She lived most of her adult life in Hereford, England although she moved around to stay with family due to the English Civil Wars.
[1] An account book that Jeffreys kept between 1638 and 1648 in which she recorded both business and personal transactions has survived and been published.
It gives an insight into the life of a woman who was a member of the provincial gentry in the West Midlands during a period that included the First English Civil War.
Over the vestry door of the church, there is a brass plaque commissioned by Sir Thomas Winnington in 1857 and dedicated to her memory.
Humphrey never married but did become wealthy as a travel writer and left Joyce the sum of one hundred marks annually, divided into payments given to her twice a year, in addition to interest and other goods.
The years of living with him exposed her to even more influential people to add to her social circle and no doubt improved her education.
Sir Thomas left Joyce £10 a year from rent on rural property he owned as well as his late wife's linen.
[6] Moneylending was not an uncommon trade for a single woman and was many women's primary source of income.
Most women were involved in textile work as that was a more suitable trade for a woman at that time, so Joyce is not unique in having an occupation.
[9] Because of her connections, Joyce was able to develop her business as a moneylender successfully enough to support herself and a substantial household.
[10] Joyce mentions in her records that Nurse Nott was taking care of her in her final days in March 1648.
In her will, she left her servant, Elizabeth Newton £100 which was loaned to James Seaburne on mortgage for Elizabeth and in Joyce's’ own words, “'it being a stock which I have raised and saved for her out of her wages and interest money'.”[11] She also mentions in her records that Nurse Nott was taking care of her in her final days in March 1648.
Panic from the advance of the parliamentary troops made Joyce have to flee the city of Hereford on September 21, 1642, during the First English Civil War.
[13] Joyce Jeffriess was a successful moneylender who was financially secure enough to not only provide for herself but also others and was always known for being extremely generous and always giving gifts.
She was left with good connections and with significant amounts of property to allow her to maintain her business and a comfortable living.
[16] The diary, extracts from which are printed in Archaeologia (1857, xxxvii, 189–223), was burnt in the fire which destroyed the Winnington library at Sanford Court, Stanford on Teme.