John Jeffreyson

Sir John Jeffreyson (1635–1700) was an English-born judge whose entire judicial career was spent in Ireland.

[1] He was a convinced Tory in politics[2] and a close friend of the noted loyalist cleric Thomas Cartwight, Bishop of Chester, but after the Glorious Revolution, unlike Bishop Cartwright, he did not follow King James II into exile.

[1] He strongly supported the King's policy of religious toleration, and was recommended for promotion to the English High Court bench in 1688 as a reward for his good service to the Crown.

As was customary then for High Court judges he attended the Irish House of Lords to act as their legal adviser.

Mrs Davys in the dedication praises Margaret's "unexceptional temper", and refers to their old acquaintance in England, suggesting that their friendship was of long standing.

Thomas Cartwight, Bishop of Chester
St. Peter's Church, Aungier Street, Dublin, now demolished, where Jeffreyson was buried