| Notes |
- Doubt about birthplace:
-Swinton, according to his death announcement in the Cobourg Sentinel Aug 1, 1863 (see Misc Stuff Library, Item 4, page 15)
-Foulden, according to the John Jeffrey family bible (See John Jeffrey Library, Item 2, page 2)
-Foulden - tombstone Cobourg Union Cemetery
-Chirnside, Berwickshire, according to William Jeffrey (II) Library, Item 3.
These places are all close to each other. It appears he felt he was from Foulden
Joined the Presbyterian Church in Scotland at age 17 (See William Jeffrey (II) Library Item 3)
Arrived in Canada with Lyall and Hall families in 1820 (see passenger lists for steamboat from Quebec to Montreal Aug 13, 1820 in Andrew Jeffrey Library Item 12, and John Cowan's email to Jim Jeffrey Nov 22, 2018). Also see "Emigrated to Canada at age 20" (=1820) in William Jeffrey (II) Library Item 3.
May have met future wife, Janet Hall at age 12, while coming to Canada, unless the families knew each other in Scotland and decided to emigrate together.
His signature can be seen in Janet (Jessie) Jeffrey's visitor book (see Janet Jeffrey Library Item 4, page 4).
Businesses
Hardware merchant. Though active in the Board of Trade in 1845 (see below) the first mention of his business (Hardware Store) is Jan 1, 1848 - Page 128 of "Early Cobourg" by P. Clemo (see below). Then the Cobourg Star April 11 1849, Page 2 Col 4, reports that "we understand that Andrew Jeffrey, Esq, one of our well known and highly respected Hardware merchants, is about building a large two storey shop on his present site. Location is 19 King Street West, at First Street, Lot 1 of Block B in Lot 16 Conc A - See Library Item 25. Then his own announcement in the same newspaper next week (Apr 18, Page 3 Col 4) that he had moved to the "store formerly occupied by Thomas Eyre, Esq, next door to the Albion Hotel. Being about to erect new buildings on the old site" he was having a sale. See Library Item 29. (Albion Hotel was at 44 KIng St E - Eyre's store was Conger's store in the sketch on P 37 of R Mikel's book "Cobourg The Spirit of the Place," accroding to R Mikel in email to John Cowan Feb 9, 2020.)
Foundry property owner. By marrying the widow of John McLenhan, Andrew became owner of the McLenhahn Foundry on Division Street at Spencer (See Library/Andrew Jeffrey/Item 26h) Though he is described as owner of the (renamed?) Cobourg Foundry, business records show that James Davidson operated Cobourg Foundry and paid rent to Andrew Jeffrey.
Shareholder in the Grand Trunk Railway
Built the third sawmill on Rice Lake with Thomas Scott in 1851, competing with the Fortune Mill. This new sawmill was next door to Mr Fortune's residence (Ref "P.55 "Gore's Landing and Rice Lake Plains" 1986 by Norma Martin, Catherine Milne and Donna S McGills, published by Heritage Gores Landing, 1986, Haynes Printing, Cobourg)
Operated a Cobourg school in 1832 "on the north side of King St at the corner of D'Arcy" (Page 139 "Cobourg 1798-1948"). (John Cowan speculates that this was on the west side of Division Street since he is reported to have had property on the west side of Division since 1826) Also R. Mikel reported to John Cowan Oct 28, 2019 that a history Schools in Cobourg says his school was on the NW corner where the Rosevear house now stands.
Cobourg & Peterborough Railway chartered in Dec 1852 ....... see https://www.cobourghistory.ca/histories/harwood-station-museum/65-cobourg-peterborough-railway-part-1-the-railway
Community Service
Dec 2, 1836 Andrew Jeffrey and two others were appointed by a town meeting to petition 'both houses of the legislature' to amalgamate Amherst and Cobourg and incorporate the combined Town of Cobourg, separate from the rest of Hamilton Township. Their petiton worked as on March 4, 1837 the legislature passed "The Act to Establish A Police in the Town of Cobourg, and to Define the Limits of said Town." The Act established bylaws for the town and fines for transgressors, as well as grannting the power to tax and invest in infrastructure.(ref p71-81 of "Early Cobourg" by Percy Climo, published around 1985, in the possession of John Cowan.)
June 1837 elected as a member of the first Police Board governing Cobourg (before town council existed). He served one year. (To be qualified for this role persons needed to have an "assessed" property value for taxes of at least 60 pounds. - see weblink in Library/Misc Stuff/Item 21)
Dec 6-19, 1837 he first served as a private in the First Northumberland Militia hastily formed to put down the Mackenzie Rebellion. He probably saw no action as they would have arrived at the scene of battle in Toronto too late for the action - Mackenzie had already fled. However he also served Nov 13, 1838 to May 7 1839 (see Library/Andrew Jeffrey/Items 34 and Jim Jeffrey email to John Cowan Jan 17, 2020).
Elected as President of the Committee of Management of the new Board of Trade Sept 15, 1845 - as reported in the Cobourg Star Sept 17, (see "Early Cobourg" Page 120)
Justice of the Peace. In the July 18 1849 edition of the Cobourg Star, Andrew Jeffrey and Thomas Eyre (see also Library Item 29) were "convicting justices" for 3 cases of selling liquor without a license (fines of 5-7 pounds each) and 2 cases of assault (fines 3-10 shillings each).
Founding Elder and Trustee of St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Cobourg. Aug 14, 1833 "Andrew Jeffrey et al Trustees" for the Presbyterian Church bought a half acre lot from Henry Ruttan (see https://www.cobourghistory.ca/biographies/henry-ruttan) (Lot 19 Conc A, Block A, lot 7) according to Land Titles records. Appreciation for his service to the Church seen in letter from the Church (Library/Andrew Jeffrey/Item 35b).
Chairman of the Cobourg and Rice Lake Plank Road and Ferry Company. He is listed as Chairman publishing the third annual report of the company as it was completing its plank and gravel road to Gores Landing. See Library/Misc Stuff/Item 22-B. He may also have been a shareholder, though we found no evidence of such.
Mayor of Cobourg in 1852, also Councillor in 1851 (ref Cobourg 1798-1948" Page 253by Edwin Guitllet 1948)
President of the Board of Trustees of the Northumberland and Durham Savings Bank (ref Library Item 31) 1852 to his death.
Appointed one of five Commissioners of the Cobourg Town Trust 1859 until his death. He was Chairman from 1859. See letter of appreciation upon his death Library/Andrew Jeffrey/Item 35a.
In 1848 he was the Reform candidate for the Legislative Assembly. In 1859 he went to the Provincial Reform Convention in Toronto, where he was Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions. (ref John Graham's Jan 1998 presentation to the Lakeshore Genealogical Society - Library\William Campbell Jeffrey Materials\Item 5)
Elected to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1860 (until his death) representing the Newcastle Division.
Homes
Assessment records reviewed by William Campbell show that Andrew lived somewhere on Lot 15 Concession A in Hamilton Township (Cobourg) from at least 1826 to 1838. (Library\William Campbell Jeffrey Materials\Item 10 Census records) Also Settlement map (Library/Misc Stuff/Item 26)shows him as being on an easterly portion of Lot 15.
The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (cobourghistory.ca/architecture) recorded that Andrew Jeffrey built a house at 272 University Ave West in Cobourg in the 1830s. It is shown on Sandford Flemings 1846 Map (Library/Andrew Jeffrey Item 26b) (See Library Item 28) He probably lived there until 1844. When it was built, University Ave was called Seminary. Also, its front entrance faced directly to William Street. In modern times a lot has been separated off on William Street so the house no longer has access to William, insteead University. It is very close to the first Church property for which he was a Trustee in 1833. Andrew's house was demolished in 1893 according to Cobourg World May 17, 1893 (see email from R Mikel to John Cowan Oct 28, 2019)
He built a new house in 1844 at the corner of King and Ontario Street (See Library Item 24). It was a large property for a house, occupying lots 12, 13, 25 and 26 of Block I in Lot 19 Concesssion A. Robert Mikel reported Oct 19, 2019 that the Polson's rented the house at some stage after the Jeffreys moved out (still in the 19th century). This house was used as West End Public School after 1928 (see Library/Misc Stuff/Item 21 page 1). It was taken down in the 1960s.(ref Robert Mikel - see Libary Doucment Index for Item 27). The school's grounds were described in 1937 as "large spacious grounds are one of the beauty spots of Cobourg." (see Library/Misc Stuff/Item 21) A park was on the site until 1995 when the Public Lirary was built there.
He bought 4 acres from Abraham Crouter on Sept 10, 1839, in the west part of Lot Pk Lot A, in Lot 18 Conc B (Land Titles Record for Lot 18, in Northumberland County Archives, page 3, Instr 5649.) This property faced Victoria St, close to what became the Grand Trunk Railway (Library/Andrew Jeffrey/Item 26f). He was probably first user of this land since Crouter bought a 60 A chunk in 1836 and a 57 A chunk in 1837. (A lot contains 200 A.) He and his wife sold 9/100 acre to GTR on July 2, 1856 (Registry Lot 18 page 11, Instr C63). Robert Mikel speculated with John Cowan (Oct 19, 2019) that the land was probably used to provide food for the family, since no industrial facilities were known on the property until modern times.
1861 Census (Library/Misc Stuff/Item 28 P1) show his mother-in-law (Jane Moscrip) living with him, as well as two unkowns: Harriet, age 19, and I. Thompson Age 17.
His will made his eldest son (William) executor and heir. His assets at death seem minimal (need to source this).
In Oct 1866 William Jeffrey was discharging(?) 6 mortgages on Parts 12, 13, 25 and 26 in Part ?? of Lot 18 Conc A - the land that Andrew's house stood on. Or was he granting mortgages on sale - its unclear from the incomplete land title records in the Northumberland Archives. Two of the mortgages were to a person by the name of Daintry. GS Daintry was Mayor of Cobourg in 1864 and 1865.
Misc facts:
Land Titles records for Lot 18 show that Andrew Jeffrey loaned money via a mortgage on a half acre of land to James Burnett (location unknown) on Oct 16, 1846. Instr 8256.
It was reported by Jessie Belle Jeffrey Greig to John Cowan that Andrew entrusted his chequebook with a fellow peer of the church so that the contractor building the new church in 1862 could be paid while Andrew travelled on government business. His bank account was cleaned out and the contractor was not paid. Was this a stress that led to Andrew's early death within a year? Or is this the family story to account for the financial distress commonplace in the town as recession hit (sSpeculation by R Mikel Oct 19, 2019).
His Obit reports that "the places of business in town were closed from noon to 2 o'clock, in token of respect to the departed" Obit also speak in glowing terms of his upright character. (See Library/Misc Stuff/Item 22-C)
BAPTISM: From the Foulden Parish Register - Andrew, lawful son to William Jeffrey and Mary Lyall, born Feb 17th, baptised March 16th 1800, before these witnesses viz: Andrew Jeffrey, Peter Jeffrey
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1800 - 1863 (63 years)
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