John Jay

• Born into a wealthy family

• Founding Father

• First Chief Justice

• His Jay Treaty opened up trade with Great Britain … inadvertently jump-starting party polarization.

• Was William Henry Harrison’s father-in-law’s brother-in-law. (Jay was married to Sarah Livingston and Judge John Cleve Symmes’ third wife was Sarah’s sister, Susan.)

• When Gouverneur Morris lost his leg in a post-coital dash to evade an angry husband*, Jay said he wished Morris “lost something else”… because the loss of a limb did nothing to slow down his escapades, ifyouknowwhatImean.

*The official story is that he lost his leg in a carriage accident, but it sounds like nobody really believes that.

Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation by Peter Stark. Excuse the typo in “Great Britain.” If you are here for grammar and flawless spelling, you are in the wrong place.

Find more of the family tree in this confessional post.