Joseph Jones (1727 – October 28, 1805) was an American lawyer and statesman from King George County, Virginia. He was an

Anti-Federalist Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...

Biography

Jones was born in King George County, Virginia, part of the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

, in 1727.Jones, Joseph
''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''.Jon L. Wakelyn, "Joseph Jones" in
of the Bill of Rights: Encyclopedia of the Antifederalists
', Vol. 1: Biographies (Greenwood, 2004), pp. 99-100. Jones was born to James Jones and Hester Lampton Jones (Davis).
His father ran a General store, country store and tavern and later became a successful merchant with many contacts to England. Jones was educated nearby but went to England to continue his education; he went to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in London in 1749 and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1751, becoming a barrister. Jones then returned to Virginia and achieved success as a lawyer in the growing town of Fredericksburg. In 1754, Jones become King's attorney for Fredericksburg. In 1758, he married Mary Taliaferro, the daughter of Colonel John Taliaferro of

Spotsylvania County Spotsylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that bec ...

. In 1772, Jones became a member of the Virginia

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

, the colonial legislature. Jones was a "cautious

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

" and served on the committee of safety in 1774-75. In 1776, Jones was a supporter of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

during Virginia's second state committee of safety. Also in 1776, Jones was elected to the

Fifth Virginia Convention The Fifth Virginia Convention was a meeting of the Patriot legislature of Virginia held in Williamsburg from May 6 to July 5, 1776. This Convention declared Virginia an independent state and produced its first constitution and the Virginia Decl ...

, which produced the

Virginia Declaration of Rights The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaratio ...

. Jones served as a Virginia

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778. He was appointed to serve as judge of the Virginia General Court on January 23, 1778, and resigned in October 1779. Jones then returned to the Continental Congress, serving as a Virginia delegate from 1780 to 1783. Jones was a close friend of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. Jones served in the House of Delegates in 1787, where he split with his longtime friend

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

over the Constitution. Jones wrote in an October 29, 1787 letter to Madison that he had "many objections" to the Constitution and wished to see a declaration of rights attached to it. Jones was a member of the 1788

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

, which

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...

the federal Constitution. At the Convention, Jones was at first a supporter of the proposed constitution, but later turned against it, joining with

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

, and others to draft proposed amendments to the Constitution. Jones subsequently became "embittered over what he believed was Madison's betrayal of the rights of Virginians" and voted against ratification. Jones was then appointed once more as judge of the Virginia General Court, on November 19, 1789. Jones served as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of the Virginia militia. During the presidency of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, Jones was a supporter of the Jeffersonian faction. He died at his home in Fredericksburg on October 28, 1805. Jones was the uncle of

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

. His "Letters" were published in 1889.

Descendants

The singer Emanne Beasha is a direct lineal descendant of Joseph Jones.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Joseph 1727 births 1805 deaths Anti-Federalists Continental Congressmen from Virginia 18th-century American politicians House of Burgesses members People from King George County, Virginia Virginia lawyers Monroe family Virginia colonial people 18th-century American lawyers