Publisher description
This collection of letters chronicles the personal lives of founding father
John Jay and his wife, Sarah Livingston Jay, in the tumultuous times during and
after the American Revolution. The letters showcase Sarah as a devoted wife and
mother, who welcomed friends and government officials into her home and helped
further her husband's political career. Her intelligence, powers of
observation, social skills, political savvy and more than competent management
of family affairs, including finances, during her husband's frequent absences,
are clearly reflected in her letters. The book includes essays on the Jay and Livingston families, family trees,
a chronology of John Jay's life, and information about the character and
appearance of both husband and wife. Importantly, there are bridges between the
letters where necessary and essays on several topics - the mail, health and
medicine, education, religion and slavery - which provide an 18th century
context for the reader. The correspondence reveals the abiding love of husband
and wife, their concern for their children, the dangers and difficulties of
travel, descriptions of the lands they visited and events they witnessed, as
well as a sense of the effort it took to survive in the era even with the
buffer of wealth. Illustrations include several portraits, the signatures of
John and Sarah, the Jays' wax seal and a period map of New York Harbor. This collection of letters chronicles the personal lives of founding father
John Jay and his wife, Sarah Livingston Jay, in the tumultuous times during and
after the American Revolution.
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Selected Letters of John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay: Correspondence by or to the First Chief Justice of the United States and His Wife
Book reviews » Selected Letters of John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay: Correspondence by or to the First Chief Justice of the United States and His Wife
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