Benjamin Franklin Jones (December 31, 1869 – September 26, 1935) was an American jurist and Republican Party politician who served as the Speaker of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1900. Jones was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1869, the son of Rev. John Jones and Elizabeth Holland. He was educated at Public School 10 and Brooklyn High School. He attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree in 1895 and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree two years later. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1897. He then moved to Maplewood, New Jersey and became involved in Republican politics. In 1899 he was elected to the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

from Essex County. In 1900, at the age of 30, he served as Speaker of the Assembly for one term. In 1906 Jones was appointed District Court Judge of the city of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, serving for five years. Following his retirement from the bench, he was appointed Essex County counsel, serving for three years. He also served as president of the Essex County Tax Board from 1917 to 1920, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

served as a Government Appeal Agent. From 1925 to 1926, Jones served as the 9th International President of the International Association of Lions Clubs. Jones married Mabel L. Stevens in

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, New York on May 17, 1917. They had two children: Benjamin Franklin, Jr., and Mabel Elizabeth. Jones died at his home in Maplewood in 1935. He was 66.

References

External links

Benjamin Franklin Jones
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

1869 births 1935 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn People from Maplewood, New Jersey New York University School of Law alumni New Jersey lawyers Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly {{NewJersey-politician-stub