Joseph Endom Jones (October 15, 1852–October 14, 1922) was an American Baptist minister and professor at the

Richmond Theological Seminary Richmond Theological Seminary (RTS) was a higher education institution in Richmond, Virginia, serving former slaves after the American Civil War. It had its beginnings in November 1865 when the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) sponsore ...

and Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia from 1876 to 1922. He was a major leader in the Baptist Church among blacks in Virginia. His son,

Eugene Kinckle Jones Eugene Kinckle Jones (July 30, 1885 – January 11, 1954) was a leader of the National Urban League and one of the seven founders (''commonly referred to as Seven Jewels'') of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University in 1906. Jones ...

, was a leader in the National Urban League.

Early life

Joseph E. Jones was born a slave in Lynchburg, Virginia, on October 15, 1852. At the age of six he started to work at a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

factory. Jones' mother believed that the end of slavery was near and that her boy should learn to read and write. She convinced another slave owned by the same family as herself, Robert A. Perkins, to teach Jones, coming to their home several nights per week. About 1864, the arrangement changed and Jones went to Perkins' cabin for lessons on Sunday mornings. However, near the close of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

(1861-8165), the master learned that Perkins could read and write and sold him. Jones' mother then convinced a sick Confederate soldier to teach him, paying in food. These lessons ended when the war ended, but Perkins opened a private school and the boy enrolled. Jones has heretofore been a poor student, but thereafter he excelled. He also attended a private school taught by

James Monroe Gregory James Monroe Gregory (January 23, 1849 – December 17, 1915) was a Professor of Latin and Dean at Howard University. During the American Civil War, he worked in Cleveland for the education and aid of escaped slaves. He initially attended Oberlin ...

, later a professor at Howard University. In the spring of 1868, he was baptized and made a member of the

Court Street Baptist Church The tallest object on the downtown skyline of Lynchburg, Virginia, Court Street Baptist Church stands as a testament to the black Baptist population of Lynchburg. Organized in 1843, the congregation—originally known as the African Baptist Churc ...

in Lynchburg.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p234-239

Career

In October 1868, he entered the Richmond Institute, which became known as the Richmond Theological Seminary, where he stayed for three years. In April 1871, he moved to

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

where he started preparatory school for

Madison University Madison University is a School accreditation, non-accredited distance learning college located in Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport, Mississippi. The state of Mississippi considers Madison an "unapproved" college. Madison is also listed as an unac ...

(now called

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

), which he finished in 1872 and began studies at Madison. He graduated from Madison University in June 1876. He was then appointed chair of Greek and Church HistoryRev. Dr. J. E. Jones of Virginia Passes Away ---- Closes 47 Years of Actual Service
The Dallas Express (Dallas, Texas) November 4, 1922, page 1, accessed September 13, 2016 where he taught classes in

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the Richmond Institute by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was ordained in 1877 and in 1879 he earned a Master of Arts from Madison. In November 1883, he was elected corresponding secretary of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the United States, a position he held until September 1893.Corey, Charles Henry. A History of the Richmond Theological Seminary: With Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Work Among the Colored People of the South. No. 67. JW Randolph Company, 1895. p174-178 In 1885, he was made chair of Homiletics and Greek at Richmond Theological Seminary. At his death he was professor of Church Polity and Homiletics. He contributed to numerous newspapers and edited the ''Baptist Companion'', a Virginia journal and later the ''Virginia Baptist Reporter'' along with D. N. Vesser, J. D. Lewis, and W. T. Johnson.Five Newspapers Published
Richmond Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) January 1, 1903, page 14, accessed September 13, 2016 He was a member of the Educational Board of the Virginia Baptist State convention. He was granted the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Selma University. He was pastor of Bethesda Baptist church near Petersburg, Virginia and was a major leader in the Virginia Baptist Church. He was said to have installed more pastors in charges than any other black man in America.

Personal life and death

On June 21, 1882 he married Rosa D. Kinckle of Lynchburg, who was a teacher in the public schools. Shortly later she was put in charge of music at

Hartshorn Memorial College Hartshorn Memorial College was a school for African-American women in Richmond, Virginia, from 1883–1932, when it merged into Virginia Union University. History Hartshorn Memorial College was created in Richmond, Virginia, in 1883 as a colleg ...

. They had two sons, one, Eugene Kinckle Jones was the executive secretary of the National Urban League. Jones died on the morning of October 14, 1922. His funeral was held at First Baptist Church in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Joseph Endom 1850 births 1922 deaths Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia Writers from Richmond, Virginia 19th-century African-American academics 19th-century American academics African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States African-American journalists Colgate University alumni Journalists from Virginia Baptists from Virginia Baptists from New York (state) Educators from New York (state) 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics