1622-1880; bulk: 1670-1800
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of business and personal papers of Jeffries family members, primarily David Jeffries (1658-1742), David Jeffries (1690-1716), David Jeffries (1714-1784), and John Jeffries (b. 1689), merchants of Boston and Portsmouth, N.H., and papers of physician and Loyalist John Jeffries (1745-1819).
Biographical Sketches
Note: The names in italics below are the names used by Walter Lloyd Jeffries, the compiler of this collection, to identify the various Jeffries family members. These italicized names are used in the Detailed Description of the Collection below.
David Jeffries (1658-1742) (David Jeffries II) was a Boston merchant. A native of Rhoad, Wiltshire, England, he settled in Boston in 1677 and married Elizabeth Usher, the daughter of John Usher (1648-1726). Their children were: Jane Jeffries (b. 1687); John Jeffries (b. 1689); David Jeffries (1690-1716); Elizabeth Jeffries (b. 1692), who married (1st) Charles Shepreeve in 1709 and (2nd) Benjamin Eliot in 1723; Rebecca Jeffries (b. 1693), who married Ebenezer Wentworth in 1711; Sarah Jeffries (b. 1695), who married George Jaffrey in 1711; Francis Jeffries (1696-1715); and Peter Jeffries (1697-1698).
John Jeffries (b. 1689) (Hon. John Jeffries) was a merchant who married Ann Clarke in 1713.
David Jeffries (1690-1716) (David Jeffries III) was a merchant who married Katherine Eyre, the daughter of John Eyre and Katherine Brattle Eyre, in 1713. Katherine Eyre Jeffries married (2nd) Oliver Noyes in 1719. Her mother, Katherine Brattle Eyre, married (2nd) Wait Still Winthrop.
David Jeffries (1714-1784) (David Jeffries IV), the son of David Jeffries (1690-1716) and Katherine Eyre Jeffries, was the deacon of Old South Church and town treasurer of Boston. In 1741, he married (1st) his first cousin Sarah Jaffrey, who died in 1753. In 1755, he married (2nd) the widow of Israel Walker, Deborah Lyde Walker, who died in 1767. In 1768, he married (3rd) Hannah Winslow, who died in 1783. In 1784, he married (4th) Sarah Leach Rhoads, the widow of Henry Rhoads.
John Jeffries (1745-1819) (Dr. John Jeffries), the son of David Jeffries (1714-1784) and Sarah Jaffrey Jeffries, was a Loyalist, physician, and balloonist. He studied medicine under Dr. James Lloyd of Boston. In 1773, he married (1st) Sarah Rhoads, who died in 1780. Their son died in 1796, and their daughter Ann Jeffries would later marry Samuel Brown. Dr. John Jeffries married (2nd) Hannah Hunt, the daughter of William Hunt, in 1787. They had ten children, four of whom died young.
John Usher (1648-1726) was a Boston bookseller, colonel of militia, member of the governor's council, treasurer and receiver general of the Territory and Dominion of New England under Sir Edmund Andros, land speculator, and lieutenant governor of New Hampshire from 1692-1697 and 1702-1716. He married (1st) Elizabeth Lidget, the daughter of Peter Lidget (d. 1676), and (2nd) Elizabeth Allen, the daughter of New Hampshire grantee Samuel Allen. Usher's daughter Elizabeth Usher married David Jeffries (1658-1742).
Collection Description
This collection consists of business and personal papers of Jeffries family members, primarily David Jeffries (1658-1742), David Jeffries (1690-1716), David Jeffries (1714-1784), and John Jeffries (b. 1689), merchants of Boston and Portsmouth, N.H., and papers of physician and Loyalist John Jeffries (1745-1819). The collection also contains papers of John Usher, receiver general of New England under Sir Edmund Andros and lieutenant governor of New Hampshire; Boston merchants Charles Lidget (1650-1698) and Peter Lidget (d. 1676); physician Isaac Waldron; apothecary William Davis and his son Benjamin; John Cooke, an English merchant in Oporto, Portugal; Henry Rhoads; Aeneas Salter; and Boston shipping merchants David Jeffries and Company, John and David Jeffries, and Jeffries and Shepreeve. The collection was compiled, arranged, and tipped into volumes by Walter Lloyd Jeffries and includes some notes and documents in his hand, as well as an index (Vol. 34).
Arrangement
The papers in this collection are arranged topically, not chronologically. There is an individual index at the beginning of each volume, and Volume 34 contains an index to the entire collection. Volume 29 (copies of Usher papers from the British Archives Public Records Office, 1689-1715) has been removed to the John Usher papers, Ms. N-2071 (XT), and cataloged separately. Some of the volumes, as noted in the Detailed Description of the Collection, are available on microfilm, P-493.
The papers have been removed from the bound volumes (Vol. 1-34) and rehoused in document boxes. The former volume numbers are included in the Detailed Description of the Collection below.
Custodial History
Most of the papers in this collection were found in the attic of Faneuil Hall, Boston, Mass., by a city official and turned over to Walter Lloyd Jeffries. Jeffries has made occasional notes throughout the papers as to the provenance of individual documents.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Papers of John Usher, 1671-1689
Included are tax lists for Massachusetts towns, generally 1687 and 1688; town rates and receipts; receipts and orders as treasurer; and papers regarding a few ships.
Papers of John Usher, 1674-1714
Included are treasury receipts, custom house entries (mostly regarding shipping from the West Indies), and letters from Sir Edmund Andros, John Ive, and others.
Index to Volume 2
Correspondence of John Usher, 1682-1724
Included are letters from David Jeffries, 1692, 1701, 1703.
Papers of John Usher, 1622-1738
Included are legal papers (various lawsuits and transactions), papers of Usher as lieutenant governor of New Hampshire, and material related to the million-acre grant.
Papers of David Jeffries II, 1652-1713
Included are papers of the estate of Major Benjamin Davis (1649-1704), for which Jeffries was executor; papers of Capt. William Davis (d. 1676), for whom Benjamin Davis was executor; letters from George Bulkeley to Benjamin Davis, 1699-1704; and business papers of David Jeffries II.
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 1.
Index and loose pages from Vol. 5
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 1.
Papers of Peter and Charles Lidget, Isaac Waldron, and John Usher, 1672-1695
Papers of Peter and Charles Lidget include correspondence with John Ive and others, legal and business papers, ships' papers, and bills and accounts. This volume also contains Isaac Waldron legal papers and some John Usher items.
Papers of Isaac Waldron, David Jeffries II, and Jeffries & Shepreeve, 1670-1740
Papers of Isaac Waldron include material related to his estate, legal papers, bills, invoices, and correspondence. This volume also contains David Jeffries II legal papers, correspondence, and miscellaneous items, as well as Jeffries & Shepreeve legal papers.
Papers of Jeffries & Shepreeve and David Jeffries & Co., 1697-1717
Included are legal papers and correspondence of Jeffries & Shepreeve and some David Jeffries & Co. items.
Papers of Jeffries & Shepreeve, John & David Jeffries, Hon. John Jeffries, and David Jeffries III, 1711-1735
Included is correspondence of Jeffries & Shepreeve, legal papers and correspondence of John & David Jeffries, and papers related to the death of David Jeffries III in 1716. This volume also contains legal papers and correspondence of Hon. John Jeffries, including letters from his father David Jeffries in Portsmouth and material concerning shipbuilding.
pp. 1-40
pp. 41-150
Papers of Hon. John Jeffries, 1728-1769
This volume contains correspondence and miscellaneous papers, including letters from Jeffries's father David Jeffries to 1735.
pp. 1-50
pp. 51-151
Papers of Hon. John Jeffries and others, 1680-1759
Included are papers of Jeffries as executor of the estate of Mrs. Ann Kay; deeds and correspondence of Thomas Clarke I (d. ca. 1683) and Thomas Clarke II; correspondence, bills, and receipts of Katherine Jeffries Noyes; and correspondence of Oliver Noyes and material related to his estate. This volume also contains papers of Elizabeth Elliot, Sarah Jaffrey, Samuel Wentworth I, Samuel Wentworth II, Ebenezer Wentworth I, David Jeffries III, and Katherine Eyre Winthrop.
pp. 1-60
pp. 61-150
Correspondence of David Jeffries IV, 1737-1782
Included is correspondence with George Jaffrey II and III.
pp. 1-60
pp. 61-153
Correspondence of David Jeffries IV, 1736-1770
pp. 1-100
pp. 101-152
Papers of David Jeffries IV, 1758-1785
Included are letters, legal papers, receipts and orders of Jeffries as town and county treasurer, papers as deacon of Old South Church and as attorney for Ebenezer Holmes, material regarding the Kennebec Purchase, and miscellaneous items.
pp. 1-97
pp. 98-151
Papers of John Usher, 1653-1723
Included are ships' papers, invoices, bills of lading, bills and accounts, and miscellaneous business papers.
pp. 1-91
pp. 92-148
Papers of David Jeffries II, 1677-1743
Included are ships' papers, papers of Jeffries as executor of the estate of Theophilis Minot, miscellaneous business papers, and bills. At the beginning of the volume is a list of vessels in which the family was interested, probably compiled by Walter Lloyd Jeffries.
pp. 1-90
pp. 91-153
Papers of David Jeffries II, 1673-1719
Arranged alphabetically by ship name.
Included are David Jeffries & Co. papers for the ships Adventure to Hope.
Papers of David Jeffries II, 1668-1719
Arranged alphabetically by ship name.
Included are David Jeffries & Co. papers for the ships Iphagenia to Young Prince.
Papers of David Jeffries II and John & David Jeffries, 1694-1726
Included are bills, ships' papers, and miscellaneous business papers of David Jeffries & Co. and John & David Jeffries.
Papers of David & John Jeffries and Hon. John Jeffries, 1703-1777
Included are accounts and bills of David & John Jeffries and miscellaneous business papers, ships' papers, and bills of Hon. John Jeffries.
Papers of Hon. John Jeffries and Thomas Clarke II, 1686-1773
Included are bills of Hon. John Jeffries, 1714-1773, and miscellaneous papers of Thomas Clarke II, 1686-1728.
Papers of David Jeffries IV and others, 1728-1816
Included are bills, business papers, and miscellaneous items of David Jeffries IV, 1728-1783. The volume also contains papers of David Jeffries V and his sisters, Hannah Winslow Jeffries, Oliver Noyes (Messrs. Gough and Noyes), Hannah Hunt Jeffries, 1814, and Dr. John Jeffries, 1773-1816, as well as family genealogical notes (p. 117).
Papers of Henry Rhoads, Mrs. Rhoads, and Hon. John Jeffries, 1698-1773
Included are letters, legal papers, and business papers of Henry Rhoads and Hon. John Jeffries, administrator of the estate of Henry Sharpe, who was executor of the estate of Patrick Ogilvie.
pp. 1-125
pp. 126-153
Papers of Aeneas Salter, 1705-1719
Included are miscellaneous papers, bills and accounts, orders, and receipts. Note: These papers were found mixed with the Jeffries papers at Faneuil Hall. Salter's connection with the family is unclear.
pp. 1-60
pp. 61-152
Correspondence of John Cooke, 1670-1685
Included is Cooke's English correspondence, arranged alphabetically by author, A-P. Note: These papers were found mixed with the Jeffries papers at Faneuil Hall. Cooke's connection with the family is unclear.
Papers of John Cooke
Included is Cooke's English correspondence, arranged alphabetically by author, P-Z, as well as his Portuguese correspondence. This volume also contains legal papers, business papers, bills of lading, invoices, and bills and accounts. Note: These papers were found mixed with the Jeffries papers at Faneuil Hall. Cooke's connection with the family is unclear.
pp. 1-50
pp. 51-153
Miscellaneous papers from Faneuil Hall and papers of the Jeffries family, 1658-1841
Included are legal papers, bills and accounts, and manuscript and printed scraps, 1658-1816. This volume also contains Jeffries correspondence and other papers, 1719-1841.
pp. 1-70
pp. 71-148
Papers of related families
Included are papers of the Jaffrey, Belcher, Brattle, Byfield, Peirce, Walker, Vassall, Penhallow, Jackson, Borland, Webber, Poole, Lloyd, Quincy, Greene, Farris, Parrish, Johns, Cutt, and Russell families. This volume also contains papers of the Ingraham/Robertson family regarding the Joshua Wilson estate; Eliza Susan Quincy's plan of Pemberton Square, 1880 (p. 107); and a silhouette of Sarah Lloyd Borland, 1800 (p. 142).
Oversize items from Vol. 16 and 19
Oversize items from Vol. 20-27
Diary of Dr. John Jeffries, 2 Jan. 1778-7 Apr. 1785 [copy]
Included is a preface written by Walter Lloyd Jeffries in 1895. Note: This diary continues in Vol. 31.
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 2.
Diary of Dr. John Jeffries, 8 Apr. 1785-21 July 1819 [copy]
Note: This diary is a continuation of Vol. 30, and the index for this volume is included in the Vol. 30 index.
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 2.
Papers of Dr. John Jeffries, 1775-1791 [copies]
Included is a copy of an orderly book, 1776-1778; copies of accounts, Headquarters, Halifax, General Hospital, 1784-1791; and copies of miscellaneous military papers and correspondence, 1775-1785. Note: This volume continues in Vol. 33.
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 3.
Correspondence of Dr. John Jeffries, 1785-1835 [copies]
Note: This volume is a continuation of Vol. 32, and the index for this volume is included in the Vol. 32 index.
Available on microfilm, P-493, Reel 3.
Index to the collection
Preferred Citation
Jeffries family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.