Robert Byron Jones (1833 – July 20, 1867) was a justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

from April 1, 1865, to July 1, 1866. Born in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1833,''Celebration of the Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana'' (March 1, 1913), in John Wymond, Henry Plauché Dart, eds., ''The Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' (1922), p. 120. Jones served in the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...

from 1864 to 1865, and was chairman of the Judiciary Committee. In 1867, Jones was arrested in

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; , ), officially the City of Natchitoches, is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 United States census, the city's population was ...

, on a charge of having been implicated in the murder of one Cyrus W. Stauffer. While confined in the military prison in the city, he fell ill with

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, and was released. He died a few hours later, in New Orleans."Death of Judge Jones", ''Baton Rouge Tri-Weekly Gazette and Comet'' (July 25, 1867), p. 3. Jones had a brother who was a doctor who also died of cholera only a few days earlier.

References

1833 births 1867 deaths People from Florida Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Deaths from cholera in the United States 19th-century Louisiana state court judges 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature {{Louisiana-state-judge-stub