Wayne County Biographies



Part of the Indiana Biographies Project



Henry Jay

Henry Jay was born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1813, a son of John, Jr., and Mary (Steddom) Jay, natives of South Carolina, his father born in 1782 and his mother in 1784. His paternal grandfather, John Jay, Sr., was of Welsh descent, being a son of one of three brothers who came from Wales. Two of the brothers settled in the east, one of whom was the father of John Jay, of Revolutionary fame, and one, the father of John Jay, Sr., settled in Virginia where John, Sr., was born and reared, but subsequently removed to South Carolina where he reared a family of eleven children — Thomas, Jesse, John, Samuel, William, Walter, Denny, James, Mary, Anna, Lydia and Jane, all of whom with their families and parents removed to Ohio in 1802 and located in Warren County. The father died in Miami County, Ohio, in 1827. Mr. Jay's maternal grandparents, Henry and Martha Steddom, then known as Stidham, were of Swedish descent, their ancestors settling near Wilmington, Del. Mr. Steddom was born in South Carolina, and in 1804 removed to Warren County, Ohio, two brothers and three sisters of Mrs. Steddom going with them. Both of Mr. Jay's grandfathers were left for dead in the Whig and Tory war in the South during the Revolution, for not revealing information as demanded, but both subsequently revived. His parents were married in 1808, and in 1824 removed to Wayne County, Ind., and purchased land in Wayne Township, where his mother died in 1843 and his father in 1844. His father was one of the founders of Earlham College and an earnest work in the Society of Friends. There was a family of five children, but two of whom are living — Henry and Walter. Martha died in 1847 leaving her husband (Joseph Hill) and three children. John S. died in 1830 at the age of twelve, from being kicked by a horse, and one sister died in infancy. Our subject was educated in the pioneer schools and reared to the life of a farmer. In 1833 he married Leah, daughter of John Nicholson, of Wayne County. She was born in 1813 and died in 1836, leaving two children who died within the following year. In 1838 Mr. Jay married Sarah Strawbridge, of Wayne County, born in 1809. They had five children, but two of whom are living — Jesse W. and Sarah. Leah J. died in 1875, leaving her husband (Chiswell Coggeshall) and three children. Mrs. Jay died in 1847, and in 1848 Mr. Jay married Priscilla Reed, who was born in 1828 and died in 1854 leaving two children, but one living — DeWitt C. In 1856 Mr. Jay married Alice Hollingsworth, of Warren County, Ohio, born in 1838. She died in 1874 leaving three children — Francis D., Dayton H. and William H. H. Mr. Jay is a member of the Society of Friends. Several of the Steddom family (descendants of Henry and Martha) are living in Wayne County at present.

Source:
History of Wayne County, Indiana, by Andrew W. Young. pub 1872