Jonas Jones (May 19, 1791 – July 30, 1848) was a lawyer, judge, farmer, livestock breeder, and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

Life

Jones was born in Augusta Township, Upper Canada in 1791, the third son of Ephraim Jones. His mother's name was Charlotte Coursol. He was educated at John Strachan's school in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and studied law with Levius Peters Sherwood in Elizabethtown (

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

) in 1808. Jones's father would die before the outbreak of the War of 1812. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he enlisted with the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

militia, originally as a lieutenant and ultimately became a captain by the conclusion of hostilities. He was called to the bar in 1815 and set up a practice in Brockville. In 1816, he was elected to the 7th Parliament of Upper Canada, representing Grenville and held that seat until 1828. In 1817, Jones married Mary Elizabeth Ford. They had 14 children together: 11 sons (3 dying in infancy) and 3 daughters. His oldest son David Ford later became a member of the Canadian House of Commons. His son Chilion was a business partner with architect Thomas Fuller in the reconstruction of the Canadian Parliament buildings. In 1820, Jones became a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and was recognized as a leading member of the bar. In 1830, Jones purchased some pure-bred animals from Commodore Robert Barrie of the Kingston dockyard, by 1835 Jones's sheep were noted as winning prizes in competitions at local fairs, and by 1837 Jones was offering the sales of "brood-mares, colts, draught-horses, oxen, and sheep". Although conservative, he had his own views on the protection of individual rights and the independence of the elected assembly. However, he helped unseat Barnabas Bidwell in 1821. In 1822, he opposed the union of Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He supported bills which helped fund the development of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

, and he was a member of a committee which recommended further improvements of transportation along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. He was appointed judge in the Bathurst and Johnstown District courts. With his brother Charles Jones, who represented

in the Legislative Assembly, he operated mills at Furnace Falls ( Lyndhurst). He was a director of the Bank of Upper Canada branch at Brockville and, in 1834, became the president of the Saint Lawrence Inland Marine Assurance Company. In 1833, he was appointed president of a commission to help improve navigation along the Saint Lawrence which met with American engineers and, in 1834, work began on a canal at

and other projects were planned. In 1836, he was elected to the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada representing Leeds. He was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in 1839, serving as speaker while

John Beverley Robinson John Beverley Robinson (February 21, 1821 – June 19, 1896) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was mayor of Toronto and a provincial and federal member of parliament. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between ...

was on leave. He was appointed to the Court of the King's Bench in 1837. In October of 1839, Jones took "no notice of petitions from the chiefs of the Six Nations" which attacked the credibility and character of young woman who had been raped by a Mohawk man named Noah Powlis. Between November 1839 and July 1840, Jones "used every judicial means possible to obtain a free pardon for Grace Smith", Grace being a young black girl who was convicted of

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

". When Jones's recommendation failed to convince the Executive Council (who were anxious to make an example), Jones consulted the other judges and delivered the opinion that "the Judgment of death...in this case is erronious (erroneous)", and the council concurred. In 1842, his daughter, Mary Elizabeth, married Lieutenant-General Charles Younghusband CB FRS, a British Army officer and meteorologist. He died in Toronto on July 30, 1848, apparently of some form of seizure or

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Jones apparently left his room feeling "drowsy" and decided to take a walk before dinner at the suggestion of a

colleague Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues, especially among peers, for example a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and, at least in theory, respect each other's abilities t ...

, and was found hours later collapsed in a building that he owned after a child had reported "judge Jones lying drunk". Jones was found completely paralyzed on his right side and unable to talk. Jones died soon later and was buried before many of his family had arrived. Jones left everything in his will to his wife.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jonas 1791 births 1848 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties Upper Canada judges