Jayne, Gershom (Jane)

Born: 1791-10-15 Orange County, New York

Died: 1867-04-17 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished:

Alternate name: Jane

After receiving medical training in his native state, Jayne served as a surgeon during the War of 1812. After the war, he practiced medicine in Cayuga County, New York. In 1819, he migrated to Illinois, settling in Springfield in 1820, becoming the first physician in Sangamon County. In 1822, he married Sibyl Slater, with whom he had six children. Jayne continued to practice medicine in Springfield until his death. His practice was lucrative, and he used the proceeds to purchase large tracts of public land in Sangamon, Cass, Morgan, Menard, Tazewell, Woodford, and other counties. In 1827, he was one of the commissioners selected to construct the first Illinois State Penitentiary. In 1829, he received appointment as one of the first commissioners of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. By 1860, he was living in Springfield with his wife and children and owned real estate valued at $20,000 and a personal estate of $10,000.

Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 21 December 1822, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Sangamon, Cass, Morgan, Menard, Tazewell, Woodford and other counties, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; "An Act concerning the Saline Reserves, a Penetentiary, and the Improvement of Certain Navigable Streams," The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 357; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon, IL, 189; Joseph Wallace, Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1904), 1:41-42.