Manuscript containing copies of the works of Alexander Jaffray, Scottish Politician and Quaker.
- Reference:GB 230 DD3170
- Dates of Creation:1670s
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:1 volume
Scope and Content
Manuscript copy of Jaffray's original works, transcribed shortly after his death in May 1673.
Titled: ‘Testimony to the truth and work of god, as its come: And yet more gloriously to come forth in this day.given forth by a faithfull Servant of the Lord, who haveing served his generation, by the will of god fell asleep; known by the name of Alexr Jaffray’, dated at the end from Kingswells 29 April 1673. Preceded by three addresses/epistles dated February 1672, March 1671 and December 1670 (revised November 1672).
The testament of Alexander Jaffray is a unique manuscript of major regional and national significance. Original documents that shed light on religious belief in seventeenth century Scotland are extremely rare. This manuscript is an extraordinary example of an individual articulating their moral and spiritual viewpoint at a time of significant change within society. While the document shines a bright light on Jaffray’s religious convictions, his civic connections also make the document of special historical relevance to Aberdeen.
It is his thoughts around Quakerism that are contained within the testament, which is preceded in the manuscript by a number of letters to friends in the quaker community both in England and Scotland. While Jaffray’s memoirs between 1650 and 1661 were rediscovered and published in 1833, they relate mainly to his political life and do not cover his deliberations on Quakerism. Consequently, the present manuscript is a unique record of his thoughts on the subject and his connections to the cause.
From Bernard Quaritch sales catalogue: "Shortly before his death he must have dictated the present‘Testimony’, in effect a final declaration of his theology, which is accompanied here by a series of earlier addresses to other important figures in the Quaker movement.
Divided into eight chapters, covering Christ as mediator of creation and redemption; the ‘absolute need’ of such a mediator; Christ’s divine and human existence; the work of grace; the ‘distinct and united oper-ation’ of grace; the seed or principle of divine life; the image of god in man; and the sufferings of Christ, Jaffray’s only known published work is a 10-page introduction to his fellow Aberdonian George Keith’s Help in Time of Need (Aberdeen, 1665), and as there, his writing here is a breathless stream, an outpouring of faith with sentences sometimes a page long. Several chapters are constructed as an initial disquisition followed by a series of Objections and Answers, and the ‘Table of Particulars’ at the end is both an index and a summary of Jaffray’s doctrinal positions. The main text is prefaced here by a series of letters to major figures among the Friends in both Scotland and England.The first and shortest, seemingly presenting the following texts, is dated 27 November 1672 and is addressed to an important group of Scottish Quakers: John Swinton (1620-79), Charles Ormiston (d. 1684), Walter Scot(of Raeburn), Alexander Hamilton, James Brown, and Hew Wood. Ham-ilton, an agricultural worker at Drumbowy, had the notable distinction of being the first Quaker in Scotland, establishing a meeting in 1653. Scot, Swinton and Ormiston had all been rounded up and arrested in 1670 at a meeting at the house of James Brown, a tanner in West Port. Scot’s great-great-grandsonwas his namesake, the novelist Sir Walter Scott, who was also related to Swinton.The first text Jaffraythus presents to his Scottish brethren takes the form of a letter to the leading lights of English Quakerism: John Whitehead (1630-96), George White-head (1637-1724), William Dewsbury (1621-88), George Fox (1624-91), Isaac Pen-ington (1616-79), and John Crooke (1616-99). ‘Freinds what is here offered ... hav-ing been of a long tyme with me, and by him [God] made weighty on my heart, I found a willingness to have imparted the same to freinds of truth at a nearer distance’, but ‘the continuing of my bodily weakness’ hasmade it impossible.He asks them, ‘whom I dearly love and highly honour in the lord’, to let him know ‘what union yee have with ... or the grounds of any difference’ with his views. The next 11 pages are ‘a true coppie of that paper sent to John Whitehead 3 Mo: 71’ and cover fivequeries, concerning ‘the being andexistence of the human nature and spirituall bodie of Christ’; his coming to his kingdom; his rendering of that kingdom unto God; ‘the Church her present wilderness and militant Conditione’; and the attainability offree-dom from sin.A similar tract of 23 pages follows, originally sent to JohnWhitehead in20December 1671, but with a post-script re-asserting his views on perfectibility dated November 1672: ‘The thing that hath been most with me for many years, and more especially since I came to owne the truth, and yet more closs and neare dureing the tyme of my present exercise, hath been an earnest desire after more strength against and victorie over sin...’.Jaffray’s memoirs, begun in the 1650s and covering up to 1661, were rediscovered by chance in the early nineteenth century, and published in 1833. They cover mostly his political life but with a change in tone at the end as he was beginning his move to-wards Quakerism. We have been unable to trace and surviving manuscripts from the latter period of his life –the present texts would appear to be a unique record of his moral and scriptural deliberations as a Quaker, and a confirmation of his importance and connections within the Cause."
Administrative / Biographical History
Alexander Jaffray (1614-1673) was born into a prominent Aberdeen family, his father was a Provost of the city, while Alexander was himself twice Provost, firstly in 1649-50 and secondly between 1651-52. He also represented the city in the Scottish Parliament between 1644 and 1650. In 1649, and again in 1650, he was one of six commissioners deputed to liaise with the exiled Charles II in Holland, while in June 1653 he was summoned from Scotland, with four others, to sit in the Little Parliament. Educated at Aberdeen High School and Marischal College, Jaffray’s religious beliefs, which changed during his lifetime, reflect the religious upheaval of wider society. On the moderate wing of the Covenanters after 1638, his contact with Cromwell and his chaplain, John Owen, resulted in his views on religious liberty being significantly broadened.
After his career in civic and public life had come to an end in 1661, he became a significant religious leader and thinker, developing a particular affinity with the quakers, joining their body in Aberdeen in 1662. Although far from numerous during the 1660s and 1670s, it is likely that there were more Quakers in Aberdeen at that time than anywhere else in Scotland. Together with their Catholic counterparts in the burgh, they became the focus of significant repression and persecution after 1662. Several of the leading lights within the Aberdeen Quakers, including Alexander Jaffray himself, were former magistrates or magistrate’s wives which made their break with traditional Protestantism all the more galling for those who remained within the established church and who perceived the very presence of the Quaker community as an affront to authority. Jaffray was imprisoned in 1665 and 1668. He died in 1673.
Access Information
Open
Open for consultation at our Town House site, open Wed-Fri 9:30-12:30 and 13:30-16:30. It is advisable to make an appointment
Other Finding Aids
Please see the Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives catalogue at https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/
Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements
Quarto manuscript containing 82 (paper) pages bound with several pieces of limp deerskin, stitched on two chords with ties wanting.
Dimensions (closed): 17cm wide by 20.5cm high and 2cm deep.
Written in a fine, neat, italic hand; with a 6 1/2 page alphabetical 'Table of some particulars' at the end; the main portion of the text (paginated 1-75) has ruled borders. Is a fair copy, with a few transcription errors.
Archivist's Note
Catalogued by Katy Kavanagh in September 2022.
NB - the Friends of the National Libraries' help will be acknowledged in any catalogue, exhibition label or publicity material including social media (please tag @FNL313) and, where appropriate, a link be added to the FNL website and the Friends kept informed of exhibitions and events which include the item.
Custodial History
From the library of the Archbishop Alberto Castelli (1907-1971), translator into Italian of works by G K Chesterton and Chaucer and titular archbishop of Rusio from 1961.
Purchased from: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 36 Bedford Row, LONDON WC1R 4JH using funding from Friends of the National Libraries, National Fund for Acquisitions and the Niven Bequest (Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives).
Related Material
DD78 Jaffray Diary
Subjects