Edgecombe-Granville-Vance County NcArchives Biographies.....Jeffreys, William Edward 1859 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 22, 2008, 8:09 am Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) WILLIAM EDWARD JEFFREYS AS an example of what energy, integrity, honesty and uprightness, coupled with high aims and purposes, may accomplish, the career of William Edward Jeffreys stands out in bold relief and holds a conspicuous place among the successful business men of North Carolina. Prominent in commercial, political, religious and social affairs, and a leader in the development of the great tobacco interests of his native State, he is a prime factor in the growth and prosperity of Nash County, and one of the most influential promoters of the industrial and commercial welfare of Rocky Mount. Mr. Jeffreys was born September 22, 1859, in Granville County, North Carolina, a son of William B. and May Elizabeth (Bragg) Jeffreys. Early in life he assumed active business duties, and at the age of twenty-nine years removed to Henderson, and associated himself with tobacco interests. Four years later he removed his business to Rocky Mount where he established the Jeffreys Tobacco Warehouse. Mr. Jeffreys enjoys a wide reputation in his trade and is an expert judge of the quality of the plant. Thoroughly progressive, he is actively interested in many business enterprises, notably the Jeffreys-Ricks Clay Works, producing an especially fine grade of brick, for building and paving purposes, which finds a ready market in North Carolina and adjoining States. The son of a Southern planter, Mr. Jeffreys has availed himself of the opportunity to develop his inherent ability in the field of agriculture, specializing as a dairyman. His herd of milch cows are of the purest and most aristocratic of the bovine breeds. His dairy products secured under sanitary conditions with modern equipment, have an established reputation for purity and excellence. Mr. Jeffreys' estate is known as "Thorpe Place" and occupies a valuable tract of about a thousand acres. In its cultivation and improvement he finds both pleasure and profit. In religious circles Mr. Jeffreys is a member of the Board of Stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and takes an active interest in the welfare of this Society. His fraternal affiliations include the Masons, Odd Fellows, Pythias and Elks. Politically a Democrat, he has rendered efficient service to his fellow-citizens of Nash County as chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for a period of sixteen years, and while declining further honors of public office, he remains a leader in all matters pertaining to the advancement of his County and State, and his influence is far-reaching. In 1892 Mr. Jeffreys married Miss Dena Lyon, daughter of Richard Alexander and Ziba (Waller) Lyon, of Lyons, North Carolina, and the congenial relations of this couple are well-nigh ideal. They have five children: Flossie Lyon, William Edward, Eichard Thomas, Helene Elizabeth and Mary Frances. The two eldest are graduates of Rocky Mount High School and Trinity College, and the three younger are attending local schools preparatory for college. The name of Jeffreys has long been familiar to North Carolinians and Virginians, the direct ancestral line dating back to the early Colonial period when the family settled in North Hampton County, North Carolina, on a grant of land conveyed to them by the English crown. The immediate ancestors of Mr. Jeffreys subsequently removed to Nash and Franklin Counties after the close of the Revolution. County Worcester, England, according to the records, appears to have been the original seat of the family in Great Britain, where the Jeffreys Coat of Arms was confirmed by the Heralds' Visitation in the sixteenth century. The arms are thus described: "Ermine, a lion rampant, sable, a canton of the last. "Crest: a demi lion or, jessant a laurel wreath proper." On the maternal side Mr. Jeffreys inherits many of the characteristics which brought distinction to various members of the Bragg family. The career of Hon. Thomas Bragg, who was elected Governor of North Carolina in 1854, and in 1859 was chosen a member of the United States Senate, is familiar to students of history. Likewise the miltary record of General Braxton Bragg, who graduated from West Point in 1837. A brave officer in the Civil War, a series of reverses befell his command, and he then became military adviser to President Davis. The career of William Edward Jeffreys, so useful to his County and State, has been of his own making, and he is entitled to the credit which attaches to all conscientious and faithful efforts. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/edgecombe/photos/bios/jeffreys36gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/edgecombe/bios/jeffreys36gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb