Joseph Jones | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1727 King George County, Virginia, British America |
Died | 28 October 1805 (aged 77-78) Fredericksburg, Virginia |
Spouse | Mary Taliaferro (m. 1758) |
Relations | James Monroe (nephew) |
Joseph Jones (1727 – 28 October 1805) was an American lawyer and statesman from King George County, Virginia. He was an Anti-Federalist. [1]
Jones was born in King George County, Virginia, part of the Northern Neck, in 1727. [2] [1] Jones was born to James Jones and Hester Lampton Jones (Davis). [1] [1], His father ran a country store and tavern and later became a successful merchant with many contacts to England. [1] Jones was educated nearby but went to England to continue his education; he went to the Inner Temple in London in 1749 and the Middle Temple in 1751, becoming a barrister. [1]
Jones then returned to Virginia and achieved success as a lawyer in the growing town of Fredericksburg. [1] In 1754, Jones become King's attorney for Fredericksburg. [1] In 1758, he married Mary Taliaferro, the daughter of Colonel John Taliaferro of Spotsylvania County. [1]
In 1772, Jones became a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the colonial legislature. [2] [1] Jones was a "cautious patriot" and served on the committee of safety in 1774-75. [2] [1] In 1776, Jones was a supporter of the Revolution during Virginia's second state committee of safety. [1] Also in 1776, Jones was elected to the Fifth Virginia Convention, which produced the Virginia Declaration of Rights. [2] [1]
Jones served as a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778. [2] [1] He was appointed to serve as judge of the Virginia General Court on January 23, 1778, and resigned in October 1779. [2] [1] Jones then returned to the Continental Congress, serving as a Virginia delegate from 1780 to 1783. [1]
Jones was a close friend of Thomas Jefferson. [1] Jones served in the House of Delegates in 1787, where he split with his longtime friend James Madison over the Constitution. [1] Jones wrote in an October 29, 1787 letter to Madison that he had "many objections" to the Constitution and wished to see a declaration of rights attached to it. [1]
Jones was a member of the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention, which ratified the federal Constitution. [2] [1] At the Convention, Jones was at first a supporter of the proposed constitution, but later turned against it, joining with Patrick Henry, George Mason, and others to draft proposed amendments to the Constitution. [1] Jones subsequently became "embittered over what he believed was Madison's betrayal of the rights of Virginians" and voted against ratification. [1]
Jones was then appointed once more as judge of the Virginia General Court, on November 19, 1789. [2] [1] Jones served as a major general of the Virginia militia. [2]
During the presidency of George Washington, Jones was a supporter of the Jeffersonian faction. [1] He died at his home in Fredericksburg on October 28, 1805. [2] [1] Jones was the uncle of James Monroe. [2]
His "Letters" were published in 1889. [3]
The singer Emanne Beasha is a direct lineal descendant of Joseph Jones.[ citation needed]
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