Jones, John A.

Born: 1806-05-29 Georgetown, District of Columbia

Died: 1888-07-22 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Pekin, Illinois

John A. Jones was a newspaper editor, circuit court clerk, and federal government official. Jones commenced his pre-collegiate studies in his hometown under James Carnahan, a future president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton). After three years of study at a Jesuit College and eighteen months under the tutelage of the Reverend Stephen H. Tyng, he matriculated to King's College (Columbia), graduating in 1825 with a master of arts. In December 1835, Jones moved to Illinois, settling in Pekin, where he edited the Pekin Gazette and the Tazewell County Telegraph, a Whig Party newspaper. In October 1837, Judge Jesse B. Thomas appointed Jones clerk of the Tazewell County Circuit Court. Judge Samuel H. Treat re-appointed him in 1841, and Jones remained clerk until 1857. In March 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him superintendent of commercial statistics, a position he held until 1866. In June 1840, Jones married Ann Maria Major, with whom he had five children. He was a member of the Episcopal Church.

Obituary, Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 23 July 1888, 4:4; Obituary, Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 24 July 1888, 3:4; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, McLean County, 25 June 1840, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.