John J. Jones (1800 – December 28, 1876) was a Polish-born American property developer and politician who served as President of the Los Angeles Common Council from 1870 to 1871.

Personal life

Jones, a Jew, was born in

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

in 1800 and emigrated to Britain. After being transported to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

following a criminal trial in 1836, he came to the United States and settled in Los Angeles. He was married in 1858 to Doria Deighton, with the marriage occurring three years after Doria came to Los Angeles from San Francisco. "Some historians posit that Mrs. Jones converted to Judaism prior to her marriage to Jones."Stephen J. Sass, "Downtown's Jewish L.A.Landmarks," JewishJournal.com, August 9, 2011
/ref> Others maintain that she never ever converted. In Los Angeles the couple lived in a "large

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

home" adjoining the present site of

Olvera Street Olvera Street (also ''Calle Olvera'' or ''Placita Olvera'', originally Calle de los Vignes, Vine Street, and Wine Street) is a historic street in downtown Los Angeles, and a part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, the area immediatel ...

in the

Los Angeles Plaza Historic District LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

. They had three children, including son Mark Gordon and daughters Constance (Simpson) and Caroline A. (Mrs. James B. Lankershim)."The Alvarado House Tour Presented by the Los Angeles Conservancy" (1982)
/ref> He died in 1877.

Business

John Jones was a wholesale

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

, and by 1853 the first wholesale liquor dealer in Los Angeles, with their business located the Arcadia Block at the corner of Main and Commercial Streets. By 1866 he had sold it to Harris Newmark, who had premises next to his.Harris Newmark, ''Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853–1913 . . .''
/ref>

Public service

John Jones was elected as the city's 1st Ward representative on the Los Angeles Common Council, for a one-year term ending December 11, 1871. Fellow Common Council members chose him as the first Jewish president of the city's governing body, during his term.''Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938,'' compiled under direction of Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles (March 1938, reprinted 1966). "Prepared ... as a report on Project No. SA 3123-5703-6077-8121-9900 conducted under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John American people of Polish-Jewish descent American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Los Angeles Landowners from California 1800 births 1876 deaths Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century American politicians Immigrants to the United States 19th-century American businesspeople Jews from California