Alexander Jeffrey
Through the influence of Mr Woods, Jeffrey was finally allowed to practise before the Sheriff Court of Roxburghshire in 1838.
He made many successful appearances before the courts of Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, showing great knowledge of the principles and practise of the law.
The right of the council to make these demands had never been directly questioned, but the bakers often tried to evade these obligations.
Around 1839, the council decided to apply to the court of session to have these rights formally acknowledged by law.
He had worked in the town clerk's office and also had an extensive knowledge of Jedburgh's history because of his antiquarian pursuits.
The case dragged on for several years and was eventually decided in the bakers favour after a jury trial in January 1843 in Edinburgh.
The demand for Jeffrey's professional services increased rapidly as a consequence of his work on this case.
That a man with a demanding job could spare the time to produce such a significant tome shows he had a great love for his subject.
Volumes 1–3 were praised in an article published in the much respected Edinburgh Review[9] This table itemises his known publications:- Jeffrey was a frequent contributor to various local/regional newspapers on all the topical issues of the day.
He made speeches in Jedburgh, and other nearby towns, in support of a campaign to increase the number of people eligible to vote in elections for the House of Commons.
When the Reform Act 1832 became law, the electorate increased by 50%–80%, giving one adult male in six the right to vote.
In this capacity, he attended all the public meetings in the counties of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk during the election contests of 1832 and 1834.
The Jedburgh Border Games were first held in 1853 as part of the celebrations of the coming of age of the 8th Marquis of Lothian.
Unusually, the forenames of the two first born children, Francis and Charles Grey, do not appear in earlier generations of either the Jeffrey or the Kerr families.
His obituary,[21] published in 1875 in the Transactions of the Berwickshire Naturalists Society, says that, physically, he was a fine looking man.
He was happiest when, at the end of a busy day, he had his family gathered round him, at his own fireside, with a daily newspaper near to hand.
[22] A section of the Bob Mason Room in Jedburgh Castle Jail Museum is dedicated to Jeffrey.
[23] The small display consists of a short biography, a portrait and a copy of volume two of his History of Roxburghshire.
These items were donated to the Museum by John Murray, Jedburgh, a direct descendant of Jeffrey.
Jeffrey's subsequent professional appearances were often painful to watch by those who had seen him perform in his more vigorous days.
The large number of mourners who followed the procession bore witness to the esteem in which the deceased gentleman was held.
His gravestone memorial inscription states that the remains of his wife, his youngest son, William, and the five children who died in infancy were also interred in the same plot.
[24] Below is a transcription of Jeffrey's will, dated 24 August 1874:- I, Alexander Jeffrey, solicitor, being desirous while I am still, by the blessing of almighty God, in fair health to put in writing the way and manner in which I would wish to leave my property and effects after my death, do therefore, and for other good causes and considerations, give and dispone to, and in favour of my dear daughter, Isabella Jeffrey, my whole estate and effects, heritable and moveable, of whatever kind or nature soever, or wheresoever situated, which shall belong and be addebted, or to which I may have any claim at the time of my death, with the title and vouchers thereof, but always under burden of payment of all my just and lawful debts, deathbed and funeral expenses, and of any legacies I may leave by any codicil hereto, of any other writing under my hand, however informally, the same may be executed, and I further request Isabella to present to each of her sisters, Mrs Katherine Bell and Mrs Jean Peat, a suitable ring as a remembrance of me, and also to deliver to each of my sons, Smyttan Jeffrey and William Jeffrey such number of my books, not exceeding ten, as they may select, also to be kept by them as a remembrance of me, and I desire here to explain that I have left my whole property to Isabella not from any want of affection for the other members of my family, but to mark in a special way my grateful sense of her very dutiful and devoted attention to me in the weak state of health in which I have been ever since her mother's death, and also from a feeling that anything I could leave divided among all the members of my family would not be any material assistance to them; Further as my daughter may require advice and assistance in the disposal of my property from some qualified person, I nominate William Elliot, solicitor in Jedburgh, to be executor of my will, and I revoke all former settlements and I reserve my liferent right with power to revoke these present, in whole or in part; and I dispense with the delivery hereof, and I consent to registration hereof for presentation:- in witness whereof these present, written on this and the preceding page by William Elliot, solicitor in Jedburgh, and subscribed by me at Jedburgh, the twenty fourth day of August in the year eighteen hundred and seventy four, before these witnesses, Annie Watson residing in Castlegate, Jedburgh, and Elizabeth Veitch, my servant, also residing in Castlegate, Jedburgh.
