Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 06.djvu/176

 JONES

JONES

four members of the general assembly from Providence in 1807, and was re-elected each year until 1811, serving as speaker of the body, 1809-10. He was elected governor of Rhode Island in April, 1811, and was annually re-elected until 1817, when he retired from public life. He was a trustee of Brown university, 1817-22; president of the Peace society, and a member of the Society of the Cincinnati from its organization. He died at Providence, R.I., April 22, 1822.

JONES, William, cabinet officer, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1760. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he joined a company of volunteers, and took part in the battles of Tren- ton, Dec. 26, 1776, and Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777. He entered the naval service as a lieutenant under Ck)mmodore Truxton, serving on the James river flotilla, and was twice wounded and twice taken prisoner. He then joined the merchant marine, and from 1790 to 1793 resided in Charleston, S.C. He returned to Philadelphia, Pa., and was elected a representative from Pennsylvania in the 7th congress, serving 1801-03. He was appointed by President Madison secretary of the navy, as suc- cessor to Paul Hamilton, resigned, and he served from January, 1813, until Dec. 17, 1814, when he was succeeded by B. W. Crowninshield. He subse- quently served as president of the Bank of the United States, and as collector of customs in Philadelphia, Pa. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical society in 1805, and many of his papers read before this society were published. He is the author of: Winter Naviga- tion on the Delaware (1822). He died in Beth- lehem, Pa., Sept. 5, 1831.

JONES, William Alfred, librarian and author, was born in New York city, June 26, 1817; son of David Samuel and Margaret (Jones) Jones, and grandson of Samuel and Cornelia (Herring) Jones. He was graduated from Columbia college, A.B., 1836, A.M., 1839; studied law, but instead of en- tering the profession devoted himself to litera- ture. He was editor of the Churchman for a time, and librarian at Columbia college, 1851-65. He removed to Norwichtown, Conn., in 1867. He is the author of: The Analyst (1840); Literary Studies (2 vols., 1847); Essays on Authors and Books (1849); Memorials of Hon. David S. Jones and the Jones Family (1849); Characters and Criticisms (2 vols., 1857); The Library of Colum- bia College (1863); First Century of Columbia College (1862); Long Island (1863). He died in Norwichtown, Conn., May 6, 1900.

JONES, William Atkinson, representative, was born at Warsaw, Va., March 21, 1849; son of Tliomas and Anne Seymour (Trowbridge) Jones; grandson of Thomas and Mary (Lee) Jones and of James and Cornelia (Rogers) Trow- bridge, of Plattsburgh, N.Y., and great-grandson

of Gen. Joseph Jones, of Dinwiddle county, Va., who was prominent in the Revolutijonary war, and who married Jane, daughter of Roger At- kinson; and also great-grandson of Richard and Sally Lee, of Lee Hall, Westmoreland county, Va. William Atkinson Jones attended the Vir- ginia Military institute in the winter of 1864- 65, and served with the cadets in the defence of the city of Richmond until the evacuation in 1865. He attended Coleman's school in Fred- ericksburg, Va., until 1868, when he entered the University of Virginia, pursued the study of law and was graduated from there and admitted to the bar in 1870. He engaged in the practice of law at War.saw, Va.; was commonwealth's attorney of his county for several years; a dele- gate from Virginia to the Democratic national convention at Cincinnati in 1880; a delegate-at- large and chairman of his state delegation to the Democratic national convention held at Chicago in 1896, and a delegate-at-large from Virginia to the Democratic national convention at Kansas City in 1900. He was married, Jan. 23, 1889, to Claude D., daugliter of Jolm and Mary Mot- ley, of Williamsburg, Va. He was a representa- tive from the first Virginia district in the 52d, 53d, 54th, 55th, 56th, 57th and 5Sth congresses, 1891-1905.

JONES, William Edmondson, soldier, was born near Glade Spring, Va., in May, 1824. He was graduated from Emory and Henry college, Va., in 1846, and from the U.S. Military academy in 1848. He was assigned to the mounted rifles and served on the frontier until Jan. 26, 1857, when he resigned and took up farming at his native place. Upon the breaking out of the civil war lie enlisted in the Confederate army and was made captain in Col. J. E. B. Stuart's 1st Vir- ginia cavalry, John S. Mosby being a private in his company. Captain Jones was advanced rap- idly, becoming colonel of the regiment, Sept. 28, 1861, and brigadier-general, Sept. 19, 1862. He commanded the Department of the Valley of Virginia in the winter of 1862-63. When General Lee organized the Army of Northern Virginia for the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, making the cavalry, the select troops of the Con- federacy, into a division commanded by Maj.- Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, the six brigades were placed under command of Generals Hampton, Rob- ertson, Fitzhugh Lee, A. G. Jenkins, W. E. Jones and W. H. F. Lee. General Jones took part in the battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, and he was made major-general after that battle. He had charge of the Department of Southwest Vir- ginia and Eastern Tennessee in 1863, where he afforded protection to the Confederate salt works. He was ordered to the relief of the army at Lynchburg, threatened by General Hunter in