John Coffin Jones Sr. Explained
John Coffin Jones Sr. (1749 – October 25, 1829) was a businessman who served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1802 to 1803.
Early life
Jones was born in 1749. He was the son of Ichabod Jones (d. 1790). John attended and graduated from Harvard College.
Career
In 1790, Jones wrote to Thomas Jefferson upon his return from France as the U.S. Minister regarding "whalefishery," which Jones considered it to "ever been the most important branch of business to this State, by furnishing its most valuable Staple export, creating a great consumption of the Produce of the Country; and thereby giving employment to a vast number of husbandmen and mechanics, whilst it proved a most extensive nursery of expert and hardy seamen."[1] Jones was a businessman who became a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. From 1802 to 1803, he served as the Speaker of the House succeeding Edward Robbins. Jones was succeeded by Harrison Gray Otis,[2] who later served as the Mayor of Boston and a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.[3]
In 1814, Jones was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[4]
Personal life
Jones was married three times. Among his wives were Mary Lee. Together, they were the parents of:
His second wife was Abigail C. Jones,[5] and Jones' third wife was Elizabeth (née Champlin) (1770–1837) the sister of U.S. Senator from Rhode Island Christopher G. Champlin and grandson of Christopher Champlin, a merchant, ship owner and financier of Newport, Rhode Island.[6] Together, they were the parents of:
- Margaret Champlin Jones (1792–1848), who married Benjamin Underhill Coles in 1817.[7] [8] After his death, she married Hon. Benjamin Gorham in 1829.[9]
- Martha Ellery Jones (b. 1794), who married Isaac Underill Coles, the brother of her elder sister's first husband, Benjamin Underhill Coles, in 1823.[10]
- Mary Jones (1795–1837), who died unmarried.[5]
- John Coffin Jones Jr. (1796–1861), who was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii.[11]
- Christopher Champlin Jones (b. 1798)
- Anna Powel Jones (b. 1803)
Jones died on October 25, 1829, in Boston, Massachusetts and was buried at King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston.
Descendants
Through his daughter Martha, he was the grandfather of Mary Lee Coles (–1922), who married Harry Coster,[12] who were both prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.[13]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: To Thomas Jefferson from John Coffin Jones, 1 May 1790 . founders.archives.gov . . 18 January 2019 . en . Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 16, 30 November 1789–4 July 1790, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961, pp. 397–400..
- Book: Gast . Ross H. . Contentious Consul: A Biography of John Coffin Jones, First United States Consular Agent at Hawaii . 1976 . Dawson's Book Shop . 9780870931758 . registration . 7 January 2019 . en.
- Book: Morison. Samuel Eliot . The Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, Federalist, 1765-1848 . 1913 . Houghton Mifflin Company . 238 . 27 September 2018 . en. Samuel Eliot Morison .
- http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistj American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
- Book: Bridgman . Thomas . Memorials of the Dead in Boston: Containing Exact Transcripts of Inscriptions on the Sepulchral Monuments in the King's Chapel Burial Ground, in the City of Boston. With Copious Historical and Biographical Notices of the Early Settlers of the Metropolis of New England . 1853 . B.B. Mussey . 84 . 7 January 2019 . en.
- Web site: Christopher Champlin Papers . www.rihs.org . . 7 January 2019.
- Book: Assembly . New York (State) Legislature . Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York . 1898 . E. Croswell . 265 . 7 January 2019 . en.
- Web site: Archives Directory for the History of Collecting . research.frick.org . . 7 January 2019 . en.
- Book: Kenslea . Timothy . The Sedgwicks in Love: Courtship, Engagement, and Marriage in the Early Republic . 2006 . UPNE . 9781584654940 . 199 . 7 January 2019 . en.
- Book: The Manifesto Church: Records of the Church in Brattle Square, Boston, with Lists of Communicants, Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals, 1699-1872 . 1902 . Benevolent Fraternity of Churches . 274 . 18 January 2019 . en.
- Book: Day . Arthur Grove . History makers of Hawaii: a biographical dictionary . 1984 . Mutual Publishing of Honolulu . 9780935180091 . 32, 57 . 7 January 2019 . en.
- News: DIED. . 6 January 2019 . . November 4, 1917.
- News: Mrs. Henry A. Coster Dead Funeral To-morrow From St. James's Church . 6 January 2019 . . November 23, 1922 . 11.
