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.
Your Father,
A Jeffrey