Sir Samuel Jones (1610 – 3 January 1673) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1656 and 1660. Although a parliamentarian in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

he later became a strong Royalist. Jones was the second son of Isaac Jones, Merchant Taylor of Austin Friars, London and Petersham and his wife Elizabeth Prince, daughter of Richard Prince of Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury. He was educated at Shrewsbury in 1622. During the Civil War, Jones commanded a parliamentary regiment under

Sir William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159719 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War, before relinquishing his commission under the 1645 Self-denying Ordinance. ...

. He was commissioner for defence for Surrey in 1643 and commissioner for assessment for Surrey in 1644. He was J.P. for Surrey from 1644 to 1652. In 1652 he succeeded to property in Shrewsbury on the death of his father and added to it property at

Courteenhall Courteenhall is a village south of the county town of Northampton, in the shire county of Northamptonshire, England, and about north of London. The population of the civil parish was 122 at the 2011 census. The village is located in a cul-de-sa ...

, Northamptonshire and other purchases. He was commissioner for assessment for Westminster in 1652 and

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

for 1652–53. History of Parliament Online - Samuel Jones
/ref> In 1656, Jones was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Shrewsbury in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

. He was commissioner for assessment for Surrey in 1657 and commissioner for militia for Shropshire in 1659. He was commissioner for militia for Shropshire and Northamptonshire in March 1660. In April 1660 he was elected MP for Shrewsbury in the Convention Parliament. He offered a loan to the exiled Court, and 24 May he was one of five Members sent into the city to raise £2,000 for the King who failing to raise the sum agreed to advance the whole amount themselves. in the parliament he showed himself as an ultra-Royalist, taking a hard line against regicides and others who benefitted from the Commonwealth. He was commissioner for assessment for Shropshire and Denbighshire from August 1660 to 1661 and commissioner for assessment for Northamptonshire from August 1660 to 1669. He was knighted on 2 September 1660. From 1661 to his death he was colonel of the militia for Northamptonshire and from 1662 to his death he was JP for Northamptonshire. In 1663 he inherited further property in Shropshire on the death of his brother Sir William Jones of Berwick. He was

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibil ...

for 1663–64 and was secretary and auditor to the council in the marches of Wales from 1663 until his death. He was commissioner for assessment for Oxfordshire from 1665 to 1669. He became a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber in 1667. He was

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much olde ...

for 1669–70. Jones died at the age of 63, and was buried at Courteenhall. He had married twice: firstly by 1647, Margaret Middleton, daughter of Timothy Middleton of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex and secondly by licence issued on 1 June 1669, Mary Tryon, daughter of Peter Tryon of Bulwick, Northamptonshire. He had no children and bequeathed his estates to his great-nephew Samuel Wake, a younger son of Sir William Wake, 3rd Baronet of Piddington. He left bequests to endow a school at Courteenhall and almshouses on his estate in Shropshire. He also left £500 to provide interest-free loans to young tradesmen in Shrewsbury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Samuel 1610 births 1673 deaths People from Surrey (before 1889) Roundheads Cavaliers High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire High Sheriffs of Shropshire English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1660