It is uncertain whether the Whitby of his birth was the fishing port in Yorkshire, or the district of Whitby in Ellesmere Port on the Wirral (across the Mersey from Liverpool), but his birthplace is likely the latter.
A Charles Jones was listed on the 1901 census return for Whitby, Ellesmere Port who was age 20 at the time, and could be the same Charles E. Jones who was born in 1881.
Mayor Gerald McGeer unexpectedly died in August 1947.
Jones was proclaimed the city's mayor for the remainder of McGeer's term, then won re-election for 1948.
George Clark Miller would function as mayor for the remainder of Jones' term.