Seaborn Jones (February 1, 1788 – March 18, 1864) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, he attended

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

and studied law. By a special act of the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1808. He commenced a legal practice in Milledgeville. Jones was appointed Solicitor General of the Ocmulgee circuit in September 1817, and was Solicitor General of Georgia in 1823. He was one of the commissioners appointed to investigate the disturbances in the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

; in 1827 he moved to

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

where he built his home El Dorado, later renamed St. Elmo. Jones was elected as a Jacksonian to the

Twenty-third Congress The 23rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1833, ...

, serving from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1835. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Twenty-ninth Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845, ...

, serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. He died in Columbus, and was buried was at Linwood Cemetery. Jones' daughter, Mary Howard Jones, married

Henry L. Benning Henry Lewis Benning (April 2, 1814 – July 10, 1875) was a general in the Confederate States Army. He also was a lawyer, legislator, and judge on the Georgia Supreme Court. He commanded "Benning's Brigade" during the American Civil War. Fol ...

, for whom

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

is named. In 2002, the

Seaborn Jones Memorial Park The Seaborn Jones Memorial Park, formerly known as Wayside Park, was renamed in 2002 after Seaborn Jones because of his generosity and other significant contributions that he made to the city. The park sits in the middle of the Historical Downtown ...

Rockmart, Georgia Rockmart is a town in Polk County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 4,732 at the 2020 census. It developed as a railroad depot town when the Southern Railway built a station in the area. The community was incorporated in 1872, and wa ...

was named after Jones.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Seaborn 1788 births 1864 deaths Politicians from Augusta, Georgia American people of Welsh descent Princeton University alumni Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) American slave owners 19th-century American politicians