James Jefferis
| James Jefferis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 April 1833 St Pauls, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 25 December 1917 (aged 84) Encounter Bay, South Australia, Australia |
| Education | Bristol Grammar School |
| Alma mater | New College, London |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louisa Elbury, and Marian Turner |
| Parent(s) | James Jefferis and Sarah, née Townsend |
| Relatives | grand-daughter Barbara Jefferis, Robert Alfred Tarlton (brother-in-law) |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christian |
| Church | Congregational |
|
Congregations served
|
Saltaire, Yorkshire; Brougham Place, North Adelaide; Pitt Street, Sydney; New College Chapel, St. John's Wood; Belgrave Congregational Church, Torquay, Devon; and, finally Brougham Place Congregational Church |
Rev. Dr. James Jefferis (4 April 1833 – 25 December 1917) was an English Congregational minister with a considerable career in Australia.
Jefferis was born in St Pauls, Bristol, England, the elder son of carpenter James Jefferis and his wife Sarah Jefferis, née Townsend. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and resolved to join the Christian ministry. He was offered financial support by a wealthy relative for study at Oxford or Cambridge as an entry into a Church of England benefice, but he was attracted to the freedom of thought permitted Congregational ministers, and in 1852 entered New College, a Congregational institution at St. John's Wood, where he earned his BA with honours in the Greek Testament, botany, and animal physiology in 1855, and the Law subjects the following year, though in England he could not be awarded the LLB. without legal training.
Towards the end of his course he was offered a missionary position in India by the London Missionary Society. Family circumstances made this impractical, and he opted instead the pastorate of Saltaire, in Yorkshire, where a beautiful new Congregational church had just been completed, with funds provided by Sir Titus Salt. The work was most congenial to him, but his lungs were badly affected by the inclement weather and his doctors, diagnosing tuberculosis, recommended he move to a milder climate. He received an invitation from T. Q. Stow to help found a Congregationalist church in genteel and influential North Adelaide. Accordingly he left England in midwinter, 1859, for South Australia, arriving in April 1859.
Preparations for the new Brougham Place church was well under way, and until the building was completed, services were held at New Hall, Tynte Street. The congregation moved into the new building in February 1861, and was soon swelled by Christians of other denominations, attracted by his "eloquence and manly and liberal approach to religion".
His name stands for freedom of thought and action; he is a man who is of value to all, and in whom his countrymen may be said to delight. He is a preacher of large attainments and broad sympathies. His delivery is very forcible and happy, his enunciation clear and distinct; and in prayer he is unaffected and fervid. It is no wonder that Dr. Jefferis fixes the attention. and compels respect.
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