Daniel Jones (June 30, 1830 - December 25, 1891) was a Methodist Episcopal minister (M.E.) in Oregon and other regions of the United States. He was the first African American to attend

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

. He was a leader in the M.E. church and was presiding elder of the

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, district.

Early life

Daniel Jones was born June 30, 1830, in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Catharine Jones. Henry Jones was a slave on the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

until the age of 25 when he escaped into Pennsylvania. The couple had five children. At age 10, Daniel moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he learned to be a barber. After seven years, he joined an ocean vessel. As a mariner he once landed in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Slavery was still legal in South Carolina and black people, free and slave, had a nightly curfew, but Jones desired to go into town. When a bell rang at nine o'clock signalling the start of curfew, Jones did not know what it meant and remained on the streets. A patrol saw him, and Jones, realizing his danger, ran back to the ship, making it just in time. January 16, 1849, he joined the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

and traveled on the ship ''Gray Eagle'' around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

to California, landing in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in May 1849. He then worked in gold mines in California and Oregon.

Career

Jones settled in

Jacksonville, Oregon Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately west of Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer gold claims in the area. It includes J ...

, living for a few years before moving to

Crescent City, California Crescent City (Tolowa: ''Taa-’at-dvn''; Yurok: ''Kohpey''; Wiyot: ''Daluwagh'') is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California; it is also the county seat. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, ...

, to be closer to the sea and the good health effects he believed it would bring. He then moved to

. He was there during the Oregon Indian War, and Jones escaped some danger. In 1862, Jones married. He had four children. Jones taught schools in Oregon, and in 1869 joined the Methodist Episcopal church. He was soon licensed to preach in the Oregon Conference. He enrolled in Willamette University in Salem, the first black man in the class. In 1873 he was a delegate from Oregon to the Civil Rights convention in Washington, DC. In 1873, Jones transferred as a preacher to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, then to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. In 1878 he campaigned for the Republican presidential ticket in Indiana. He was then appointed presiding elder of the

, district, a position he served until the end of his life. He moved to a church in

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...

, and then

Winchester, Kentucky Winchester is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located ro ...

. In 1880 he received votes for bishop at a general M.E. conference. He was also a delegate to the

National Convention of Colored Men The Colored Conventions Movement, or Black Conventions Movement, was a series of national, regional, and state conventions held irregularly during the decades preceding and following the American Civil War. The delegates who attended these convent ...

in 1880 in Nashville, Tennessee. During his career he was an occasional correspondent of the ''

Cincinnati Commercial Gazette The ''Cincinnati Commercial Tribune'' was a major daily newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio formed in 1896, and folded in 1930.(3 December 1930)OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN CINCINNATI QUITS; Commercial Tribune Stopped by McLean Interests After Political Shift in ...

'' and other local papers. His ordination as deacon was by Bishop Edmund S. Jones and as an elder by Bishop

Edward Raymond Ames Edward Raymond Ames (May 20, 1806 – May 15, 1879) was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1852. Birth and family Ames was born in Amesville, Athens County, Ohio, one of three Methodist Episcopal Bishops to be born i ...

Death

Jones died on December 25, 1891, in Winchester, Kentucky, of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Daniel 1830 births 1891 deaths Barbers People from Reading, Pennsylvania People from Jacksonville, Oregon People from Salem, Oregon African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States Willamette University alumni 19th-century American clergy African-American history of Oregon