Gabriel Jones (politician)
Gabriel Jones (May 17, 1724 – October 1806) was an 18th-century Welsh American lawyer, legislator, court clerk and civil servant in the colony (and later U.S. state) of Virginia.
Jones attended Christ's Hospital (one of England's "Bluecoat Schools"), after which he served as an indentured apprentice studying jurisprudence under a solicitor in the Court of Chancery and of Lyon's Inn in Middlesex.
[3] In April 1732, Jones was granted admission to Christ's Hospital (one of England's "Bluecoat Schools") in London following his presentation by Thomas Sandford.
[2][3][6] Despite its noble origins, Jones's family was of limited means,[3][a] and he served as an indentured apprentice studying jurisprudence under Houghton's charge for a term of six years until 1745.
[3] He settled first in Fredericksburg and later relocated to Frederick County, after which on March 1, 1747, he acquired a tract of land along Opequon Creek near present-day Kernstown, where he resided for several years.
[2][10] Jones served in that position for two years until his election to represent Frederick County as a member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia in 1748, and he was subsequently re-elected to his seat for the 1749 legislative session.
[1] Historians Hu Maxwell and Howard Llewellyn Swisher described Jones's handwriting as "unmistakable" in their History of Hampshire County, West Virginia (1897).
[2] In addition, Jones was appointed, along with Samuel Washington and George Read, by the Continental Congress and Virginia to travel to Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, to inquire about "the condition of affairs there" in 1777.
[20] Following his retirement from his position as Clerk of Court for Hampshire County, Jones continued to remain active in Virginia political affairs.
[4] In 1788, Jones and his brother-in-law Thomas Lewis were elected to represent Rockingham County at the Virginia Ratifying Convention, where both were fervent proponents for the adoption of the United States Constitution.
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.
[32] He further described Jones as sporting "powdered hair", a blue coat, a white vest, a cravat, silk stockings, and silver knee and shoe buckles.
[32] In his spare time during and between holding political appointments and serving in elected offices,[20] Jones regularly embarked upon "pleasure trips" to various American cities including Baltimore and Richmond.
[20] According to Maxwell and Swisher in their History of Hampshire County, West Virginia (1897), Jones had been gambling over the course of several days while in Richmond until a final game left him with only one shilling remaining in his pocketbook.
"[20][33] Maxwell and Swisher state that Jones's remark "became a proverb in Hampshire County" and was used when someone had been driven to extremes and utilized what little resources were left at their disposal.
[33] Jones settled in Frederick County and on March 1, 1747, he acquired a tract of land along Opequon Creek near present-day Kernstown, where he resided for several years.
[10] On December 3, 1753, Jones sold his property near Kernstown in Frederick County and relocated to his tract of land along the Shenandoah River, on which he established his estate later known as Bogota.
[4] The site of Jones's house is presently located on property no longer part of the Bogota estate, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 2009.
[4] A log tenant house estimated to have been built during the mid-18th century during the ownership of the Jones family is extant, and remains part of the current Bogota estate, as of 2008.
