Bennington

FAY, Jonas

1st Biography of Jonas FAY

Vermont Historical Magazine, No XI, October 1867, pp 171-172 (extracted from 
a section on the history of Bennington)

Dr. Jonas FAY was born 17 January 1737 at Hardwick [Worcester County], 
Massachusetts, son of Stephen FAY, and removed to Bennington in 1766. He 
occupied from an early day a prominent position among the settlers on the New 
Hampshire Grants, as well as in the contest with New York, as in that with 
the mother country [England], and also in the organization of the state 
government. In 1772 when Gov. TRYON invited the people of Bennington to send 
agents to New York to inform him of the grounds of their complaint, he, with 
his father, was appointed for that purpose. He was clerk to the convention 
of settlers that met in March 1774, and resolved to defend by force, [Ethan] 
ALLEN, [Seth] WARNER, and others who were threatened with outlawry and death 
by the New York Assembly, and as such clerk certified their proceedings for 
publication. At the age of nineteen he [Jonas FAY] had served in the French 
war during the campaign of 1770 at Fort Edward [Washington County, New York] 
and Lake George [Warren County, New York], as Clerk of Capt. Samuel 
ROBINSON's Company of Massachusetts troops, and he served as Surgeon in the 
expedition under [Ethan] ALLEN at the capture of Ticonderoga [Essex County, 
State]. He was continued in that position by the committee of the 
Massachusetts Congress who were sent to the lake in July 1775, and also 
appointed by them to muster the troops as they arrived for the defense of 
that post. He was also surgeon for a time to Col. [Seth] WARNER's regiment.

In January 1776 he [Jonas FAY] was clerk to the convention at Dorset that 
petitioned Congress to be allowed to serve in the common cause of the country 
as inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants and not under New York, and also 
of that held at Dorset in July following. He was a member of the convention 
which met at Westminster [Windham County, Vermont] in January 1777, and 
declared Vermont to be an independent State, and was appointed chairman of a 
committee to draw up a declaration and petition announcing the fact and their 
reasons for it to Congress, of which declaration and petition he was the 
draughtman and author. He was secretary to the convention that formed the 
constitution of the State [Vermont] in July 1777, and was one of the Council 
of Safety then appointed to administer the affairs of the State until the 
Assembly provided for by constitution should meet; was a member of the State 
Council for seven years from 1778, a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1789, 
Judge of Probate from 1782 to 1787, and he attended the Continental Congress 
at Philadelphia as the agent of the State under appointments made in January 
1779, June 1781, and February 1782.

Dr. [Jonas] FAY was a man of extensive general information, decided in his 
opinions and bold and determined in maintaining them. His education was such 
as to enable him to draw with skill and ability the public papers of the day, 
of many of which besides the [Vermont] declaration of independence before 
mentioned, he was the reputed author. In 1780 he in conjunction with Ethan 
ALLEN prepared and published in their joint names a pamphlet of thirty pages 
on the New Hampshire and New York controversy which was printed at Hartford, 
Connecticut. Dr. FAY was on terms of friendship and intimacy with Gov. 
Thomas CHITTENDEN, the ALLENs, WARNER, and other founders of the State. He 
[Jonas FAY] was twice married and has left numerous descendants. On the 
occurrence of the birth of twin sons, 12 January 1779, he named one of them 
Ethan Allen FAY and the other Heman Allen FAY, after his two friends of those 
names. Dr. [Jonas] FAY resided in Bennington [Bennington County, Vermont] in 
a house that stood on "the blue hill" a mile south of the meeting house until 
after 1800, when he removed to Charlotte [Chittenden County, Vermont] for a 
few years, and afterwards to Pawlet [Rutland County, Vermont], but returned 
again to Bennington, where he [Dr. Jonas FAY] died 06 March 1818, aged 
eighty-two.



2nd Biography of Jonas FAY

Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Johnson. 
Boston: Biographical Society, 1904, vol IV

Jonas FAY, patriot, was born 28 January 1737 at Hardwick [Worcester County], 
Massachusetts, son of Stephen and Ruth (CHILD) FAY; grandson of John and 
Elizabeth (WELLINGTON) FAY, and great grandson of John and Mary (BRIGHAM) 
FAY, who came from Wales to Boston, arriving on the "Speedwell" on 27 June 
1656. The FAYs were of French origin, having fled to Wales during the 
Huguenot persecution. Jonas FAY served in 1756 in the French war as clerk in 
Capt. Samuel ROBINSON's company of Massachusetts troops at Fort Edward and 
Lake George. He afterward studied medicine and in 1766 was among the early 
settlers of Bennington [Bennington County], Vermont, where he practiced his 
profession.

In 1772 he [Jonas FAY] was appointed a delegate from Bennington and 
neighboring towns to appear before Gov. William TRYON of New York, whom he 
urged to discontinue his violent proceedings against the Vermont settlers; 
March 1774 was clerk of the convention of settlers which drew up resolutions 
to defend their cause and their leaders by force, ALLEN, WARNER and others 
having been threatened by the New York assembly with outlawry and death; 1775 
accompanied Ethan ALLEN's expedition to Ticonderoga as surgeon; January 1776 
was clerk to the convention at Dorset and drew up the petition to congress to 
be allowed to serve the patriot cause independent of New York; was secretary 
of the convention of July 1777 that framed the constitution of Vermont; 
during the summer of 1777 was a member of the council of safety; 1777-1782 
was four times an agent of the state to the continental congress; 1778-1785 a 
member of the governor's council; 1782 judge of the supreme court; and was 
judge of probate 1782-1787. 

He [Jonas FAY] then returned to the practice of medicine at Bennington, 
removing to Charlotte [Chittenden County, Vermont] in 1800, to Pawlet 
[Rutland County, Vermont] a few years later, and finally returning to 
Bennington. He [Jonas FAY] was twice married: first on 01 May 1760 to 
Sarah, daughter of Capt. John FASSETT; second on 20 November 1777 to Mrs. 
Lydia SAFFORD [the mother of Dr. Jonathan SAFFORD]. He was joint author with 
Ethan ALLEN of "A Concise Refutation of the Claims of New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts and New York to the Territory of Vermont" (1780). He [Jonas 
FAY] died 06 March 1818 at Bennington [Bennington County], Vermont. 

[There were two men known as "Dr. Jonas FAY" as shown by the following note 
regarding Dr. Jonas FAY in American Biographical Notes: Being Short Notices 
of Deceased Persons, Chiefly Those Not Included in Allen's or Drake's 
Biographical Dictionary. Hough. Albany, New York: Munsell, 1875, p 136: "a 
native of Vermont, practiced medicine in Cazenovia [Madison County], New 
York, as early as 1802; in 1810 was the first president of the village 
[Cazenovia]; moved to Utica [Oneida County, New York] and became a lumber 
dealer." This Dr. Jonas FAY, however, was a son of Stephen and Susan (FISKE) 
FAY, and a nephew of the Dr. Jonas FAY who is the subject of the above 
biographies.]

Submitted by Cathy Kubly