Born to Mr. and Mrs. George Jones, in Baltimore, Maryland, Ethel lost her mother at birth.

Ethel Jones was educated in Baltimore public schools, and graduated with honors.

[citation needed] Ethel enrolled in Howard University in 1906 in the College of Arts and Sciences.

[2] Ethel Jones graduated in 1910 with a bachelor's degree in math and a minor in education.

[2][4] Ethel Mowbray, Nellie Quander, Julia Evangeline Brooks, Norma Boyd, Nellie Pratt Russell and Minnie B. Smith decided to incorporate Alpha Kappa Alpha and completed the process on January 29, 1913.

[6] She worked as a culinary artist, while her husband was a teacher in the Kansas City public schools.