Justina Jeffreys (10 September 1787 – 1869) was a Jamaican-born British gentlewoman in Wales. She resided the majority of her life at

Glandyfi Castle Glandyfi Castle in Glandyfi, Ceredigion, Wales, is a mock castle dating from the early 19th century. It was built for George Jeffreys, a barrister and High Sheriff of Cardiganshire, in around 1819. Jeffreys' great-uncle, Edward, had purchased ...

which was built by her husband.

Early life

Justina Jeffreys was born on 10 September 1787 in Jamaica and was baptised there at St. Andrew's Parish. She was mixed-race: her father was Scotsman Charles McMurdo (1744–1826), a captain of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

3rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

and

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

in Jamaica, while her mother Susan Leslie (1766–1812) was a free black woman. At the time, it was relatively common for military personnel stationed in Jamaica to take mistresses. When her father eventually left Jamaica, he moved to Canada where he married, before returning to Scotland, while her mother began a relationship with Scottish doctor John Wright, and had two sons with him. She spent her early childhood in Jamaica along with her younger brother Charles McMurdo Leslie (1790–1865), until she was sent to Wales at the age of 6 to be cared for by Edward Scott (1752–1842) and his wife Louisa de Saumaise (1755–1803). Scott had known her father while he was stationed in Jamaica. After she arrived in Wales, she began to be known as Justina Scott.

Marriage

In 1814, she married George Jeffreys in

Tywyn Tywyn (; ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a ...

. The couple had nine children, with one dying in infancy. In 1819, George began work on

, a Regency gothic mock castle overlooking the

River Dyfi The River Dyfi (; ), also known as the River Dovey ( ), is an approximately long river in Wales. Its large estuary forms the boundary between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion, and its lower reaches have historically been considered the b ...

. Jeffreys was the inspiration for the character Anthelia in her friend

Thomas Love Peacock Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels ...

's 1817 novel '' Melincourt''. She would later host Peacock's wedding to Jane Gryffydh at Glandyfi Castle in 1820.

Death

Jeffreys and her husband lived the rest of their lives at Glandyfi Castle on its completion. George Jeffreys died in 1868, while Justina died one year later in 1869. They were both buried at St Michael's, Eglwys Fach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffreys, Justina 1787 births 1869 deaths 18th-century Jamaican people 19th-century Jamaican people 18th-century Welsh women 19th-century Welsh women British people of Jamaican descent Jamaican people of Scottish descent Welsh nobility