During Jay’s retirement, his health had generally been a mixture of his usual ailments and the progressive effects of aging. However, in May of 1825, he suffered a “paralytick attack,” perhaps a stroke, that precipitated the deterioration of his health. Jay appeared to make a recovery, albeit slowly, from his attack. In March of 1827, he suffered from a serious injury when a piece of fire wood fell on his hand and splintered. The resulting wound became dangerously infected and possibly gangrenous. He rapidly declined. Family (including Peter Jay Munro and his wife Peggy) and clergy were summoned.1 All, including Jay, were prepared for his death. He spoke to his children and grandchildren, urging them to read the Bible, and trust in God. Once again, he recovered, but his “debility” increased. He could no longer write, and relied on William to keep his correspondence. He regularly took laudanum for pain and to sleep. He required help to walk.2 Yet, according his son William, Jay remained involved in family life, being read to, engaging in conversation, seeing visitors, and taking the Lord’s Supper (Communion) at home when he was no longer able to attend church services.3

On 14 May, 1829, Jay went to bed as usual. In the middle of the night, he had a seizure, losing his ability to speak more than a few a words. He lingered three days, until he died on Sunday, 17 May, at around noon. Jay was eighty-four.4

In his will, Jay stipulated that “I would have my funeral decent but not ostentatious no scarves no rings— Instead thereof. I give two hundred dollars to any one poor deserving widow or orphan of this town whom my children shall select.”5 This is in contrast to the often elaborate funerals that people of his class had at the time. William Jay describes it in his biography of his father: “His funeral, in obedience to the directions in his will, was without ostentation. The corpse was taken to the parish church, where an appropriate sermon was delivered by the pastor, in the presence of a large audience, consisting of gentlemen from various parts of the county, who attended to pay this mark of respect to the deceased. On the conclusion of the funeral services, the corpse was conveyed to Rye, and interred in the family cemetery.”6

Jay revised his will in April 1829. Because he was unable to write, he dictated its contents and signed with an “X.” He thanked God for blessing him “with excellent parents with a virtuous wife and with worthy Children” and for protection “through many eventful years faithfully employed in the Service of my country.” Jay gave instructions to his sons regarding his personal papers. They were to review the materials and destroy anything that they deemed too sensitive. The papers were to be kept together, first in Peter Augustus’s possession and then passing to William after Peter’s death. Jay divided his property equitably among his children, with his sons being given control of his real estate. As Peter Augustus had already inherited the Rye estate from his uncle Peter, William was left the Bedford estate and farm. His pew at Trinity Church was given to Peter Augustus and that at St. Matthew’s in Bedford to William. Bequests were left for various servants and provisions made for William to care for the formerly enslaved and quite elderly Clarinda. Bequests were also left for Sarah Jay’s surviving sisters, Susan Livingston Symmes, Mary Livingston Linn, and Judith Livingston Watkins. He urged his children to settle his estate as soon as was prudent.7

Response to Jay’s death was immediate. The New York State Bar issued a memorial after adjourning the Supreme Court for the day. The United States Supreme Court, also in session in New York City, and the Court of Common Pleas, similarly adjourned. The Westchester County Bar voted to wear black “crape” on their left arms for thirty days in mourning. The New York State Bar memorial and accounts of the court adjournments were circulated widely, both in the New York and national press.8

Accounts, long and short, of Jay’s life, career, and character, quickly began to appear.9 Most made note of his extreme age and that he was the last of the revolutionary generation. His long years of public service, his virtuous character, and his piety are running themes. The many positions he held dominate most of the accounts, even if only to list them. Jay’s history was in effect the nation’s history, as noted in the New York Evening Post obituary (19 May 1829), “To enumerate the civil and diplomatic stations he has filled, and the important measures he promoted, would be to record the events of some of the most interesting periods of our national history … they identify his individual history with that of these united republics.”10

Many of these tributes to Jay take on a political slant, sometimes overtly. Lauding Jay’s reputation as a man who rose above partisan politics and eschewed the excesses of power was a subtle (or not) criticism of the rise of the Jacksonian Democrats. There are many references to Jay as the framer of the New York State constitution of 1777, some describing it as the “good old Constitution of the State of New-York,” placing it and its framer in contrast to the constitution of 1821, which greatly expanded suffrage to all white men.11 The Hartford Times described Jay thusly: “In politics he was a firm, decided, and unwavering federalist, and one of the strongest pillars of that party.” The Burks and Schuylkill Journal of Reading, Pa., praised Jay: “His constant aim was to serve, rather than please the people.” The Salem Gazette described him as “Pure, patriotic, and upright, he always disdained the arts of the demagogue, and was ever content with the conscientious discharge of his duty.”12

Peter Augustus Jay wrote his father’s final epitaph, inscribed on his tombstone in the family burial ground in Rye, New York.13

IN MEMORY OF JOHN JAY,
EMINENT AMONG THOSE WHO ASSERTED THE LIBERTY
AND ESTABLISHED THE INDEPENDENCE
OF HIS COUNTRY,
WHICH HE LONG SERVED IN THE MOST
IMPORTANT OFFICES,
LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, JUDICIAL AND DIPLOMATIC,
AND DISTINGUISHED IN THEM ALL BY HIS
ABILITY, FIRMNESS, PATRIOTISM AND INTEGRITY.
HE WAS IN HIS LIFE AND IN HIS DEATH
AN EXAMPLE OF THE VIRTUES,
THE FAITH AND THE HOPES
OF A CHRISTIAN