John Cordy Jeaffreson
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John Cordy Jeaffreson (14 January 1831 – 2 February 1901) was an English novelist and author of popular non-fiction. He also spent periods teaching and as an inspector of historical documents.


Life

Jeaffreson was born at
Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
, Suffolk, on 14 January 1831. He was the second son and ninth child of William Jeaffreson (1789–1865), a surgeon, and Caroline (died 1863), youngest child of George Edwards, tradesman there; and was named after his mother's uncle by marriage, John Cordy (1781–1828) of
Worlingworth Worlingworth is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located around ten miles south-east of Diss. In 2011 it had a total population of 802 people. The village has a primary school called Worli ...
and Woodbridge. After education at the grammar schools of Woodbridge and
Botesdale Botesdale is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is about south west of Diss, south of Norwich and north east of Bury St Edmunds. The village of Rickinghall merges with Botesda ...
, he was apprenticed to his father in August 1845; but matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford, on 22 June 1848, where among his undergraduate friends were the future novelists Henry Kingsley and Arthur Locker. After graduating B.A. in May 1852, Jeaffreson lived in London for about six years, working as a private tutor and lecturing in schools; and also began to write. From 1856 he was a journalist, writing from 1858 for the rest of his life for the ''
Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...
''. He became a student at Lincoln's Inn on 18 June 1856 and was called to the bar on 30 April 1859, but did not practise law. Jeaffreson moved in legal as well as in literary social circles. In 1860 he joined "Our Club", a literary group that was then a dining club, meeting weekly at Clunn's Hotel, Covent Garden. In 1872
Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy (22 May 1804 – 15 June 1878) was an English archivist and antiquary, who served as Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office from 1861 to 1878. Life Hardy was the third son of Major Thomas Bartholomew Price Hardy, fro ...
, a friend and deputy keeper of the Public Records, invited Jeaffreson to become an inspector of documents for the
Historical Manuscripts Commission The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (widely known as the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and abbreviated as the HMC to distinguish it from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England), was a United Kingdom Royal Com ...
, and after palaeographical training at the
Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...
he began work in 1874. He then concentrated on preparing reports and calendars of manuscript records. After years of poor health, which brought his work to an end, Jeaffreson died on 2 February 1901 at his house in
Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...
, and was buried in Paddington Cemetery, Willesden Lane.


Works

Jeaffreson initially wrote novels, publishing ''Crewe Rise'' in 1854 and next year ''Hinchbrook'', which ran as a serial in ''
Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...
''. During the next thirty years a long series of orthodox
three-volume novel The three-volume novel (sometimes three-decker or triple decker) was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular litera ...
s followed; ''Live it Down'' (1863) and ''Not Dead Yet'' (1864) were well received on publication. ''Novels and Novelists from Elizabeth to Victoria'' (1858), compiled at the British Museum, opened up a popularising vein that became Jeaffreson's main work, leading to: *''A Book about Doctors'' (1860); *''A Book about Lawyers'' (1866); *''A Book about the Clergy'' (1870); *''Brides and Bridals'' (1872); and *''A Book about the Table'' (1874). On the recommendation of Hepworth Dixon, Jeaffreson collaborated with
William Pole William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist. Life He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole. Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...
on the authorised biography of
Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father ...
(1864, 2 vols.). Between 1876 and 1887 he published reports on 29 manuscript collections. Apart from private collections, he dealt with the archives of the boroughs of Chester, Leicester, Pontefract, Barnstaple, Plymouth, Ipswich, Wisbech, Great Yarmouth, Eye, Southampton, and King's Lynn, as well as of the West Riding and North Riding of Yorkshire and the county of Essex. At Leicester he also compiled an index to the
muniment A muniment or muniment of title is a legal term for a document, title deed or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from the Latin noun ''munimentum'', meaning a "fortification, bulwark, defence or protection". ...
s (1881). He edited four volumes for the Middlesex County Record Society (1886–92). Jeaffreson inspected the manuscript collection of
Alfred Morrison Alfred Morrison (1821 – 22 December 1897) was an English collector, known for his interest in works of art, autographs and manuscripts. Life The second son of James Morrison (1790–1857) the textile businessman, he inherited from his father a ...
, and he obtained the owner's permission to edit unpublished correspondence of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
and
Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
. In ''The Real Lord Byron: New Views of the Poet's Life'' (2 vols. 1883) he wrote on Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley: Abraham Hayward and
J. A. Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of ''Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a cler ...
wrote hostile reviews. His ''The Real Shelley: New Views of the Poet's Life'' (2 vols. 1885), was attacked by
Edward Dowden Edward Dowden (3 May 18434 April 1913) was an Irish critic, professor, and poet. Biography He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edinbur ...
. Jeaffreson's ''Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson: an historical biography'' appeared in 1888 (2 vols.), and ''The Queen of Naples and Lord Nelson'' in 1889 (2 vols.; new edit. 1897). His other main works were: *''The Annals of Oxford'', 1870 (a popular work, much criticised) *''Cutting for Partners'', 3 vols. 1890''XIX Century Fiction'', Part I, A–K. Jarndyce, Bloomsbury, 2019. *''A Book of Recollections'', 2 vols. 1894 *''A Young Squire of the Seventeenth Century, from the Papers of Christopher Jeaffreson of Dullingham House, Cambridgeshire'', 2 vols. 1898


Family

Jeaffreson married on 2 October 1860, at St. Sepulchre's Church, Holborn, Arabella Ellen, only surviving daughter of William Eccles, F.R.C.S.; she survived him with a daughter, who died on 28 September 1909.


Notes

Attribution


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeaffreson, John Cordy 1831 births 1901 deaths English archivists People from Framlingham 19th-century English novelists Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford English male novelists 19th-century English male writers