This series contains a variety of material covering the period of the American Revolution. It contains both manuscripts and correspondences. The manuscripts are an excerpt (the first six chapters) of a history of the American Revolution, written by David Ramsay (1749-1815), and a memoir. The correspondence includes official dispatches that were sent to and used by Jay during negotiations. There is also correspondence between Silas Deane, an early American politician involved with the Continental Congress and who was an envoy to France during this period, and Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Benjamin Talmadge, and J. Wadsworth. Trumbull has the unique distinction of being the governor of Connecticut both before and after the American Revolution, having been the only sitting governor to support the Revolution. Talmadge (also spelled Tallmadge) fought in the American Revolution and is known for having organized the Culper Spy Ring. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeremiah Wadsworth served as commissary for the American Army during the Revolution, and was the wealthiest man in Connecticut after the American Revolution.

This series contains documents relating to the negotiations with Great Britain that resulted in Jay's Treaty (also known as the Treaty of London of 1794). The treaty was meant to resolve remaining issues between the United States and Great Britain after the Treaty of Paris of 1783 which ended the Revolutionary War. Although the treaty was not universally popular within the United States and it did not resolve all the issues the negotiators had originally set out to fix, it did manage to keep the peace between the two countries until the War of 1812. Going beyond the treaty negotiations, there is a question written to Jay concerning boundaries that resulted from the treaty and Jay's answer. Also within this series is George Hammond's correspondence, which had been forwarded to Jay. Hammond was the first British envoy to the United States, serving from 1791-1795.

The materials within this series are from Jay's years as governor of New York. Topics include a yellow fever outbreak, state debt, and protection of New York City. Also included in this series are materials from a 1797 incident with a British war ship, the Hunter, which shows the American reaction to the British naval practice of impressment, or the forcible enlistment of men to a ship's crew. A crew member claimed to be American and brought a false imprisonment suit against the ship's captain while the ship was docked in New York Harbor for repairs.

This series spans a particularly long period of time and contains a variety of documents. In some of these documents, there is a direct tie to either the Jay family or the Van Cortlandt family (Jay's in-laws). Within this series are documents pertaining to a land dispute between Hemsen and the Corporation of New York. Other documents of note are a number of copies of affidavits, swearing to British brutality towards wounded American militia on May 1, 1778; official documents concerning the state of the colony of New York; articles of surrender from 1664; documents concerning Nine Partner land in Duchess County; notes on land; material concerning Trinity Church; and documents from lawyers.

Within this series are materials concerning organizations with which either Jay or his family was involved. These organizations include: Trinity Church, New York Hospital, the Society for the Suppression of Vice, Humane Society, and the Society for Meliorating the Conditions of the Jews. The materials regarding these societies and organizations include correspondence and notes. The British Mint and Van Schellyne papers consist of legal papers. Also of interest in this series are rules from Columbia College's library (in the variety organization folder) and the votes from the 1792 and 1795 New York governor's election.

Within this series are court documents and proceedings that pre-date the American Revolution. Of note is the Case of Schenck and Lupardus, which concerns an inheritance. Folder 3 contains a number of bills of cost, providing information for what legal services cost in the early to mid-eighteenth century

For the first half of the eighteenth century, New York and New Jersey were engaged in the New York - New Jersey Line War (also known as the N.J. Line War). This involved a series of skirmishes to determine the northern border of New Jersey, including a final skirmish in 1765 that was carried out with fists (not weapons because it was the Sabbath). In order to avoid further fighting, King George III appointed a royal commission in 1769 to determine once and for all what the border would be. Jay was a member of that commission. This series contains official documents, indentures, reports, surveys, drawings, and handwritten notes. There are also interrogatory answers from those from New York and New Jersey.This series is found on reel 3 and 4 of the microfilm. The split occurs in Box 6, Folder 4 with John Labriski's Answer.

This series contains an array of materials. There is correspondence from Jay as well as correspondence from his family. There are also ephemera items as well as a stay of execution from 1799 when Jay was governor of New York. Of particular interest is the draft of Federalist #64. Along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Jay wrote a number of essays meant to persuade Americans to adopt the Constitution. At the time, the essays were published under the name Publius. Before his death, Alexander Hamilton wrote a list out identifying the number essay with its author. He indicated that Jay had written #64. Later, Madison claimed to have written it. In 1863, Jay's grandson, another John Jay, was going through family belongings and found a draft of #64 tied up in old copies of the Independent Journal, which was a newspaper in which the essays had originally been printed. Wanting to set the record straight, John Jay, grandson, sent the draft to the New-York Historical Society. The draft itself is now a part of the bound volume collection under BV Jay, John, but this series contains photostat copies of the draft.