From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 20 May 1818
To Peter Augustus Jay
Bedford [20] May—1818
Dear Peter
Maria and Wm. arrived on Saturday, just as the late disagreable weather commenced. She is not quite so well as she was—owing she thinks to a Cold she has taken. the approaching fine Season together with Exercise will I hope be beneficial to her. Sally’s Departure affects her greatly—it is an afflicting Privation to us all, but particularly so to her on many accounts.— This world is indeed a State of Probation.1
I have recd. your Letter of the 14 Inst— it contains all that was necessary on the Topics mentioned in mine. as in your opinion it will be better to sell the Lot on the broadway, than others of equal amount on Walker Street; sell that Lot accordingly, and on such Terms as shall in your Judgmt. be adviseable.—2
There being Reason to expect that the watch you sent will prove a good one, I have concluded to take it at the Price you mention—
on the 16 June 1815 you purchased for me twenty Globe Insurance Shares;3 and on the 19 June 1817 twenty five additional Shares. Is there not a Dividend due on the whole number vizt. 45 Shares?—according to my Book the last Dividend (being forty Dollrs.) which you recd., was paid the 10 June 1817—
William expects to meet you at the ensuing Court at the White Plains— It would give us pleasure to see you come here with him— In that however be regulated by the Demands which Business may have on your Time and attention elsewhere.— William says the Horse he drove in the Gig to NYork performed and behaved well— as the Greys now supply the place of the Sorrels, you may have him as a Substitute for your sick Horse— and keep him while convenient to you— and return him when you please.— My love to Mary and the children. I am, Dr. Peter, your very affte. Father
John Jay
Lot map of Walker Street development, Jay and Munro properties near Canal Street and Broadway, c. 1821. (John Jay Papers, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York)
Mr. & Mrs. Munro, with Frances and a fine little Boy, made us a Visit last week— we shall be glad to see them again— They left us on Saturday—
Peter Augustus Jay Esqr
ALS, NNC (EJ: 07341).
1. Probably alluding to a sermon by William Paley. See “This Life is a State of Probation,” in William Paley and George Wilson Meadley, The works of William Paley, D.D. In five volumes. With a memoir of his life, vol. 4 (Boston, 1811; Early Am. Imprints, series 2, no. 20980), 386–94.
2. JJ, PJM, and other investors had an interest in the neighborhood now called the East Tribeca Historic District. The area had been wetlands in the vicinity of the Fresh Water Pond (Collect Pond). Since at least 1792, JJ had been trying to get the area drained so he and his fellow investors could develop the area. The canal which became Canal Street played a part in draining the pond. Swamp drainage began in earnest around 1803. The pond was filled, in stages, including using material from Bunker Hill, to the north, which was leveled by the City. Complete clearance was accomplished by 1808, the land divided among the investors, and building for rent or sale continued into the 1820s. In 1803 and 1804 JJ began divesting himself of some older properties, near New York Hospital (just below the new property), and downtown on Stone Street. In the new development, JJ’s immediate relatives were given premium lots on Broadway for their use. PAJ built a house for his family or for rental purposes, or for both; MJB also built a house on Broadway. See JJ to the Corporation of the City of New York, 29 Feb. 1792, , 5: 362–63; John Murray Jr. to JJ, 9 Apr.–19 May 1818, above; PAJ to JJ, 30 Oct.; PAJ to JJ, 3 Dec. 1818; PAJ to JJ, 1 Apr.; PAJ to JJ, 15 Apr.; JJ to PAJ, 6 Sept. 1819; PAJ to JJ, 28 Oct.; PAJ to JJ, 15 Nov. 1821; and PAJ to JJ, 19 Nov. 1824, all below. For dealings with the City, see Richard Varick to JJ, 10 Jan. 1797, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09292); 19 Feb. 1799, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09296). For the property near the Hospital, see JJ to Thomas Eddy, 15 Oct. 1803, ALS, CtY-BR (EJ: 05234); and the Stone Street property, PJM to JJ, 6 Jan. 1804, Dft, NNMus (EJ: 00525); JJ to PJM, 9 Jan. 1804, ALS, NNMus (EJ: 00527); PJM to JJ, 9 Jan. 1804, Dft, NNMus (EJ: 00526); JJ to PJM, 11 Jan. 1804, ALS, NNMus (EJ: 00528); Herman Thorn to PAJ, 14 Dec. 1822, ALS, NNMus (EJ: 09116); and JJ to PAJ, 23 Sept. 1823, below. For more on the building of family houses, investment lots, and rental units around Walker Street, see also JJ to PJM, 15 Apr., ALS, NNMus (EJ: 00556); Dft, NNC (EJ: 09406); PJM to JJ, 21 Apr., ALS, NNC (EJ: 09407); Dft, NNMus (EJ: 00557); PJM to JJ, 8 May 1812, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09408); PAJ to JJ, 17 Aug. 1813, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06184); WJ to PAJ, 13 Oct. 1813, ALS, PC (EJ: 10015); MJB to JJ, 2 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09744); Ann Jay to MJB, 2 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06036); PAJ to JJ, 6 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06209); JJ to PAJ, 16 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 11575); MJB to PAJ, 19 Mar. 1818, ALS, NNC (EJ: 09745); PAJ to JJ, 5 July 1821, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06248); PAJ to JJ, 12 Aug. 1821, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06249); PAJ to JJ, 13 Feb. 1824, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06274); and PAJ to JJ, 23 Apr. 1825, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06293). For the location and allocation of the Jay and Munro properties, see PAJ Inventory and Map c. June 1821, D, NNC (EJ: 09162). See also David M. Breiner, Margaret M. M. Pickart, and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, “Tribeca East Historic District Designation Report” (New York, 8 Dec. 1992); Gerard T. Koeppel, Water for Gotham: A History (Princeton, 2001); and Frank Ledyard Walton, Tomahawks to Textiles: The Fabulous Story of Worth Street (New York, 1953).
3. The Globe Insurance Company of London, founded in 1803 by economist Frederick Morton Eden (1766–1809), concerned with novel insurance products such as fire insurance.