Jay, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

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.

Town Histories
History of Jay, Vermont

Vital Records
FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.

Probate Records
Orleans Probate Division 247 Main Street Newport, VT · 05855 Phone: (802) 334-3305

City Directories
1884 Jay Town Directory

Maps
1878 map of Jay

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 [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/134047?availability=Family%20History%20Library 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
The Newport Daily Express

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.