andrew jeffrey

Andrew Jeffrey

Andrew Jeffrey was my great-great grandfather. He was born in Foulden

Parish, Scotland on February 17, 1800. Foulden is located in

Berwickshire, a county very close to the border of England. His

parents were William Jeffrey and Mary Lyall. Andrew was the eldest of

of 5 children, the younger being 4 sisters. The population of Foulden

7 years before Andrew's birth was 344, only 20% of these living in

Foulden village. The rest lived in the surrounding country. Andrew's

father is thought to have been a blacksmith in Foulden. Andrew was

baptized in the local church a month after being born, on March 16,

1800. Little is known about his childhood in Foulden. Foulden had a

parochial school, and education was thought to be required of all

children, so he probably attended this school. The subjects taught

included reading, writing, arithmetic, Latin and Greek. A description

of life in Foulden published 30 years after Andrew's birth described

what meals were like in the typical Foulden family: "At the morning

and evening meals of the peasantry, their staple is oatmeal porridge

and milk; their dinner consists of bread made from pease (split peas)

and barley, and of potatoes, seasoned with fat pork. Each family feeds

at least two pigs a year."

Family tradition says that William Jeffrey came to Canada alone when

Andrew was in his teens. Mary and the rest of the family followed him,

probably in 1819. Many of the men of Scotland found the going hard

through the unemployment following the end of the Napoleonic wars in

1815. This is probably why the Jeffrey family emigrated. Andrew

settled first in Kingston, and in 1820 made his way to Cobourg, where

he lived until his death in 1863. Both of these communities were

located in Ontario, or as it was then known, Upper Canada. Upper

Canada was the most British of the Canadian colonies.

He married Janet Hall on February 18, 1828 in Cobourg. She bore him 9

children before her death in 1851.

In 1924 there were approximately 350 people living in Cobourg. There

was no organized group of Presbyterian Christians in the community. On

occasion, ministers from an organized congregation would visit

neighboring settlements bring services there. In 1927, a Reverend J.

Jenkins visited Port Hope, a settlement a few miles east of Cobourg.

He ordained five men as elders, one of them being Andrew Jeffrey. The

first four men joined a congregation in Port Hope, while Andrew

associated himself with the Presbyterians in Cobourg. He and another

existing elder in Cobourg formed the nucleus of the leadership of the

"Kirk of Scotland" in Cobourg. In 1833, Andrew and three other men

became the first Trustees of this local church, and shortly

thereafter, he and six other men were appointed to be a Building

Committee for this Presbyterian Church, responsible for erecting a

suitable building for the growing church in Cobourg. Andrew continued

as an elder in "St. Andrews Presbyterian Church" until his death in

1863. Among their many responsibilities, the elders in the church were

very diligent in the spiritual oversight of this congregation. They

dealt with many issues that have had to be dealt with down through the

centuries, as well as those peculiar to their time. These included

dealing with: "The great sin of marriage to a deceased wife's sister,

being nothing less than incest" (1836); failure of a church member to

"contribute to the support of the gospel" (1836); "giving birth to a

child out of wedlock" (1838); "the great evil committed in drinking of

spirituous liquor till she was intoxicated" (1840); "the sin of ante

nuptial fornication" (1850); "acts of intemperance in being

intoxicated" (1856), etc. Andrew and his fellow elders didn't shirk

from their spiritual responsibilities in addressing these issues, but

were faithful in showing mercy as soon as the sinning member expressed

contrition.

Andrew's vocation was described in 1832 as a "saddler." In 1833, he

was described as a "harness maker." In 1837, Cobourg was incorporated

as a village, and a Board of Police managed its municipal affairs for

the following 13 years. Andrew Jeffrey was elected to this Board in

1837. In 1850, Cobourg was incorporated as a town, and a mayor and a

Board of Councilmen now managed its municipal affairs. Andrew was

elected a councilman in 1851, and in 1852 he was elected Mayor of

Cobourg. In the same year (1852) he was elected President of the Board

of Trustees of the Northumberland and Durham Saving's Bank, which

office he held till his death in 1863. He kept a private school for

boys at the corner of King and D'Arcy Streets in Cobourg, and

apparently served as headmaster. Throughout these years, Andrew

operated the Cobourg Foundry. A foundry is an establishment where

metal is melted and poured into molds. This foundry manufactured steam

engines, boilers, agricultural equipment, axes and other items. Andrew

also established a hardware business, which gradually became large and

prosperous.

On May 4, 1853. Andrew married for the second time, to Agnes Moscrip

McLenhan, a widow with 2 children, who was nearly 19 years younger

than Andrew. She bore him 4 children, one of who is my

great-grandfather, Henry. Andrew was just shy of 60 years old when

Henry was born. In 1859, Andrew was appointed one of the five

Commissioners of the Town Trust, and speedily became its chairman. In

1860, he was elected to represent the Newcastle District in the

Legislative Council, which was the upper house of legislation for the

Province of Canada, and consisted of 24 members. Members were elected

every 4 years. Andrew died after a protracted illness on July 27,

1863. His funeral was on July 29 at 12:00 noon. The places of business

in Cobourg were closed from noon to 2:00PM in token of respect for

Andrew.

Andrew Jeffrey seems to have been a man of tremendous character. His

obituary uses these words: "He remained one of Cobourg's most upright

and respectable citizens." "He filled his office with honour,

performing all its responsible labors with characteristic assiduity

(constant or close application or attention, particularly to some

business or enterprise; diligence) and integrity." "His industry,

enterprise and perserverance, together with his marked honesty of

character, enabled him to be successful in business." "Endowed by

nature with a fine mind - with a large, warm and generous heart, and

with great energy of character, he has won for himself the reputation

of a just and good man." "He was a man of considerable information,

calm judgement, and strict integrity."

He was also a dearly beloved father. Two letters from Andrew to his

daughter, Jessie, have survived, both written from Quebec, where he

lived while he served on the Legislative Council. One was written to

her when she was 5 years old, the other when she was 6. Reading his

letters to her display the qualities that endeared him to his family.

I will close this post by copying one of these letters, written a

little over a year before his death.

Quebec 29 March 1862

My Dear Jessie,

I got your letter, and it makes me very glad. You are a good girl for

saying your lessons every day, and I am much pleased to hear you say

that Donald is now saying his lessons better than he did (Donald was 7

years old).

You know that I have often told you that good children are always

willing to learn - and by so doing they get to know a great deal, and

are far more useful than children that cannot read nor write. Now what

a nice thing it is that, although I am many hundred miles away from

you, by learning to read and write you can send me a letter and tell

me all you want to say just as well as if we were sitting in the room

together.

Now I hope to hear both Donald and you will learn to read and write

fast so that you can, both of you, send me a long letter by and by.

Be good children, be willing to do whatever you are bid, do not go to

bed before you say your prayers, and Pa will also pray God bless and

keep you. Give Harry a kiss (Henry was 2 years old) and tell him it is

from Pa.