John Percival Jones (January 27, 1829November 27, 1912) was an American politician who served for 30 years as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. He made a fortune in silver mining and was a co-founder of the town of

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

Early life

John P. Jones, one of thirteen children of Thomas Jones (1793–1871) and Mary A. Jones, was born in

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

, England. The family immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and settled in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in 1831. Thomas Jones purchased property, and established himself in business as a marble manufacturer.

California Gold Rush

In 1849 John P. Jones went to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to participate in the

Gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

. He settled in

Trinity County, California Trinity County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. Trinity County is rugged, mountainous, heavily forested, and lies along the Trinity River (for which it is named) within the Salmon and Klamath Mou ...

where he engaged in mining and farming. He served as county sheriff, and was a member of the California state senate from 1863 to 1867. In 1867 he was the nominee of the Republican party for Lieutenant-Governor.

Comstock Lode Nevada

In 1868, Jones moved to

Gold Hill, Nevada Gold Hill is an unincorporated community in Storey County, Nevada, located just south and downhill of Virginia City. Incorporated December 17, 1862, in order to prevent its annexation by its larger neighbor, the town at one point was home to at ...

where he was superintendent of the Crown Point silver mine which was part of the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...

. When a body of silver ore was stuck in 1870, Jones and

Alvinza Hayward Alvinza Hayward (1821 – February 14, 1904) was an American mine-owner, capitalist, businessman, and financier. He was a well-known gold mining millionaire who made his fortune in during the California Gold Rush. He lived in the San Francisco Bay ...

acquired shares and were able to gain control of the Crown Point mine.

United States Senate

In 1873 he was elected by the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, in which he served five terms from 1873 to 1903. He served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Auditing the Contingent Expenses from 1877 to 1881 and from 1883 to 1893, and as chairman of the committee on epidemic diseases from 1893 to 1903. Jones was involved with the minting of the Twenty-cent piece silver coin. Like many Republicans from the western United States, Jones left the party in 1896 over the issue of

bimetalism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed rate of exchange betwee ...

and joined the

Silver Party The Silver Party was a political party in the United States active from 1892 until 1911 and most successful in Nevada which supported a platform of bimetallism and free silver. In 1892, several Silver Party candidates were elected to Nevada p ...

. He caucused with the Silver Republicans and later rejoined the Republican Party, but decided not to run for re-election to the Senate in 1902. Jones was a strong proponent of racist immigration policy, arguing on the Senate floor for the exclusion of the "tawny and the black races, in order that our own race may be kept intact and uncontaminated."

Panamint Silver Mines

In 1874, Jones and fellow Nevada senator,

William M. Stewart William Morris Stewart (August 9, 1827April 23, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician. In 1964, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Personal Stewart was born in Wayne Count ...

, invested in the Panamint silver mines near

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Inyo County, California Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is ...

. Jones planned to build a railroad from the mines to the ocean at Santa Monica. By 1877, the Panamint mines were exhausted and closed.

Santa Monica

Jones visited Los Angeles in 1874 and bought a three quarter interest in Colonel

Robert S. Baker Robert Sidney Baker (27 October 1916 – 30 September 2009) was a British film and television producer, who at times was also a cinematographer and director. Born in London and serving as an artillery man in the British Army, he was posted to Nor ...

’s

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. In 1875, Jones and Baker laid out the town of Santa Monica. Jones built the first railroad (

Los Angeles and Independence Railroad The Los Angeles and Independence Railroad, opened on October 17, 1875, was a steam-powered rail line which ran between the Santa Monica Long Wharf (north of the current Santa Monica Pier) and 5th and San Pedro streets in downtown Los Angeles. ...

) from Los Angeles to Santa Monica. Due to financial pressures, Jones was forced to sell the railroad to

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

in 1877.

Miramar

In 1903 Jones retired to his 1889 home, Miramar, in Santa Monica where he continued to oversee his businesses. Shortly before the Senator died, Miramar was sold to

King Gillette King Camp Gillette (January 5, 1855 – July 9, 1932) was an American businessman who invented a bestselling version of the safety razor. Gillette's innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel. Gillette is often err ...

. Gillette rarely visited the house, and after a brief spell towards the end of World War I as a boys military academy, the estate was sold to hotelier Gilbert Stevenson and it became the Hotel Miramar in 1921. Since then, it has been run by various hoteliers — except for during World War II, when the Army Air Corps took over the Miramar and used it as a redistribution center for officers and enlisted men returning from overseas. The mansion was demolished in 1938, leaving as the oldest structure, the six story "Palisades" wing built in 1924. The Moreton Bay Fig Tree, given to the Jones’ by the bartender in 1889, still stands where it was planted by gardener W.H. Lee. The site is now the home of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

Family life

Jones married the widow Hannah Cornelia (Conger) Greathouse, in 1861, and they had one son, Roy Jones. Hannah died in 1871, and Jones married Georgina Frances Sullivan in 1875.The Nevada Senators's Marriage
New York Times, January 12, 1875 They had three daughters, Alice ( MacMonnies),

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

(

Farquhar Farquhar is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''fearchar'', from ''fear'' ("man") and ''car'' ("beloved"). Farquharson is a further derivation of the name, meaning "son of Farquhar". The name originated as a g ...

) and Georgina (Walton). Jones died in 1912 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and was buried in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John Percival 1829 births 1912 deaths People from Herefordshire English emigrants to the United States Republican Party United States senators from Nevada Silver Party United States senators from Nevada Republican Party California state senators Nevada Republicans People from Trinity County, California History of Santa Monica, California 19th-century American politicians Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco) Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park