The John Fay Family Papers
Scope and Content
The John Fay Family Papers consist primarily of the correspondence, memorandum books and legal papers and notes of John Fay for the years 1788-1807. Included are Vermont county court dockets, court orders and rulings, and Fay's records of his own legal practice in Burlington, Vt. In addition there is a small collection of letters to and from Fay for the years 1790-1807, much of which is intra-family correspondence. The remainder of the collection is made up of the papers of John Fay's son, John Johnson Fay, for the years 1814-1860. Included in this group are his personal accounts and legal papers, records of his service in the Vermont militia 1819-1821, some Burlington school records 1839-1842, his diary for 1858-1860.
For more on the Fay family in Burlington and South Burlington, see Marguerite Hurrey Wolf, Anything Can Happen in Vermont (Coral Gables: Wake-Brook House, 1965), pp. 105-142.
Dates
- 1788-1807
Creator
- Fay, John, 1768-1809 (Person)
Access:
Collection is open to research.
Biography
Born in 1768, John Fay was a member of the Fay family of Bennington, Vermont fame. His grandfather, Stephen Fay, was proprietor of the Catamount Tavern, and his father, John Fay, was killed at the Battle of Bennington. Fay graduated from Yale in 1790, and moved to Burlington, Vt., the following year to set up as an attorney. He became postmaster of Burlington in 1794, but devoted most of his time to his extensive law practice around northern Vermont. John Fay died in Burlington in 1809 of tuberculosis. His son, John Johnson Fay, was born in Burlington in 1796. He attended the University of Vermont in 1813-14, but did not graduate. He served in the Vermont militia from 1819 to at least 1821, when he attained the rank of lieutenant. John J. Fay was a farmer most of his life, and lived on what is now Hinesburg Road, South Burlington (then Fourth Street, :Burlington). He died at his farm in 1876.
Extent
1.67 Linear Feet (1 carton, 1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The John Fay Family Papers consist primarily of the correspondence, memorandum books and legal papers and notes of John Fay for the years 1788-1807.
Physical Location
Library Research Annex; contact uvmsc@uvm.edu for access.
Source:
The John Fay Family Papers were a gift of Marguerite Hurrey Wolf
Additional material:
A collection of ten untitled folders of documents accompanies the collection described in this inventory.
- Title
- Guide to the John Fay Family Papers mss.631
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections Repository
Silver Special Collections Library
48 University Place, Room B201
Burlington Vermont 05405 U.S.A. US
(802) 656-2138
(802) 656-4038 (Fax)
uvmsc@uvm.edu
