Background

Author: Nev. Ramsden

The Jefferson Family of Whitehaven

There is a considerable amount of information that has been published concerning the business that was run for a great many years by the Jefferson family of Whitehaven .

For  information on this family & business see :-

1.  The Jeffersons of Whitehaven, by Brian Parnaby, published by Travail Press, Ullock  
2.  Whitehaven record Office local studies file, 'Jeffersons of Whitehaven' by Barbara Clark -  (56JEF), and
3.  The book -  'From Cumberland to Cape Horn' by D Hollett - (29HOL).

 Items  (2) & (3) are held by the  Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven.

WHITEHAVEN has a unique and intriguing visitor attraction in the Rum Story, based on the premises occupied by the country’s oldest wine merchants, the Jeffersons; and if you wanted to know more about just who the Jeffersons were and what made them tick then a newly published book could be just the one for you.

The author himself feels it is a long overdue history of an important local family whose fortunes were founded in tobacco, wines and spirits, trading with Europe, North America and the West Indies. As a born and bred West Cumbrian, Brian Parnaby has boyhood recollections of huge barrels being delivered from horse-drawn wagons to the Jefferson-bonded warehouses in Chapel Street.

He relates how besides operating their long-standing business, several family members contributed much time and energy to the public good, serving on local bodies and committees and as a JP.

Founded in 1785, the business passed from father to son for over 200 years, and finally to sisters Elizabeth and Constance Jefferson, who ran it for many years after taking over from their father Henry (1896-1979).

The Jeffersons originated from Aikton, near Wigton, where they were landowners in the 17th century. The family tradition of choosing “Robert” and “Henry” when naming their offspring can make tracking the generations down the family line confusing but the author has tried to simplify matters by dubbing them Robert the first, Henry the second etc, although it is still at times hard to follow.

It seems the first Jefferson, Robert (1704-1779), came to Whitehaven to make his fortune and combined the business of wine merchant with that of sea captain in the Virginia trade, exporting a range of goods including coal and iron (useful ballast) as well as textiles, saddles and other leather goods.

He had married a Martha Skelton of Whitehaven. They were wed in Whitehaven’s Holy Trinity Church on Irish Street, lived at Marlborough Street and had eight children. Their second son, Henry (1750-1827), was the founder of the family business setting up a wine and spirits merchants. He lived at 4 Cross Street and was master of the vessel Gale, trading with Virginia and the West Indies.

He married, in Antigua, one Anne Tweedie, and had 14 children. Their sons Robert (1785-1848) and Henry (1800-1877) worked in the family business of wine merchants and importers.

This Robert was it seems born in Antigua in 1785, died aged 63 and was buried at Egremont. He and his wife Elizabeth Brown lived at Keekle Grove initially but later purchased Springfield at Bigrigg on the death of John Ponsonby. Robert and Elizabeth had eight children.

Henry died in 1877 when he was 77 and had lived at Hensingham House, Whitehaven, with his wife Ann (née Davidson) with whom he had nine children. The couple later built Rothersyke, near Egremont, which was subsequently sold to Lord Leconfield.

It was these two brothers who gave their names, Robert and Henry Jefferson, to the family wine merchant business.

The connection with Antigua is an interesting one and having been to this beautiful island myself (and dismayed to find the local records office shut that day because it was a Sunday), I was interested to find in this book maps and pictures and records from the family-owned Yeaman plantation there.

Robert’s sons were another Henry (1823-1896) and another Robert (1828-1868) of Rosehill. Henry also lived at Springfield and in 1856 married Mary the second daughter of Joseph Harris of Greysouthen. They had four children of whom Robert (1857-1942), and married to Constance Lumb of Homewood, Whitehaven and Hugh (1859-1920) who married Elizabeth Ann Dixon of Rheda Mansion, eventually came together to run the family firm.

It was Robert (1857-1942) who was the grandfather of today’s Jefferson sisters (Elizabeth and Constance) who operated the business pre- the Rum Story.

Mr Parnaby’s book is one in which the appendices are as informative as the main text and those with an interest in the sea-faring side will find much to fascinate. He admits that there are gaps and while his book does not purport to be a complete history of the family it details as much as he could elicit from many hours of research

      taken from - Whitehaven News  - published, Thursday, 22 December 2005

The families of JEFFERSON, TWEEDIE, BISPHAM & the YEAMANS ESTATE

The JEFFERSON family from Whitehaven, Cumberland, England were wine and spirits merchants and ship owners.

They also owned three estates during the 1800s, growing sugar in Antigua at Yeamans, Yorks, and New Division. The latter two were purchased in 1832 from the OGILVYs of Scotland.
Beyond that the JEFFERSONS had interests in Jolly Hill Estate, Golden Grove, and Greencastle, etc. Through their shipping they often transported sugar to England for such families as the CODRINGTONS, the JARVIS, the NUGENTS, and others. When sugar prices were depressed, they began buying up molasses in the island for their own purposes -- they produced in Whitehaven one of the best rums in England.

       this info taken from the WWW - Posted: 21 Sep 2002 4:42PM by  – tobagotim

Robert Jefferson – his profile & legacies summary

1785 – 1848  He was a claimant or beneficiary

He was awarded compensation as mortgagee with his brother (Henry) for two estates on Antigua belonging to the heirs of Sir William Ogilvy. He was the son of Henry Jefferson 'the elder' (1750-1827), brother of Henry Jefferson (1800-1877) and partner in Robert and Henry Jefferson of Whitehaven, West India and Wine and Spirits Merchants.

Henry Jefferson (1750-1827) was 'of Antigua, later of Whitehaven', and had married Anne Tweedie at St John's, Antigua in 1780.

    Taken from Legacies of British Slave-ownership -   published by University College London