John George Jones (September 18, 1849 – June 7, 1914) was an American lawyer, Freemason, and state legislator in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

who advocated for civil rights. Born in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

on September 18, 1849. His family relocated to Chicago when he was 7. Jones studied law and was admitted to the

Illinois bar The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is among largest voluntary state bar associations in the United States. Approximately 28,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA memb ...

on March 24, 1881. Known as "Indignation" Jones, due to his assertiveness as he fought for

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, he practiced

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

in his

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

office located at 191 Clark Street. Later, he was elected State Representative of the 5th District of Cook County Illinois. He was a very active Prince Hall Freemason until his expulsion from the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois in 1904. Jones died on June 7, 1914, and was interred at the Oakwood Cemetery in Chicago. In 2002, the General Grand Masonic Congress dedicated a memorial wall to him at that cemetery.In Memoriam: The John G. Jones Memorial Wall
/ref> He worked to combat discrimination against fellow African Americans. He served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1901 to 1903.

References

1849 births 1914 deaths 19th-century American lawyers American Prince Hall Freemasons Lawyers from Chicago People from Ithaca, New York 20th-century African-American people 19th-century African-American lawyers {{US-law-bio-stub

See also

References