Joseph Endom Jones (October 15, 1852–October 14, 1922) was an American Baptist minister and professor at the

Richmond Theological Seminary Richmond Theological Institute (RTI) was a higher education institution active from 1867 until 1899 in Richmond, Virginia, serving African American and former slaves after the American Civil War. Formerly known as Richmond Theological Seminary, Ri ...

and

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

in Richmond, Virginia from 1876 to 1922. He was a major leader in the Baptist Church among blacks in Virginia. His son,

Eugene Kinckle Jones Eugene Kinckle Jones (July 30, 1885 – January 11, 1954) was a leader of the National Urban League and one of the :Alpha Phi Alpha founders, seven founders (''commonly referred to as Seven Jewels'') of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell ...

, was a leader in the National Urban League.

Early life

Joseph E. Jones was born a slave in Lynchburg, Virginia, on October 15, 1852. At the age of six he started to work at a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

factory. Jones' mother believed that the end of slavery was near and that her boy should learn to read and write. She convinced another slave owned by the same family as herself, Robert A. Perkins, to teach Jones, coming to their home several nights per week. About 1864, the arrangement changed and Jones went to Perkins' cabin for lessons on Sunday mornings. However, near the close of 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 ...

(1861-8165), the master learned that Perkins could read and write and sold him. Jones' mother then convinced a sick Confederate soldier to teach him, paying in food. These lessons ended when the war ended, but Perkins opened a private school and the boy enrolled. Jones has heretofore been a poor student, but thereafter he excelled. He also attended a private school taught by

James Monroe Gregory James Monroe Gregory (January 23, 1849 – December 17, 1915) was an American professor of Latin, and dean at Howard University. During the American Civil War, he worked in Cleveland for the education and aid of escaped slaves. He initially atten ...

, later a professor at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. In the spring of 1868, he was baptized and made a member of the Court Street Baptist Church in Lynchburg.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p234-239

Career

In October 1868, he entered the Richmond Institute, which became known as the Richmond Theological Seminary, where he stayed for three years. In April 1871, he moved to

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

where he started preparatory school for

Madison University Madison University is a non-accredited distance learning college located in Gulfport, Mississippi. The state of Mississippi considers Madison an "unapproved" college. Madison is also listed as an unaccredited and/or substandard institution by ...

(now called

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

), which he finished in 1872 and began studies at Madison. He graduated from Madison University in June 1876. He was then appointed chair of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Church History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

Rev. Dr. J. E. Jones of Virginia Passes Away ---- Closes 47 Years of Actual Service
The Dallas Express (Dallas, Texas) November 4, 1922, page 1, accessed September 13, 2016 where he taught classes in

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the Richmond Institute by the

American Baptist Home Mission Society The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gospe ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was ordained in 1877 and in 1879 he earned a Master of Arts from Madison. In November 1883, he was elected corresponding secretary of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the United States, a position he held until September 1893.Corey, Charles Henry. A History of the Richmond Theological Seminary: With Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Work Among the Colored People of the South. No. 67. JW Randolph Company, 1895. p174-178 In 1885, he was made chair of

Homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

and Greek at Richmond Theological Seminary. At his death he was professor of

Church Polity Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polit ...

and Homiletics. He contributed to numerous newspapers and edited the ''Baptist Companion'', a Virginia journal and later the ''Virginia Baptist Reporter'' along with D. N. Vesser, J. D. Lewis, and W. T. Johnson.Five Newspapers Published
Richmond Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) January 1, 1903, page 14, accessed September 13, 2016 He was a member of the Educational Board of the Virginia Baptist State convention. He was granted the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Selma University. He was pastor of Bethesda Baptist church near

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

and was a major leader in the Virginia Baptist Church. He was said to have installed more pastors in charges than any other black man in America.

Personal life and death

On June 21, 1882 he married Rosa D. Kinckle of Lynchburg, who was a teacher in the public schools. Shortly later she was put in charge of music at

Hartshorn Memorial College Hartshorn Memorial College was a private college for African-American women in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1883 until 1932. When it closed, it was merged into Virginia Union University. History Hartshorn Memorial College was created in Ric ...

. They had two sons, one, Eugene Kinckle Jones was the executive secretary of the National Urban League. Jones died on the morning of October 14, 1922. His funeral was held at

First Baptist Church First Baptist Church may refer to: Canada *First Baptist Church (Toronto), Ontario *First Baptist Church (Ottawa), Ontario * First Baptist Church (Halifax), Nova Scotia, involved in the founding of Acadia University United States Alabama *First ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Joseph Endom 1850 births 1922 deaths Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia Writers from Richmond, Virginia 19th-century African-American academics 19th-century American academics African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States African-American journalists Colgate University alumni Journalists from Virginia Baptists from Virginia Baptists from New York (state) Educators from New York (state) 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics