Henry L. Jeffers Pondered His Troubles
~ From His Lonely Couch ~
Somehow, I think Henry bowled right through that attack on his reputation by designing persons. But there was another enemy not so
easily dealt with. Debt became a creeping foe to H. L. Jeffers. The
causes for his growing trouble with debts were complicated; then, as now,
debt was a familiar risk for entrepreneurs. Suffice it to say, starting with
his large losses after the Great Freshet of 1840, and pushed forward by his
enthusiasm for newer and bigger enterprises, he went into debt, and
then struggled to get out. A serious situation occurred in 1854, which I don't
really understand yet, but seems to have resulted when someone working for him
in a new corporate alliance (Chambers, Jeffers & Co.) drew an enormous bank
note and signed it in the name of the company; and then the responsibility fell
on the senior partner in charge.
All Henry Jeffers’ communications that I have seen kept up a strong and self-confident face to the world. All the reactions toward him from other people - family, friends, and business colleagues - tell me he was trusted. But I can get a closer glimpse of how he felt inwardly.
In the collection of letters that I have, there is one written by Henry L. Jeffers to his wife Eliza in 1863.
Henry's fears.