He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of New Hampshire in 1880, losing to Republican Charles Henry Bell by only a few thousand votes, 44,432 to 40,813.

He was disgusted over William Jennings Bryan's stand on Free Silver.

Also in Portsmouth, Jones built a mansion in the Second Empire style, with gardens and a horse track, completed in 1876.

He died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on October 2, 1902, and was buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

The Frank Jones Brewery was one of the largest producers of ale in the United States of America.