Dr. John Gay Orton (December 5, 1827 - April 21, 1924) was a Binghamton physician, called the "dean of Binghamton medicine" in his Binghamton Press obituary. A native of Seneca Falls, Orton was educated in the local schools and studied medicine at the University of New York, graduating in 1853. He relocated to Binghamton the following year, where he was a founder of the Binghamton Academy of Medicine; he was that institution's secretary for many years, and was elected president in 1889. He was also a member of the Broome County Medical Society from 1854, serving as president in 1856-1857 and as secretary from 1863 through 1879. During the Civil War he served as examining surgeon for Broome County draft applicants. He was later active in state and national medical organizations, including the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates, the New York State Medical Association, the International Medical Congress, and the American Public Health Association. He served as trustee or officer of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, the New York State Asylum for the Blind, the Susquehanna Valley Home, and the Home for Aged Women, as well as the Binghamton City Hospital and the Binghamton Academy of Science.

Orton also was involved with the Binghamton Savings Bank, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Binghamton Board of Education.

Orton married Helen M. Doubleday, daughter of Dr. Ammi Doubleday of Binghamton. They had three daughters, including Helen, whose will is in this collection. A second daughter, May I. Orton, married Frederic Emerson Barnes; the WWI service record of their son Orton Spaulding Barnes (1897-1954) is also in this collection.