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.

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.


 * Jay Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Orleans County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Vermont were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page. To see the churches in Jay, visit. Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of Jay:

City Directories
1884 Jay Town Directory

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Jay:

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.

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Jay:

1878 map of Jay

Newspapers
The Newport Daily Express

Probate Records
In Vermont, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Jay:

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

Town Histories
History of Jay, Vermont

Town Records
In Vermont, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following: The following are Jay town records available online:

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Jay Town Clerk's Office. These include [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/134047 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.

Town Clerk
The town clerk is responsible for these records, and so most originals can be found at the town clerk's office.

Jay Town Clerk 1036 VT Rte 242 Jay, VT 05859 Phone: (802) 988.2996 Email: townofjay@comcast.net Website: http://www.jayvt.com/

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