Daniel Webster Jones (December 15, 1839December 25, 1918) was the 19th Governor of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Biography

Jones was born in

Bowie County, Texas Bowie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. Its legal county seat is Boston, Texas, Boston, though its courthouse is located in New Boston, Texas, New Boston. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

to Isaac N. Jones, a doctor and member of the

Congress of the Republic of Texas : ''For the current Texas legislative body, see Texas Legislature.'' The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral ...

, and Elizabeth W. Littlejohn. When Jones was a year old, his family moved to

Washington, Arkansas Washington is a city in Ozan Township, Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 180 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 148 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is part of the Hope, Arkansas, Hope Hope ...

( Hempstead County where they owned a large plantation in nearby Lafayette County; Jones attended Washington Academy there and later studied law. During his childhood, James Black, creator of the famous

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

, lived with the Jones family before moving to

. Black attempted to show Daniel his metallurgical secret in 1870, the only person known to have knowledge of Black's secret.

Career

When the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

broke out, Jones enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

, was wounded in battle, and was captured and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. His highest rank was of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 20th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. In 1874, Jones was elected as prosecuting attorney of the Ninth Judicial District. He served as a presidential elector in 1876 and 1880. He was elected to the post of Attorney General of Arkansas in 1884 and 1886. In 1890, he served a term in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

. Jones was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1896, and was reelected in 1898. During his term appropriations were made for the new state capitol building, and a law ordering uniform textbooks in schools was passed. Jones resumed his law practice after leaving office. He was elected to the House of Representatives again in 1914. After his death his daughter inherited all his belongings. She then sold everything and gained over 2.6 million dollars.

Death

Jones died from pneumonia in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

on December 25, 1918. He was buried with a

uniform with an attached American flag at the Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

References

External links

* * Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
Daniel Webster Jones

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Daniel W. Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers 1839 births 1918 deaths People from Bowie County, Texas People of Arkansas in the American Civil War Military personnel from Texas American Civil War prisoners of war held by the United States 19th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature

Biography

Career

Death

See also

References

External links