Born in Ark on 2/21/1861, son of James J Lefors & Mahala West. When he was only a few months old his family moved to Paris TX for the duration of the Civil War.

In 1865 his father moved into the Indian Territory a few miles west of Ft. Smith Ark. where he lived 'til the death of his wife. He then moved north into the Cherokee Nation where he raised corn & wheat for 3 years. In 1878 James J moved to the Panhandle of TX with 6 of his younger sons including Jeff. They had several adventures before they arrived at Mobeetie TX by way of Ft. Sill.

For several years Jeff took part in the cattle drives north out of TX. Later as trail foreman for Charles Goodnight who was a partner & manager of the J. A. Ranch, on of the first established on the plains of the Panhandle, Jeff took a herd to AZ to start the Hash Knife Ranch, southwest of Holbrook. He was riding for the Graham Cattle Company when the Pleasant Valley War broke out & most of the people in the area became involved. In a gunfight with a man named John Rhodes shot 2 fingers off Jeff's right hand. Those in the range war never talked about it & Jeff's family did not learn how he lost the fingers until nearly 40 years after his death.

When the Spanish American War broke out he joined the Rough Riders & went through the campaigns in Cuba. There is a monument to the Rough Riders on the Courthouse Square in Prescott AZ & Jeff's name appears in the roster on the monument. He was a member of Company A of the First Volunteer Cavalry.

In 1904 he married Vida B. Jones & for a time lived in Marysville Calif. Having acquired malaria, he had to seek a cooler climate & moved to Benewa Co., Idaho where he lived for several years beginning in 1911. His ranch was on the Couer d' Alene Indian Reservation near Tensed.

He died in Tekoa Washington on 5/31/1923 & is buried there. His widow & his 2 sons went to Miami OK where they lived 'til her death.

NOTE:

US GenWeb Archives lists him in 1 place - on the first page under L. w/ dates 1862 - 1923 which they must've gotten by records as his stone says 1861.

US GenWeb Archives lists wife in 1 place - on the second page under Old Sexton Record w/ name Lafers & evidently plot 8/1/13-16.