Born in Llwynberllan near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, he was the eldest son of John and Mary Jones and was educated at Charterhouse School.
[1] In about 1850 Jones purchased the 7,854 acre estate of Pantglas, Llanfynydd and built a large house there at the considerable cost of £30,000.
The Italianate mansion had a central tower and classical colonnades and a top-lit hall with large mahogany staircase.
[6][7] At a time when the parliamentary representation Carmarthenshire was largely dependent on informal agreements between prominent local landowners to avoid contested elections much emphasis was placed upon appealing to a broad range of what was regarded as 'moderate' opinion.
Powell of Maesgwynne declared that "they no longer saw the red and blue flags unfurled, which to his mind was an evidence that party feeling was dying out in the country".