The Jeffrey family came to the United States from Scotland and built and operated gas companies in many U.S. cities, including Lexington, Louisville, and Frankfort in Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee; and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Three of the Jeffrey brothers figure prominently in the letters: John, who directed the family's business activities from their headquarters in Cincinnati, Alexander, who headed the Lexington Gas Company, and William, who lived in Rochester, New York. Rosa Vertner Jeffrey, the writer, married Alexander after her first husband's death in 1861. She had been adopted by an aunt in infancy upon her mother's death, and married Claude M. Johnson, a wealthy Southern planter, at seventeen. She and Alexander lived in Rochester, New York during the Civil War, but later returned to Lexington. She published two novels and three volumes of poetry.
From the description of Jeffrey family papers, 1818-1903, 1818-1893 (bulk dates). (University of Kentucky Libraries). WorldCat record id: 13494614
