Gabriel Jones Profane with an Eye Patch
We'll get to that profanity and eye patch later. First about this man's wit, then about his running simultaneously in 2 county elections, and then the profanity and that eye patch.
The preacher paused and pointing his long finger at the famous lawyer, said: ‘Oh, you old sinner, with your cocked hat under your arm, your hair not white enough, but you must powder it— you come into the house of God after His services have commenced. I will appear as a witness against yon in the day of judgment."
Mr. Jones stood looking his reprover calmly in the face, said in response, to him: ‘ Yes, I have no doubt but you will, for in the course of a long practice, I have ever found that the grandest rascal was the one to turn Stated evidence* ”
Gabriel's Elections
Since we are covering the year 1758 in this year of 2022 we want to know about an election oddity that occurred in July 1758.
We want to know if Gabriel Jones was running in 2 counties (Augusta and Hampshire) at the same time while forsaking both to campaign for Colonel George Washington in Frederick Co VA 24 July 1758?
Gabriel Jones was doing exactly that.
He was running for office in 2 counties simultaneously while campaigning for Colonel George Washington.
He could do this because he owned property in both counties.
You either had to have 50 acres of land or a house on 25 acres of land in order to vote, and in order to therefore also run as a candidate.
No prohibitions on double offices.
So, Gabriel Jones did lose his Augusta seat but he won his Hampshire seat
See more on his House of Burgesses stints below.
Source of picture is from Handley Archives:
Now for the Profanity and that Eye Patch.
That eye patch really looks to be more of a bandage and is referred to as such in the sources below.
Profanity
Founders Online footnote states,
"Gabriel Jones (1724–1806), an able but hot-tempered lawyer given to outbursts of profanity,
had long been prominent in Shenandoah Valley affairs. He studied law in England and returned to Virginia in the 1740s. He was appointed king’s attorney for Frederick County in 1744 and for Augusta County in 1746, making him thereby responsible for prosecuting public suits in much of western Virginia during the next three decades. To his contemporaries he became known as “the Valley Lawyer” (GRIGSBY, 2:16–19; BLUE COAT BOYS, 44–45; BARTON, 19–22).
Founders Online source:
From Annals of Augusta County, Virginia,
"An anecdote related of him, whether true or false, illustrates the awe he inspired in his latter days. It is said that on one occasion, during the trial of a cause before the County Justices of Rockingham, or Shenandoah, he had Alexander Hugh Holmes, afterwards the Judge,, as his adversary at the bar. Holmes was mischievous and witty, and the old gentleman became angry and profane.
The court abstained from interfering as long as possible, but finally put their heads together to confer about the matter. After due consideration, the Presiding Justice announced as the judgment of the court that they would send Lawyer Holmes to jail if he did not quit making Lawyer Jones swear so."
Page 21-22
Eye Patch
We called it an eye patch, but the picture and the description looks more like some kind of bandage covering the eye.
From the Annals of Augusta County, Virginia:
"Having always pictured him as a giant in size and strength, we were surprised to learn that he was a man of small stature.
His portrait represents him in the old style of dress, with a large wig, and a shade over his right eye.
Some of his descendants suppose that he lost his eye during his early life, and others attribute the loss to an accident during his latter years. "
.
Page 22
.
a local Winchester VA area attorney
posed as Gabriel Jones
in the 22 July 2018
and in the 27 July 2019
reenactment of
to his first political office
on 24 July 1758,
on that very site
on the Loudoun Street walking mall
where the 1840 Courthouse stands,
currently the Civil War museum,
run by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation,
who by the way,
has also graciously allowed George Marie Andrews and Bryan DjSkyhigh Fleming to present the first Winchester Pride Celebration event in 2018 on that site.
That Picture of Gabriel Jones?
Where is this painting?
Who is the painter?
What year was it painted?
We know at one time in the 2000s
it hung with a row of pictures
of area lawyers and judges
near the ceiling
in the Joint Judicial court for Winchester and Frederick County.
But as of this writing in 2022,
we do not know where it currently is.
Quarles writes, The familiar portrait of Jones by Bruce, the original of which is at the Crawford home near Kernstown, shows a stern-faced old gentleman with a bandage over the right. Just exactly what was wrong with the eye we do not know as we do not have testimony of anyone who saw him without the bandage. Some say he had what was known as a "weeping eye." In his will he directed that his slave, Frederick, "who attended me faithfully during the operation performed on my eye in Richmond" should be manumitted after his own and his wife's deaths and thenceforth supplied annually with the necessities of life.
Who the painter Bruce is, we do not know.
Source of the blue text is on page 156 of Garland R Quarles', Some Old Homes in Frederick County Virginia, 2nd revised edition 1999 published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society, copyright 1971 by Garland R Quarles (from 1950s research) printed by Commercial Press Inc Stephens City VA 22655.
Source of picture is from Handley Archives:
Related to 2 area Historians?
RT Barton and Oren Frederick Morton are 2 names you might recognize.
Gabriel Jones is related to
Robert T Barton, past President of the Winchester Historical Society.
"Robert T. Barton, of Winchester, to whom we are indebted for much of the foregoing information, is a great-great-grandson of Gabriel Jones."
Page 22 of Annals of Augusta County, Virginia
We are not yet sure if this relationship connects to Oren Frederick Morton, writer of The Story of Winchester in Virginia: The oldest town in the Shenandoah Valley (1925).
"Mr. Jones married Margaret Morton;, widow of George Morton;, and daughter of William Strother, of King George county."
Page 20, 22 of Annals of Augusta County, Virginia
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
Read bits and pieces.
Skip around.
Compiled by Jim Moyer, 10/15/2015, updated 7/17/2016,10/2/16, 11/26/2016, 12/11/2016, 4/27/2017. 4/27/2018, 6/4/2018, 6/6/2018, 6/30/2018, 7/1/2018, 7/25/18, 5/2/2018, 7/26/2019, 7/28/2019, 12/12/2019, updated 7/31/2022, 8/1/2022, 8/2/2022, 8/3/2022, 8/7/22
Yes, there's a lot more.
Skip around.
Contents:
Highlights of Biography
Biography by Annals of Augusta Co
Letters of Gabriel Jones
House of Burgesses Stints
The Election Laws
Ascerbic Wit
Research Notes
Biography of Gabriel Jones:
Blue text quotes are from Garland R Quarles', Some Old Homes in Frederick County Virginia, 2nd revised edition 1999 published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society, copyright 1971 by Garland R Quarles (from 1950s research) printed by Commercial Press Inc Stephens City VA 22655.
Other information is from
Annals of Augusta County, Virginia
Highlights
Gabriel Jones, known as the Valley Lawyer, attended the Blue Coats school, a story interesting of itself of that school. "The school has an interest to Virginians in that many of the scholars were sent as apprentices to the colony in the 17th century. There is an order by the Governor and Council of State at Jamestown, dated July 3, 1692, directing regular reports from them to be sent twice a year to the governors of Christ's Hospital (William and Mary Quarterly, V., 189). None of the names of these boys sent over in the earliest days is known. One "Blue Coat" however, who attended Christ's Hospital in the next century and later acquired a considerable reputation in Virginia, was Gabriel Jones, called "the Valley Lawyer." . . . After the death of his father his mother returned to England, and Gabriel Jones was admitted, in 1732', at the age of eight, to Christ's Hospital, where he remained seven years. He afterwards studied law under Mr. John Haughton of Lyon's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Solicitor in the High Court of Chancery; and a grant was made to him of 5 pds, "clothes included," from the school funds, as appears by the Apprentice's book." --- from page 44 of Tyler's quarterly historical and genealogical magazine by Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935 Publication date 1919 https://archive.org/details/tylersquarterlyh01tyle/page/44/mode/2up
In April, 1732, Gabriel was admitted as a scholar of the " Blue Coat School," Christ's Hospital, London, on the presentation of Mr. Thomas Sandford. There he remained seven years. Under date of April 12, 1739. the following entry appears on the records of the school : " Gabriel Jones is this day taken and discharged from the charges of this Hospital forever, by Elizabeth Jones, his mother, and by Mr. John Houghton, of Lyon's Inn, in the county of Middlesex, Solicitor in the High Court of Chancery, with whom he is to serve six years."
This brings his history up to 1745, in which year his mother died. Having served out his term of apprenticeship, the young lawyer, then twenty-one years of age, was no doubt " admitted to the bar." The family were of " gentle blood," but in reduced circumstances. One of Mr. Jones's descendants preserves some old coin, on the paper wrap- ping of which is written in his own hand: "This is the patrimony I re- ceived from my mother. From my father I received nothing." from Annals of Augusta County, Virginia
Frederick Co Vestry Embezzlement
Monday 9 March 1752
Refolved, That the Propofition from the County of Frederick, for diffolving the Veftry of the Parifh of Frederick, in that County, and obliging them to account for the feveral Sums of Money levied on the Parifhioners, and collec^led by them from the Year 1744, is reafonable. Ordered, That M"' Fairfax, and M"' Gabriel Jones, do prepare and bring in a Bill, purfuant to the laft Refolution of the Committee.
1788 Convention
Gabriel Jones was involved in the Convention to decide a new federal government. Quarles writes on page 156," . . . in 1788 he and his brother-in-law, Thomas Lewis, were candidates for delegates to the Constitutional Convention, some of Lewis's friends were understood to be opposed to Jones, but would vote for him because of Lewis. Of such dissembling Jones is reported to have remarked, "I scorn to receive the votes of such damned rascals. An honest man should vote according to his convictions and not from personal motives."
From Garland R Quarles', Some Old Homes in Frederick County Virginia, 2nd revised edition 1999 published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society, copyright 1971 by Garland R Quarles (from 1950s research) printed by Commercial Press Inc Stephens City VA 22655.
Gabriel Jones was not a soldier, but an able lawyer ; but his shrewdness in business ; his vast wealth, made up of lands and cash ; his hatred of paper money, and the eccentric cast of his character, would insensibly lead him to ap- prove an energetic and hard-money government.
From Hugh Blair Grigsby. The History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788, with Some Account of the Eminent Virginians of That Era Who Were Members of the Body. 2 vols. Richmond, 1890–91 : https://archive.org/details/historyvirginia00griggoog/page/n369/mode/2up?q=gabriel+jones
The Duel
Gabriel Jones only had one son, William Strother Jones, who is referred to as "Strother Jones." That son had a son by the same name who is often referred by his full name, William Strother Jones. But it is that grandson of Gabriel Jones who was stripped out of Gabriel Jones will because that grandson was involved in a duel. Quarles writes on page 156-157, "Jones had a profound commitment to a belief in law as sine qua non of civilized society. He did not tolerate violations of law, no matter by whom committed. It was dedication which caused him in his will to disinherit his grandson. William Strother Jones. in the following unrestrained language: "All the rest and residue of my estate real & personal of what nature of kind soever . . . I direct and share alike to my grand children, not to my grandson William Strother Jones to whom I had in a former will left the bulk of my estate. Dire necessity compels me to make the alteration I have, the best I can say of him is (and God knows it's bad enough) that his is an idle, dissipated young man and is now left to live upon the reck of a miserable fortune left by his father(which I gave him) now almost spent by his extravagance." The family tradition is that this summary action was caused by the fact that his grandson had fought a duel while in college, which act was a violation of the law and which was crime that the grandfather could not tolerate no matter by whom committed. The other grandchildren are said to have disagreed with the severe edict of their grandfather and to have shared their patrimony with William Strother Jones.
The only son
Gabriel Jones only had one son, William Strother Jones, who is referred to as "Strother Jones." That son had a son by the same name who is often referred by his full name, William Strother Jones. Quarles writes on page 157, "William Strother Jones, the only son and only surviving son of Strother Jones, inherited Vaucluse. [In 1951 that house was owned by the locally famous artist John W Chumley.] Having been born in 1783, he was only 7 years old at the time of his father's death. His grandfather, Gabriel [Jones[, was much involved in the settlement of the affairs of Strother Jones [he died 1790] and no doubt spent much time at Vaucluse, which may account for the fact that it is often spoken of as the Gabriel Jones Home. The widow of Strother Jones, the former Frances Thornton, some years after her husband's death, married Dr Francis Buckner and moved to Culpepper."
But here's a problem with the estate of his deceased son:
A notice appeared in the Virginia Gazette and Winchester Advertiser 29 May 1790 by Gabriel Jones:
The legal (not the gambling) creditors of Strother Jones, deceased, will oblige me if they send the amount of their several demands to Col. Isaac Zane, and to note whether the same arises by bond note or account, and the time when they become due, that proper measures may be taken to discharge them in the course of the next fall or winter." Signed "Gabriel Jones"
And maybe the son produced a similarity in his own son:
Quarles writes on page 157, that Strother Jones "was guilty of beating a sentry and a corporal at Camp Middlebrook in 1779."
Vaucluse
Gabriel Jones gave his son Strothers Jones 775 acres on 6 May 1785. Five years before on 15 April 1780 he married Francis Thornton daughter of Col. Francis Thornton. Some time after that marriage Strothers built the mansion called Vaucluse on that property given him by his father Gabriel Jones in 1785. Strother Jones dies in 1790. His son, William Strothers Jones, is 7 years old at the time.
Isaac Zane's Will to GJ
Quarles writes on page 283, "He [Isaac Zane] gave to Gabriel Jones "in consideration of the the long and mutual friendship subsisting between us 800 dollars also my horse Ranger whose past services merit that care and attention which I am sure my friend will best award him." To Thomas Jefferson and James Madison he gave ten guineas each "to purchase a memorial of our long and mutual friendship." The inventory of the Zane personal property occuries 81 pages in the Frederick Co Superior Court Will Book I - pages 224-305. Source is from Garland R Quarles', Some Old Homes in Frederick County Virginia, 2nd revised edition 1999 published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society, copyright 1971 by Garland R Quarles (from 1950s research) printed by Commercial Press Inc Stephens City VA 22655.
A Nephew
John Jones, the brother of Gabriel Jones, had a son named John Gabriel Jones
who travelled with George Rogers Clark and both helped formulate the county of Kentucky still under Virginia.
George Rogers Clark's brother was William Clark of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition. But it was George Rogers Clark who was famous at the time (before his now more famous brother) long enough for Clarke County VA to be named after him and not William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Never mind the spelling error. That's a story in and of itself.
But back to Gabriel Jones' brother's son ? That same son was killed by the Indians on Christmas Day 1776 the same day George Washington attacked the Hessians after crossing the whole night before over the Delaware and one of those Hessian prisoners came to stay at Fort Loudoun Winchester and walked out an accurate map of Winchester in 1777.
Annals of Augusta County, Virginia
Biography of
GABRIEL JONES, THE KING'S ATTORNEY.
Gabriel Jones was the son of John and Elizabeth Jones, of the county of Montgomery, North Wales. At what date this couple came to America is not known.
They settled at Williamsburg, Virginia, and on the 13th of August, 1721, their first child, a daughter named Elizabeth, was born in William and Mary College. Nearly three years later, on May 17, 1724, Gabriel was born, about three miles from Williamsburg. Another son, named John, was born at the same place, June 12, 1725.
John Jones, the father, apppears to have died before the year 1727.
Mrs. Jones and her children were in England at the beginning of that year, and on February 20th her daughter was baptized at St. Giles-in- the-Fields, London, as shown by the parish record.
In April, 1732, Gabriel was admitted as a scholar of the " Blue Coat School," Christ's Hospital, London, on the presentation of Mr. Thomas Sandford. There he remained seven years. Under date of April 12, 1739. the following entry appears on the records of the school : " Gabriel Jones is this day taken and discharged from the charges of this Hospital forever, by Elizabeth Jones, his mother, and by Mr. John Houghton, of Lyon's Inn, in the county of Middlesex, Solicitor in the High Court of Chancery, with whom he is to serve six years."
This brings his history up to 1745, in which year his mother died. Having served out his term of apprenticeship, the young lawyer, then twenty-one years of age, was no doubt " admitted to the bar." The family were of " gentle blood," but in reduced circumstances. One of Mr. Jones's descendants preserves some old coin, on the paper wrap- ping of which is written in his own hand: "This is the patrimony I re- ceived from my mother. From my father I received nothing." As early as 1750 he used the same crest and coat-of-arms as Sir William Jones, indicating a relationship with that celebrated man.
Gabriel Jones found means to return to America soon after he at- tained his majority and was "free of his indentures." He located first in Frederick county, and on March 1, 1747, bought a tract of land near Kernslown, where he lived for a time. He resided in Frederick in April, 1746, when he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Augusta, and was then only twenty-two years old.
On the 16th of October, 1749, Mr. Jones married Margaret Morton, widow of George Morton, and daughter of William Strother, of King George county. Mrs. Jones was born in 1726, and died in 1822, in her End of page
#21 (p.393)
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY. 393 ninety-seventh year. She is described as a lady of eminent Christian character. A deed of Christopher Francisco, of Pennsylvania, to Gabriel Jones, of the county of Frederick, dated August 8, 1751, is recorded in the clerk's office of Augusta county. The land conveyed consisted of 244 acres, being a part of 5,000 acres granted by patent to JacOb Stover, lying on the north side of " Shenandore River," in the parish and county of Augusta, and " opposite to the lower end of the Great Island." This was the farm below the present village of Port Republic, upon which Mr. Jones lived many years, and where he died. He was still a resident of Frederick, however, on the 24th of August, 1753, when Alexander Richie conveyed to him 400 acres of land on the north side of James River in the present county of Botetourt. He sold his Frederick property, on which he had lived, December 3, 1753, and probably before the close of that year removed to his farm on the Shenandoah, in Augusta.
If not the first lawyer who resided in the Valley, Mr. Jones was the first member of that profession who lived in Augusta. He was actively engaged in practice for many years. -As we have seen (pages 35, 36), he also represented Augusta in the House of Burgesses in 1757, 1758 and 1771.
[Note from author of this blog, Jim Moyer:
Those dates aren't completely accurately representing all of Gabriel Jones' time in the House of Burgesses. See House of Burgesses stints below. End of note by Jim Moyer]
He was considered a man of great ability and unbending integrity.
His only fault, or the only one which tradition tells of, was an extremely irritable temper, which, when aroused, expressed itself in the strongest terms he could command, mingled with no little profanity.
Having a scorn of all dishonesty and meanness, he did not spare a miscreant by tongue or pen. Two of his letters are before us. In one he describes a certain person, whose trickery he was exposing, as " one of the greatest villains," etc., etc. The other is dated July 28, 1782, and was written, when he was sick, to his son — indeed, from his own account he was " very low "—but he summoned strength enough to denounce a man about whom he wrote as a "scoundrel" and "infamous rascal." Yet at the close of this letter he expressed the tenderest affection for his son's wife.
When Rockingham was constituted, in 1777, Mr. Jones became a citi- zen of that county, and was immediately appointed prosecuting attorney.
He was a member of the State Convention of 1788, having his brother- in-law, Thomas Lewis, as his colleague, both of them being zealous advocates of the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Mr. Lewis was a popular man while Mr. Jones was not, and it is related that in a public speech before the election, the latter declined the support of " the rascals " who, he understood, proposed to vote for him because of his association with the former. Archibald Stuart, of Augusta, went to Rockingham to electioneer for Mr. Jones, who afterwards presented to him a chaise in which to bring home his wife.
He continued to practice law, and the road he traveled, from his resi- dence to the county seat of Rockingham, is still called " The Lawyer's Road."
An anecdote related of him, whether true or false, illustrates the awe he inspired in his latter days. It is said that on one occasion, End of page
#22 (p.394) 394 SUPPLEMENT TO THE during the trial of a cause before the County Justices of Rockingham, or Shenandoah, he had Alexander Hugh Holmes, afterwards the Judge,, as his adversary at the bar. Holmes was mischievous and witty, and the old gentleman became angry and profane. The court abstained from interfering as long as possible, but finally put their heads together to confer about the matter. After due consideration, the Presiding Justice announced as the judgment of the court that they would send Lawyer Holmes to jail if he did not quit making Lawyer Jones swear so.
Mr. Jones died in October, 1806. Having always pictured him as a giant in size and strength, we were surprised to learn that he was a man of small stature. His portrait represents him in the old style of dress, with a large wig, and a shade over his right eye. Some of his descendants suppose that he lost his eye during his early life, and others attribute the loss to an accident during his latter years.
In the spring of 1887, a window, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, was inserted by their descendants in a new Protestant Episcopal church, which stands near their former residence.
The children of Gabriel Jones were three daughters and one son, besides one that died in infancy. Margaret Morton, the oldest daughter, married Colonel John Harvie, for some time a member of Congress and for many years Register of the Land Office of Virginia. The descend- ants of Colonel and Mrs. Harvie are very numerous, and many of them have been highly distinguished. Another daughter married John Lewis, of Fredericksburg, a lawyer, whose brother married a sister of General Washington ; and the third married Mr. Hawkins, of Kentucky.
William Strother Jones, the only son of Gabriel Jones, was born March' 21, 1756. In the catalogue of students of William and Mary College we find the name of Strother Jones, son of Gabriel Jones, of Augusta, in 1767. His wife was Fanny Thornton, of Fredericksburg, who died about the year 1790. He was a captain in the Continental army during the Revolution, and subsequently a colonel of militia. It is said that he was an accomplished gentleman, but inherited his father's temper. At one time during the war he was ordered under arrest for " beating a sentry while on post and a corporal on guard."
William Strother Jones, Jr., was the only son of the former. He was born October 7, 1783, lived in Frederick county, married, first Ann Maria Marshall, a niece of Chief-Justice Marshall, and, second, Ann Cary Randolph, and died July 31, 1845. The children of the last-named William Strother Jones were, Mrs. F. L. Barton, of Winchester ; Wm. Strother Jones, now of New York ; Captain James F. Jones, who was murdered in 1866 ; Francis B. Jones, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Virginia regiment, who was killed at Malvern Hill ; and R. B. Jones.
Robert T. Barton, of Winchester, to whom we are indebted for much of the foregoing information, is a great-great-grandson of Gabriel Jones.
John Jones, the brother of Gabriel Jones, had a son named John End of page
#23 (p.395)
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY. 395 Gabriel, who was born June 6, 1752, and while still a very young man went to Kentucky.
In June, 1776, George Rogers Clark and John Gabriel Jones were chosen by a popular meeting at Harrodsburg mem- bers of the General Assembly of Virginia. Before they arrived here the Legislature had adjourned, and Jones directed his steps to the set- tlements on the Holston, leaving Clark to proceed to Richmond. The latter obtained from the council an order for the transportation to Pitts- burg of 500 pounds of gunpowder for the use of the people of Kentucky. At the Fall session of the Legislature the two agents of Kentucky were in attendance. They were not received as members, but through their influence the county of Kentucky was constituted. Clark and Jones conveyed the powder from Pittsburg down the Ohio river to a point eleven miles above the present town of Maysville, and concealed it there. In December following, Colonel John Todd and a party of men, under the guidance of Jones, went for the powder; but on Christmas day, when near the Lower Blue Lick, they were attacked by Indians. Jones and several others were killed and the expedition was aban- doned. In January, 1777, however, Colonel Harrod succeeded in finding the powder and conveying it to Harrodsburg.
John Jones, the brother of Gabriel, was not the rector of Augusta parish in colonial times. Some of the descendants of Gabriel Jones state that as far as they know he had no brother whatever. Others not only give the brother's name, but the date of his birth.
Mrs. Agatha Towles, a grand-daughter of Colonel John Lewis, in a brief memoir, written by her in 1837, states that Colonel Lewis pre- ceded his family to America, and lived in Pennsylvania and Virginia three years before their arrival. A brother of his went from Wales to Portugal, and from thence probably to America, but Colonel Lewis came directly from Ireland. After his rencounter with " the Irish Lord," he took refuge in a house on the banks of the Boyne, and as soon as a ship was ready to sail, embarked for America.
Mrs. Lewis and her children came over in a vessel with three hundred passengers, all Presbyterians, and landed on the Delaware river, after a voyage of three months. Mrs. Towles gives the names of Colonel Lewis's children, four sons and two daughters, but says nothing of a son named Samuel. She states that her uncle, Andrew, and her father, William Lewis, were at Brad- dock's Defeat, and that the latter was wounded on that occasion. It is hardly probable that she was mistaken in regard to her father, but we still think Andrew Lewis was not with Braddock. (See page 64.) An- drew Lewis having been taken prisoner at Grant's defeat, in 1758, (see page 105), was detained at Quebec for three years, says Mrs. Towles. She describes her father as a man of eminent piety. End of page
#24 (p.396)
Source:
Letters of Gabriel Jones:
From George Washington
to Gabriel Jones,
29 July 1758
To Gabriel Jones Camp at Fort Cumberland 29th July 1758.
Dear Sir, Permit me to return you my sincerest thanks for your great assistance at the late Election; and to assure you, that I shall ever return a lively sense of the favour. I am extreme sorry that you neglected your own Election in Augusta by this means—but I hope you are secure in Hampshire.1
Our Expedition seems overcast with too many Ills to give you any satisfaction in a transient relation of them. God knows whats intended, for nothing seems ripe for Execution—backwardness, & I woud (if dard) say more, appears in all things. To morrow,2 I
am summon’d to a conference with Colo. Bouquet on the Rays Town Road, when I shall warmly urge the advancd Season, and every other Argument that the Important Matter requires, to hurry things forward—and shall endeavour to obtain leave (if possible) to advance on with the Virginians to the Crossing at least, opening the Road & Constructing Posts as we go.
I am Dr Sir Yr Most Obedt Servt Go: Washington
ALS, PHi: Dreer Collection.
Founders Online Footnotes:
1. Jones was not elected in Augusta County, but he did win a seat in Hampshire. See Jones to GW, 6 July, n.9.
2. GW and Bouquet met on 29 July. GW probably wrote this letter on 28 July and dated it on 29 July; the dateline appears to be in GW’s hand but written with a different pen.
Source:
.
House of Burgesses stints
Gabriel Jones represented the counties:
Frederick 1752-1755
Gabriel Jones accepted the office of coroner [15 Dec 1753] (p.167), and was succeeded in the House of Burgesses by Perkins.
Hampshire 1752-1755 Same page shows Gabriel Jones representing this county at the same time:
Gabriel Jones term was cut short on
December 15, 1753
Ordered, That an Address be made to the Governor to Order a new Writ to issue for electing a Burgess to serve in this present General Assembly for the County of Frederick, in the Room of M' Gabriel Jones, who hath accepted the Office of Coroner of the said County ; and that M' Fairfax do wait on him with the said Address. M' Charles Carter reported. . . .
Augusta 1756-1758
Founders Online tells us:.
.
Jones was not elected in Augusta County, but he did win a seat in Hampshire. See Jones to GW, 6 July, n.9.
.
Source:
.
Gabriel Jones did lose his seat from Augusta County, to Israel Christian, while the other incumbent, John Wilson, was reelected.
Jones, however, won the seat in Hampshire County that Thomas Bryan Martin had held since 1756, and Thomas Walker was reelected in Hampshire.
It may be noted that Gabriel Jones was elected in 1752 to a seat in the House from Frederick County, gave it up in 1753,
and was elected to represent Hampshire County after it was created in 1754.
He was also again a Burgess from Augusta County, from 1769 to 1771.
Source of above:
References to Gabriel Jones
in the Journal of House of Burgesses
References to Gabriel Jones
Volume 8 of Journal of House of Burgesses 1752-1755 and 1756-1758
References to Gabriel Jones
Volume 9 of Journal of House of Burgesses 1758-1761
References to Gabriel Jones
Volume 10 of Journal of House of Burgesses 1761-1765
References to Gabriel Jones
Volume 11 of Journal of House of Burgesses 1766-1769
Some samples of those references to Gabriel Jones:
Friday 28 Feb 1752
Gabriel Jones appointed to a Committee of Courts who review any claim disputed and presented to the Committee of Claims.
Monday 9 March 1752
Refolved, That the Propofition from the County of Frederick, for diffolving the Veftry of the Parifh of Frederick, in that County, and obliging them to account for the feveral Sums of Money levied on the Parifhioners, and collec^led by them from the Year 1744, is reafonable.
Ordered, That M"' Fairfax, and M"' Gabriel Jones, do prepare and bring in a Bill, purfuant to the laft Refolution of the Committee.
Tuesday 10 March 1752
Refolved, That the Propofition from the County of Augiifta, for allowing a Salary to the Minifter of the Gofpel in the Parifh in that Coimty, equal to the Salaries of other Minifters in this Colony, be reje(5led.
Ordered, That the Committee of Propofitions and Grievances, do prepare and bring in a Bill, i:iurfuant to the firft Refolution.
Ordered, That M' Fairfax, and M"" Gabriel Jones, do prepare and bring in a Bill, pur- fuant to the fecond Refolution.
Wednesday 1 April 1752
A Bill, For diffolving the Veftry of Frederick Parifh, in Frederick County, was read a fecond Time, and committed to M"' Gabriel Jones, and M'' Fairfax.
Monday 17 Dec 1753
#203 (p. 167) - 2 matching terms
...Ordered, That an Addrefs be made to the Governor to Order a new Writ to iffue for eledling a Burgefs to ferve in this prefent General Affembly for the County of Frederick, in the Room of M' Gabriel; Jones;, who hath accepted the Office of Coroner of the faid County ; and that M' Fairfax do wait on him with the faid Addrefs. M' Charles Carter reported. ...
#271 (p. 235) - 2 matching terms
... ( 235 ) and to report their Proceedings, with their Opinions thereupon, to the Houfe, when they have gone through the faid Claims: And all Perfons who have any Claims are to deliver them to the Clerk, and he is to deliver the fame to the faid Committee of Courfe: And they are to have Power to fend for Perfons, Papers and Records for their Information. Ordered, That a Committee for Courts of Jtiftice be appointed of the following Per- fons, inz. M.' Attorney, M' John Tabb, M' Gabriel; Jones;, M' CarringtoH, M' Curtis, M' Biifhrode, W V enable, M"' Pendleton, M' Blackwall, M' Briggs, M'' Jeff erf on, M' Afiderfon, M' James Ball, and M' Wythe. ...
#289 (p. 253) - 2 matching terms
...An Ad. declaring the Law concerning Executions, and for the Relief of infolvent Debtors, was read a fecond Time and committed to M' Lon- don Carter, M'' Gabriel; Jones;, M"' Johnfon, M' Pendleton, M"' Power, and M'' Attorney. A Bill For dividing the Parifhes of St. Paul and St. Martin, in the County of Hanover, was read a fecond Time, and committed to the Members for Hanover and Louifa Coun- ties, and M'' Pendleton. ...
#292 (p. 256) - 2 matching terms
...Ordered, That the Committee of Trade do prepare and bring in a Bill purfuant to the faid Refolution. Ordered, That M' George Taylor, have Leave to be abfent from the Sen-ice of this Houfe till this Day Fortnight ; M-- Gabriel; Jones;, for the Remainder of this Seffion ; M' Thomas Tabb, till Monday Se'ennight, M-- Curtis, till this Day Se'ennight; M' Payne and M' Marrable, till Saturday Se'ennight, and M' Boiling, till Wednefday next. ...
#443 (p. 407) - 2 matching terms
...M' Syme prefented to the Houfe, according to Order, a Bill, For appointing Com- miffioners to take and ftate Accounts of the Tobacco lately burnt in Crutchfield'5 and Pitt'5 Warehoufes, and for other Purpofes therein mentioned, and the fame was read the firft Time, and ordered to be read a fecond Time. Upon a Motion made, A Bill, For paying the Burgeffes Wages for this Seffion of Affembly, was read a fecond Time, and committed to M'' Gabriel; Jones;, M' Fairfax and M' Bland
Friday 6 May 1757
A Bill For preventing fraudulent Gifts of Slaves, was read a fecond Time, and com- mitted to M"" Landon Carter, M'' Jnftice, M' John Nicholas, and M'' Gabriel Jones.
The Order of the Day being read for the Houfe again to refolve itfelf into a Com- mittee upon the Bill For raifing the Sum of £. 53,000 for the Defence of the Country, and for other Purpofes therein mentioned.
Refolved, That this Houfe will again refolve itfelf into a Committee upon the faid Bill, on Monday next.
Monday 9 May 1757
A Petition of Abraham Bledfo, letting forth, That in Auguft 1755, the Petitioner, being one of Capt. Prefton's Company of Rangers, killed and fcalped two Indians, and upon applying for the Reward allowed by Law for fuch Scalps, was informed that the faid Law was not in Force till a few Days after his killing the faid Indians, and praying the Confideration of this Houfe, was prefented to the Houfe and read.
Ordered, That the faid Petition be referred to M' London Carter, M' Gabriel Jones, and M' Syne, That they do examine into the Allegations thereof, and report the fame, with their Opinion thereupon, to the Houfe.
Wednesday 18 May 1757
Ordered, That Leave be given to bring in a Bill or Bills, For increasing the Rewards for Indian Scalps, and it is referred to M' Cary, M'' Thomas Tabb, M' Gabriel Jones, M" Pendleton, and M'' Walker, to prepare and bring in the fame.
Wednesday 1 June 1757
Ordered, that M' Gabriel Jones have Leave to be absent from the Service of this House the Remainder of this Seffion.
Thursday 28 Sept 1758
MR Gabriel Jones reported, That the Committee to whom the Petition of John Buchanan was referred, had had the fame under their Confideration, and fotmd the Allegations thereof, to be true, and had come to a Refolution thereupon, which he read in his Place, and then delivered in at the Table, where the fame was again twice read, and agreed to by the Hotife as follows :
Refolved, That the faid John Buchanan ought to be paid by the Public the Sum of ;^ioo for his Trouble, Expence, and Services in the faid Petition mentioned.
A Petition of Captain James Nevill, in Behalf of himfelf and the Company under his Command, fetting forth. That on the feventh Instant they had a Skirmifh with a Party of Enemy Indians, in which one of them was killed and fcalped by the Petitioners, but that upon Application for the Reward given by Law for an Enemj^'s Scalp, they were informed there was no Money in the Treafury, and praying the Confideration of this Houfe, was prefented to the Houfe and read.
Election Laws
This 1762 law did not substantially change the law previous to the July 1758 election.
We will be adding more information in this section.
From source:
III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the freeholders of every county which now is, or hereafter shall be, within this dominion, qualified as is by this act hereafter directed and declared, have, and shall have, the privilege and liberty of electing two of the most able and fit men, being freeholders, qualified to vote in such county respectively; to be present, and to act and vote, as representatives of such county, in all general-assemblies to be sommoned and held as aforesaid: and that the freeholders of James City shall have the liberty of electing one burgess, to be present, act and vote, in all such general assemblies.Freeholders qualified by this act to vote.
IV. And for settling what freeholders shall have a right to vote, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every person shall have a right to vote at any election of Burgesses for any county who hath an estate of freehold for his own life, or the life of another, or other greater estate, in at least fifty acres of land, if no settlement be made upon it, or twenty five acres, with a plantation and house thereon, at least twelve feet square, in his possession, or in the possession of his tenent or tenants, for term of years, at will or sufferance, in the same county where he gives such vote; and any person having such estate, in fifty acres of land, in one tract, uninhabited, lying in two or more counties, shall have a right to vote in that county only wherein the greater quantity
Source:
Acerbic Wit
There's more than a few stories about his acerbic wit. My favorite story of this wit involves no profanity:
" . . .when Fauquier county [1 May 1759] was made a county and held its first court, Mr. Jones went there, with other lawyers, to attend said court, and when he arrived he was met by all the other lawyers and especially the junior members, who wished to pay him some attention and manifest their respect for his great ability and prominence.
On Sunday morning these young lawyers invited Mr. Jones to go with them to church to hear a celebrated but somewhat eccentric preacher, who was that morning to occupy the pulpit. They all proceeded to the church and found that the preacher had commenced his discourse, and as Gabriel Jones walked in, followed by the other lawyers, with his cocked hat under his arm, they reverently marched up the aisle. The preacher paused and pointing his long finger at the famous lawyer, said: ‘Oh, you old sinner, with your cocked hat under your arm, your hair not white enough, but you must powder it— you come into the house of God after His services have commenced. I will appear as a witness against yon in the day of judgment."
Mr. Jones stood looking his reprover calmly in the face, said in response, to him: ‘ Yes, I have no doubt but you will, for in the course of a long practice, I have ever found that the grandest rascal was the one to turn Stated evidence* ”
Source, page 65-66:
Research Notes:
.
Hugh Blair Grigsby. The History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788, with Some Account of the Eminent Virginians of That Era Who Were Members of the Body. 2 vols. Richmond, 1890–91
Gabriel Jones was not a soldier, but an able lawyer ; but his shrewdness in business ; his vast wealth, made up of lands and cash ; his hatred of paper money, and the eccentric cast of his character, would insensibly lead him to ap- prove an energetic and hard-money government.
In this state of apprehension respecting the opinions of the
members from the Valley, the words of Johnston were closely watched. Of the sentiments held by others, however, he said nothing, but in a few sentences removed all doubt about his own. After presenting some remarks appropriately introduced respecting the nature and value of government, and offering a deserved compliment to Pendleton, he discussed, concisely and clearly the legislative department, and pointed out its fine adap- tation, in his opinion, to attain the end in view. He approved the provisions touching the militia, which, as the father of a large family, he regarded with caution ; saw no danger to religious freedom, or fear from direct taxation, and defended the irregu- larities of the new system by an illustration drawn from the num- ber of fighting men in the county of Augusta and in the county of Warwick, and argued that the representation in the House of Representatives was more equal and more just than in our own House of Delegates. He saw full responsibility in the houses of Congress. Men would not be wicked for nothing, and when they became wicked we would turn them out. When the mem- bers of Congress knew that their own children would be taxed, there was sufficient responsibility. He animadverted sternly on the amendments brought forward by the opponents of the new scheme. They had left out the most precious article in the bill of rights. They feared, he said, that emancipation would be brought about. That had begun since the Revolution ; and, do what you will, it will come round. If slavery, he said, were totally abolished, it would do much good. He now looked forward to that happy day when discord and dissension shall cease. Division was a dreadful thing. The Constitution, he admitted, might have defects ; but where do the annals of the world show us a perfect constitution ? He closed his remarks by a novel and well-drawn parallel between the condition of the British people, who, when they had overthrown monarchy, were unable to gov- ern themselves, and had in despair called Charles the Second to the throne, and the condition of our own country, warning the members of the fate which might overtake them, if, by rejecting the Constitution, they became involved in disunion and anarchy."'
“The Blue Coat Boys.” Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine 1 (1919-20): 43–45.description ends,
.
R. T. Barton. “Gabriel Jones ‘The Lawyer.’” West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly 2, no. 2 (1902): 19–30.description ends
Page n106
This condition was declared to exist as to Frederick County in 1743 and as to Augusta in 1745; at which times respectively those two counties were formally organized. The records of the session of the County Court of Frederick held on the 13th day of January, 1743-4 (old and new style) the first session of that court having been held on November 11th, 1743—show that Gabriel Jones appeared and took the oath and qualified to prac¬ tice as an attorney at law.
Page n106
The next session of the court was held February 11th, 1743-4, and it was then ordered that Gabriel Jones be recommended to the Governor as a suitable person for King’s Attorney which corresponded to our present prosecuting attorney. He was then not yet nineteen years of age, and he was but little past the age of twenty-one when on December 9th, 1745, the same recommen¬ dation was made of him by the County Court of Augusta County.
Page n65
“ May it please your Honor, and gentlemen of the jury, I am not about to make a speech, but to relate a simple fact. Down in Virginia, in my earlier days, there lived a celebra¬ ted lawyer by the name of Gabriel Jones. He was of the old school of Virginia gentlemen.”
Page n65
Then Mr. Doddridge proceeded to describe the said lawyer Gabriel Jones, with his cocked hat, his frilled shirt bosom, and waistbands, his powdered hair, blue coat, white vest and cravat, silk stockings and silver knee and shoe buckles, &c., and dwelled, upon his peculiar style of man, that the jury could but see the greatest man, and one of the most eccen¬ tric ones, that had ever made a speech in a Court House, and one whose readiness and wit was beyond controversy.
Page n65
“ Well, gentlemen of the jury, when Fauquier county was made a county and held its first court, Mr. Jones went there, with other lawyers, to attend said court, and when he arrived he was met by all the other lawyers and especially the junior members, who wished to pay him some attention and mani¬ fest their respect for his great ability and prominence. On Sunday morning these young lawyers invited Mr. Jones to go with them to church to hear a celebrated but somewhat ec¬ centric preacher, wTho was that morning to occupy the pulpit. They all proceeded to the church and found that the preacher had commenced his discourse, and as Gabriel Jones walked in, followed by the other lawyers, with his cocked hat under his arm, they reverently marched up the aisle. The preacher paused and pointing his long finger at the famous lawyer, said: ‘ Oh, you old sinner, with your cocked hat under vour arm, your hair not white enough, but you must powder it— you come into the house of God after His services have com-
Page n66
menced. I will appear as a witness against yon in the day of judgment/ Mr. Jones stood looking his reprover calmly in the face, said in response, to him: ‘ Yes, I have no doubt but you will, for in the course of a long practice, I have ever found that the grandest rascal was the one to turn Stated evidence*/ ”
Fauquier County was established on May 1, 1759, from Prince William County. It is named for Francis Fauquier,[5]Lieutenant Governor of Virginia at the time, who won the land in a poker game, according to legend.
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Page n106
This condition was declared to exist as to Frederick County in 1743 and as to Augusta in 1745; at which times respectively those two counties were formally organized. The records of the session of the County Court of Frederick held on the 13th day of January, 1743-4 (old and new style) the first session of that court having been held on November 11th, 1743—show that Gabriel Jones appeared and took the oath and qualified to prac¬ tice as an attorney at law.
Page n106
The next session of the court was held February 11th, 1743-4, and it was then ordered that Gabriel Jones be recommended to the Governor as a suitable person for King’s Attorney which corresponded to our present prosecuting attorney. He was then not yet nineteen years of age, and he was but little past the age of twenty-one when on December 9th, 1745, the same recommen¬ dation was made of him by the County Court of Augusta County.
Page n107
His parents, John and Elizabeth Jones, were English people from the north part of Wales and must have come to this country in or shortly prior to the year 1720. They settled at Williams¬ burg and their first child, a girl, was bom within the College pre¬ cincts on August 13th, 1721.
Page n107
Gabriel Jones was bom May 17th, 1724, on a farm about three miles from Williamsburg. John Jones, the father, died prior to the year 1727, and shortly afterwards Mrs. Jones, with her small family, returned to the old country, the parish register of St. Giles-in-the-fields in London showing that her daughter Eliza¬ beth was baptized there on February 20th, 1727.
Page n107
Gabriel was admitted to the Blue Coat School, which is still standing and conducted pretty much as it then was, in April 1732. There he remained for seven years until he was fifteen years of age, when he received his discharge from the school and went at once into the service of a Mr. John Houghton a solici¬ tor in chancery of Middlesex county, with whom he studied law.
Page n107
This was in 1739, but how long he remained there I have no means of knowing. About that time his mother died, but what became of his sister I do not know. A younger brother named John came back with Gabriel to America, and he had a son named John Gabriel who was killed by the Indians during the revolu¬ tionary war while on a very daring expedition to the Ohio river.
Page n107
We have no account of how young Jones spent his time in England when he was supposed to be studying with the solicitor, nor do we know how long he remained there nor exactly when he came back to America.
Page n107
He seems to have supposed that he was related to the English family of which Sir William Jones was a distinguished member, for in the colonial days, when such things were fashionable, he used the coat of arms substantially, and the same motto with that family.
Page n108
But whether he had any aristocratic connection or not, he had very little or no money; for among his effects at his death was fnund a few English coins wrapped in a paper on which was writ- ten in his own hand—“this is the patrimony I received from my mother: from my father I received nothing.” In later years when he was a very rich man, the family tradition says that when one of his grand-children was disposed to put on airs, he would exhibit these coins and with the frankness of speech used by most of his contemporaries, and by Mr. Jones especially, he Would say “this is what you came from, damn you.”
Page n108
Thomas Lewis was the surveyor of Augusta county, and I think owned the land of the present Lewis family near Port Re¬ public. He married a Miss Strother from either King George or Essex county. She had two sisters, one of whom was a widow, after a single month of married life to a Mr. Morton. She was willing to be consoled and she married Mr. Jones on October 16th, 1749, Rev. James Keith, the ancestor of my friend and kinsman, Judge James Keith, of the Court of Appeals, performing the ceremony. John Madison, the father of Bishop Madison, mar¬ ried the other sister.
Page n108
William Strother Jones, the grandson of Gabriel Jones and my grandfather, on January 31st, 1806, married Ann Maria Mar¬ shall the granddaughter of Rev. James Keith (whose daughter was the mother of Chief Justice John Marshall) and who per¬ formed the marriage ceremony for Gabriel Jones, and thus fifty- seven years after that event the races of the groom and parson were merged.
Page n108
Most probably bcause of its proximity to the home of the Lewises, Mr. Jones on August 8th, 1751, bought the farm on the opposite side of the river, which I have always known of as the Strayer farm. There Mr. Jones lived from the year 1753 and there he died and was buried. At least he sold his Frederick county farm in the year 1753, and it is supposed he removed at once to Augusta as he seems never to have lived at his other place in Frederick, known as Vaucluse, where his grandson afterwards lived and where my own mother was born.
Page n108
In the years 1757, 1758 and 1771, Gabriel Jones represented the county of Augusta in the House of Burgesses. With his election in the year 1753, quite an interesting event is associated Mr. Jones was a very intimate friend of a young man named George Washington, then about twenty-six years old, and who had made a name for himself in connection with the defeat of Braddock at the battle on the Monongahela river. Washington had aspired to membership in the House of Burgesses from Fred¬ erick county, but had been certainly defeated once, and it is thought twice for the place.
Page n109
The canvas in Frederick, however, had become quite active, and the result looked so doubtful that Mr. Jones went down to Winchester to help the interests of his friend, who was kept away himself by his military duties, and so he went into the fight, and in popular parlance he “took off his coat.”
Page n109
I am indebted to Mr. Paul Leicester Ford for a copy of a very interesting letter written at the time by Mr. Jones to Col. Wash¬ ington, and as it has so much of a modem political nature in it I cannot forbear quoting it. It is addressed:
Page n109
“From Gabl Jones Esq. 6th July 1758.”
Page n110
Gabriel Jones.
Page n110
Washington was elected, altho' his associate, Col. Martin, only led the Mr. West, of whom Mr. Jones had such a bad opinion, by about 40 majority. It is gratifying to know that the absence of Mr. Jones from the county, did not prevent the good people of Augusta from again returning him as their Burgess.
Page n110
Washington acknowledged his obligation to Mr. Jones in the following letter: “Camp at Fort Cumberland.
Page n111
The commencement of the revolution in 1776, found Mr. Jones fifty-two years old—too old for active service. His only son, how¬ ever, entered the service and rose to the rank of Captain. He died soon after the Revolution, leaving an only child who was my grandfather. Gabriel Jones was elected to the continental con¬ gress from the Augusta district on June 17th, 1779, and the journal of the house of delegates of January 23,1778, shows that Ae only lacked 16 votes of being elected one of the judges of the General Court. The successful candidate was Paul Carrington.
Page n112
In 1777 Rockingham county was cut off from Augusta and carried with it the home of Mr. Jones on the Shenandoah river. From that time he ceased to be a citizen of Augusta, but he re¬ mained identified with the county by his large law practice and his membership in congress.
Page n112
All his life long Jones was a close friend and admirer of Wash¬ ington. He was also a close friend of Lord Fairfax, their strong political differences not affecting this relation, and at the death of Fairfax he became one of his executors.
Page n112
It happened too that in 1752, Jones and Fairfax were elected at the same time vestrymen in Frederick parish.
Page n112
Although this fact does not prove it, and you may think that he had a somewhat eccentric way of showing it, yet it is true nevertheless that Mr. Jones was a religious man and a member of the church of England.
Page n112
Mr. Jones’ family have had handed down to them the story of his address to the voters in his candidacy for the convention of 1788, when upon being informed that some of the sovereigns only intended to vote for him because he was the brother-in-law
Page n113
It is but fair to the memory of Gabriel Jones that I should add to these extracts the following, in order that I may show that when he was not in anger how gentle and wise was his rule of life.
Page n113
This is from a letter written October 1st, 1790, to his widowed daughter-in-law Fanny, shortly after the death of his son, Capt. Strother Jones—
Page n114
Gabriel Jones.
Page n114
Mr. Jones was a great lawyer, and commencing at least with his qualification in Augusta on December 9, 1745, he remained in active practice close up to the time of his death at the age of 82 in the year 1806. I was surprised to learn that at its first term in 1745 the Augusta court had a large docket, but the history of the time shows that it was an age of great speculation, great growth and improvement and great gains to the legal profession. From his professional gains and careful investments Mr. Jones accumulated a great fortune and took fine care of it, leaving a large estate at his death. His widow, a widow for the second time, survived him sixteen years and died at the age of 97.
Page n115
“He was of small stature and of a nervous temperament, and having lost his right eye in early life, he always wore a shade to conceal the defect from public observation. He is represented in a portrait at ‘Vaucluse,’ the seat of his late grandson, as dressed in the full toilet of a gentleman of the old regime, the shade over his eye, and as having a face shrewd and attenuated, and indicative of a high temper. Indeed, with all the discipline of a long life, with all his respect for those restraints which his position at the head of the bar, as the head of a family in an orderly, moral and even religious society, and as a gentleman punctilious in dress and demeanor, he could never turn the cup of provocation from his lips, nor restrain the outbursts of a temper terrible to the last degree. Even in the presence of the court his passions flamed wildly and fiercely. He was the first, and for a long time the only, attorney who practiced in Augusta county, and was generally known as The Lawyer. The road by which he travelled to Staunton was called the Lawyer’s Road. An incident which occurred in Augusta court will serve to show the peculiar temper of Jones, and, at the same time, the temper of the court toward him. He was engaged in a case in which the late Judge Holmes was the opposing counsel. Holmes was mis¬ chievous and witty, and contrived to get Jones into a furious passion, when he became very profane. After hearing Jones for some time the court consulted together in order to determine what steps should be taken to preserve its dignity. To think of pun¬ ishing Lawyer Jones was out of the question; so the presiding judge gave it as the decision of the court, “that if Mr. Holmes did not quit worrying Mr. Jones and making him curse and swear so, he should be sent to jail. ” Withal he was a most skilful and learned lawyer, indefatigable in maintaining the interests of his clients, and most successful in winning verdicts.
Page n301
In the April number of the West Virginia Historical Magazine appeared an excellent sketch of Gabriel Jones, the first lawyer who ever practiced his profession in what is now the State of West Vir¬ ginia. Some of his descendants are now living in this State. The city of Charleston claims one, most worthy in life and character, in the person of the venerable widow of that honored and esteemed practitioner of medicine the late Spicer Patrick, M. D.
Page n302
Gaines, was born in Albemarle county, 1742; married Margaret Morton, daughter of Gabriel Jones, and Margaret Strother. He became early in life a successful lawyer, was delegate to the House of Burgesses from West Augusta; was a member.of the Convention of 1775-6; signed the Bill of Rights; member of Continental Con¬ gress, 1778-9; signed articles of confederation; received commis¬ sion as colonel of Virginia forces February, 1777; Registrar of Vir¬ ginia land office from 1780 to 1791; Mayor of Richmond 1785; member of Virginia Legislature at various times; died at “Belve¬ dere/ ’ his county seat, near Richmond, 1807.
Page n303
Jacquelin Burwell Harvie, son of John Harvie and Margaret Morton Jones, was bom in Richmond, Va., October 2, 1788; mar¬ ried September 18, 1813, at “Oak Hill,” Fauquier county, Mary, daughter of John Marshall and his wife, Mary Willis (Ambler). He was prepared for the navy, and was serving as a midshipman when the terrible tragedy of the burning of the Richmond theatre occurred. On that occasion, he lost a brother, a sister and a niece. The loss of so many of his family required him to resign the navy that he might assist in the management of the large estate. During his life he filled many places of honor and trust. He was for many years a State Senator, and at the time of his death was Major Gen¬ eral of Militia for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Page n304
John Harvie and Margaret Morton Jones, daughter of
Page n304
Gabriel Jones and Margaret Strother, son of
Page n304
John Jones and Elizabeth.
Page n304
For the purpose of this excursus we repeat a few facts mentioned in the sketch of Gabriel Jones, and add several not there mentioned.
Page n304
John Jones and his wife Elizabeth came to Virginia from Mont¬ gomery county, North Wales, Great Britain.
Page n304
Gabriel Jones was born in the County of York, three miles from Williamsburg, May 17th, 1724. He married October 16th, 1740, the Rev. James Keith officiating, Margaret Morton, widow of George Morton and daughter of Major William Strother and Margaret Watts, of King George County, in the Colony of Virginia.
Page n304
Gabriel was educated in England, and studied law with Mr. John Houghton at Lyons Inn. On his return to Virginia, he settled in Frederick County. Became Private Secreary to Lord Fairfax. No lawyer was known in the bailiwick of Augusta County until 1745, when we find Gabriel Jones. Queens Attorney Court was formed in this year, when he qualified to practice in it. In 1778 he was appointed Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney. He was elected member of Confederate Congress, 1774, and of the State Convention 1788. He was one of the most prominent men of the Colony and a man of wealth and culture. He was a member of the House of Bur¬ gesses from Frederick County 1748-1751, Augusta County, 1757- 8-64, 69, 71. He was appointed with Lord Fairfax and others, trustees for the towns of Stevensburg and Winchester, they or any five of them at any time, to establish such rules about building houses and laying off towns as they deem best and convenient. He was commissioned to ascertain the pay and subsistence of Militia, and damage done by Cherokees and Catawba Indians. He was also appointed with Samuel Washington and George Read, by the Con¬ gress and also by Virginia to go to Fort Pitt to look into the condi¬ tion of affairs there in 1777.
Page n314
John Carter came from England; settled in Norfolk County, which he represented in the House of Burgesses in 1642; command¬ er against Rappahanock Indians in 1654; Burgess for Lancaster for a number of years; died 1699; married for his third wife Sarah, daughter of Gabriel Ludlow; had a son who on account of his large landed possessions was known as “King” Carter. He was Speaker of the House of Burgesses for six years, 1694-1699. Treasurer of the Colony many years. Member of the Council, 1699-1726, and as member of that body acting Governor of the Colony. Married first, Judith Armstead, eldest daughter of John Armstead, of “Hesse” Gloucester. Their daughter, Elizabeth, married Nathaniel Bur¬ well. Robert Carter died 1732.
Page n343
Jones, Gabriel.1, p. 7-2, p. 19
Page n343
Jones, Gabriel.4, p. 46
Page n347
Gabriel Jones.2, p. 19
Page n347
Book Plate of Gabriel Jones.2, p. 25
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