James Kimbrough Jones (September 29, 1839June 1, 1908) was a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

veteran, plantation owner, lawyer, US Congressional Representative,

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Biography

Born in

Marshall County, Mississippi Marshall County is a county located on the north central border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,144. Its county seat is Holly Springs. The county is named for Chief Justice of the United States ...

, Jones moved with his father to

Dallas County, Arkansas Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,116, making it the fourth-least populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Fordyce. Dallas County is Arkansas's 49th county, f ...

in 1848. He pursued

classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

under a private tutor; he would later study law and was, in 1874,

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, practicing in

Washington, Arkansas Washington is a city in Ozan Township, Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 180 at the 2010 census, up from 148 in 2000. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to Historic Washington S ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Jones served in the

, and returned to his Arkansas

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

afterward. From 1873 to 1879, he was a member of the

Arkansas State Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

, and was president of that body from 1877 to 1879. In 1896 and 1900, he was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Mary Jones

Jones was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1885); he was re-elected to the Forty-ninth but tendered his resignation on February 19, 1885, having been elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

that year. Jones was reelected in 1891 and 1897 and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1903, unsuccessfully seeking reelection in 1902. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

(Fifty-third Congress), Committee on Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia (Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Private Land Claims (Fifty-fifth Congress.) After his Congressional service, Jones resumed the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he died; he was buried in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stre ...

References

Sources

Retrieved on March 24, 2010 , - , - , - , - , - , - 1839 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American politicians American people of Welsh descent American planters Arkansas lawyers Democratic Party Arkansas state senators Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Confederate States Army soldiers Democratic National Committee chairs Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Democratic Party United States senators from Arkansas Lawyers from Washington, D.C. People from Dallas County, Arkansas People from Marshall County, Mississippi {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub