Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 06.djvu/148

 JONAS

JONES

third convention, which ratified it in 1781. He was governor of the state, 1787-89 ; U.S. senator for the short term, 1789-93, and judge of tlie supreme court of the state, 1800-03. He died at Sherwarkey, near Edenton, N.C., Aug. 18, 1816.

JONAS, Benjamin Franklin, senator, vv^as born in Willianistovvn, Ky., July 19, 1834; son of Abraham and Louisa (Block) Jonas. His father was born in Devonshire, England, in 1801, and came to America in 1815. His maternal grand- father was a native of Bohemia, and came to America shortly after the close of the Revolution. His parents removed to Adams county, 111., while he was a child, and he received a common-school education, and in 18o3 went to New Orleans, La. He was graduated at the University of Louisiana, LL.B., in 1855, and began the practise of law in that city. He enlisted in the Confederate army as a private, and was promoted acting adjutant of artillery in Hood's corps. Army of Tennessee, serving till the end of the war. He served in the lower branch of the Louisiana legislature, 1865 ; was a delegate to the Democratic national conven- tion of 1868 ; the Democratic nominee for lieuten- ant-governor in 1873, but declined in the interest of consolidation against the Republican candidate ; and a state senator in 1873. He was city attor- ney of New Orleans, 1875-78 ; a member of the Democratic national committee, 1876-88 ; was defeated for the nomination for U.S. senator in 1877 by one vote ; was a representative in the state legislature, 1877-79 ; U.S. senator, 1879-85 ; and collector of the port of New Orleans 1885- 89. He was married in 1859 to Josephine Block, a native of New Orleans, La., and had two sons : Frank Beckham Jonas, who settled in Washing- ton, D.C., and Edwin A. Jonas, who became an officer in the U.S. marine corps.

JONES, Alexander Hamilton, representative, was born in Buncombe county, N.C., July 21, 1822; son of George and Nancy Jones. He was educated at Emory and Henry college, Va., and engaged in hotel and farming business. In 1861 he joined the Federal army, and was commissioned by General Burnside to raise a regiment of North Caroli- nians loyal to the union. While thus engaged he was taken prisoner in East Tennessee by Confed- erate troops and imprisoned at Camp Vance, Camp Holmes and in Libby prison. While a prisoner he was drafted into the Confederate army, but made his escape in November, 1864. After the surrender he returned to his native state, and was a delegate to the state constitutional con- vention in 1865. He was a Republican represent- ative in the 40th and 41st congresses, 1867-71, and in 1870 was an unsuccessful candidate for the 42d congress. He was later a merchant in Asheville, N.C., until 1884, and edited the Pioneer and the Skyland Herald, 1885-86.

JONES, Alfred, engraver, was born in Liver- pool, England, in 1819 ; son of Samuel and Eliz- abeth (Roberts) Jones. He immigrated to the United States in 1834 and settled in New York city, where he learned the art of bank-note en- graving and received the first prize at the Na- tional Academy of Design in New York city in 1839 for a drawing after Thorwaldsen's " Mer- cury." He first became prominent as the en- graver of a plate entitled "The Proposal,* published in Graham's Magazine, and " The Farmer's Nooning," after William S. Mount. He was married in May, 1841, to Louisa, daugh- ter of Richard Major. He engraved plates for art publications and for illustrated magazines and periodicals until 1848, after which lie en- gaged almost exclusively in bank-note engraving. He was connected for many years with the American Bank Note company, and engraved plates for the two-cent, thirty-cent and four-dol- lar and five-dollar U.S. postage stamps in the Columbian series of 1893. He was elected an as- sociate of the National Academy of Design in 1841, Academician in 1851, sind served as secretary and treasurer ; was elected vice-president of the British-American Bank Note company in 1867 ; a member of the American Water-Color society ; vice-president of the Artists' Fund society, and a member of the Century association. His steel plates include : The Image Breaker, after Leutze ; Tlie Capture of Major Andre, after Durand ; Sparking, after Francis Edmonds ; The New Scholar ; Mexican News ; Life's Happy Hour, after Lillie M. Spencer ; Poor Relations, after J. H. Beard, for the Cincinnati Art Union ; Patrick Henry Delivering his Celebrated Speech, after Rothermel, for the Piiiladelphia Art Union (1852). Among his portraits are : Adoniram Judson, by Chester Harding; William Cullen Bryant ; two portraits of Thomas Carlyle, en- graved for the Grolier club ; etching of A. B, Durand, and a large porti'ait of George Wash- ington. He died from injuries received by being run over by a cab in New York city, April 28 1900.

JONES, Allen, delegate, was born in Halifax county, N.C., in 1739 ; son of Robin Jones, an agent and attorney of Lord Grenville. He was educated at Eton, England, and on his return to North Carolina settled in Northampton county and devoted himself to the cause of his country. He was a delegate to the state conventions that met at New Berne, Aug. 25, 1775, and at Halifax, April 4, 1776. He was chosen a brig- adier-general of the Halifax district in May, 1776 ; was a member of the Continental congress, 1779-80 ; and state senator, 1784-87. As a mem- ber of the convention that met at Hillsboro, July 21, 1788, and postponed the adoption of the Fed- eral constitution, he opposed the delay and ad-