My Declaration of Independence
Born in Rutland, Vermont, on May 11, 1934,James Merrill Jeffordsis the son of the late Marion H. Jeffords and the late Olin M. Jeffords, former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. His father's family settled in northwestern Vermont in 1794. After attending public schools in Rutland, Jeffords received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1956 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962. Jeffords served active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1959, and retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve as a captain in 1990. He is married to Elizabeth Daley, and they have a daughter, Laura, a son, Leonard, and a daughter-in-law, Maura. The Jeffords live in Shrewsbury, Vermont.