[2] He came to England in 1902 after winning a boxing competition in South Africa organised by visiting world champion Kid McCoy.

He married Abby Mitchell (born 2 December 1881 in Adlington, Lancashire) in 1904 in the District of St Marylebone, London.

[4] He started his boxing career in England as a booth fighter[5] and was reportedly a big attraction for Peddlar McMahon who operated a booth-fighting business.

[7] He won his British boxing title in a fight hall called Wonderland at 100 Whitechapel Road, Mile End, London[8] on 25 March 1907, when he knocked out Curly Watson in the fourth round.

[9] Jeptha had been having problems with damage to his eyesight since before the March 1907 title fight and had received treatment at the Moorfields Eye Hospital, and now had blurred vision.

Jeptha played the role of a villain and it is said that his eyes suffered further damage from heavy blows to the head from Goldswain in every performance.

It is recorded that he could be seen sitting on the sidewalk between the flower sellers in Adderley Street, Cape Town, selling a booklet at the price of one shilling.