfeited in 1782 for reasons unknown, although historical sources suggest that the locale was a bit too northerly and remote for the owners.
The second more popular name was Carthage. On December 28, 1792 the legislature decided that" the tract of land known as Carthage was an uncommonly good one" and the remaining two thirds consisting of 15,360 acres were granted in the Charter of North Jay, to John Jay, a former New York State Governor, President of the Continental Congress and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a colleague of his, John Crozine, in appreciation for Jay's assistance in settling the land dispute with New York and thereby opening the door to Vermont's becoming the fourteenth state in the Union. To honor the great New York statesman, the township was named Jay. [1] [2] [3]
Historical Data
Town Histories
Vital Records
FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.
Military Records
Probate Records
Orleans Probate Division
247 Main Street
Newport, VT · 05855
Phone: (802) 334-3305
Church Records
City Directories
Maps
Cemeteries
The following is a list of major cemeteries in present-day Jay. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Orleans County, website at this link.
- Jay Center Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
- West Jay Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
Town Records
The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Jay Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Jay, Vermont, 1844-Jan. 2000; index, 1832-Jan. 2000, Town and vital records, 1789-1889, and Land records (Jay, Vermont); index to records, 1828-1962, 1828-1919.
Jay Town Clerk
1036 VT Rte 242
Jay, VT 05859
Phone: (802) 988.2996
Email: townofjay@comcast.net
Website: http://www.jayvt.com/
Newspapers
Libraries and Historical Societies
Rand Memorial Library
160 Railroad St.
Troy, VT 05868
Phone: (802) 988-4741
Northeast Kingdom Genealogy - Genealogy resources for towns in the counties of Essex, Orleans and Caledonia.
References
- ↑ History of Jay - http://www.jayvt.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={8E69777D-9A03-44C4-A524-7785976A31B7}
- ↑ About Jay, Vermont - http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/jay.html#about
- ↑ Jay, Vermont - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/OrleansJay.html
Adjacent towns:
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