Jeyes’s first venture into business came when he, his elder brother, also Philadelphus, and James Atkins, a local nurseryman, went into partnership in the early 1840s.
It is not known how long this lasted but twenty years later Jeyes, by then married with six children, moved to London; in 1863 he was living in Finsbury.
On 10 March 1846, John Jeyes married Sarah Frances Weldon at St Mary's Church, Stamford; they had ten children.
Jeyes died at his home, 5 Windsor Road, Forest Gate on 12 January 1892.
Nominated by members of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the winner is chosen by the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Awards committee and receives £2000, a medal and a certificate.