[1][2] Jones was the first black man in the state of Illinois to serve on a grand jury in 1870, became a notary public in 1871 and the same year was elected to the Cook County Commission.

[4] Along with his wife, Mary Jane Richardson Jones, he was a dedicated abolitionist and philanthropist, turning their home into a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The Jones' household was a center of abolitionist activity in the pre–Civil War era; the couple helped hundreds of fugitives fleeing slavery.

The couple, ever mindful that their status as free could be called into question, secured fresh copies of freedmen's papers before an Alton court on November 28, 1844.

[7][8] The couple arrived in the city with only $3.50 (equivalent to approximately $110 in 2023) to their name, pawning a watch to afford rent and the purchase of two stoves.

Remember that all Clothes left with me are safe, because I am responsible, and permanently located at 119 Dearborn Street.During his early years in Chicago, Jones became close with abolitionists Lemuel Covell Paine (L.C.P) Freer and Dr. Charles V. Dyer.

[10] Beyond his tailoring business, Jones invested in land that would develop into the first working-class neighborhood for Chicago black families.

[12] Jones played a key role in Chicago’s Underground Railroad and opened a "General Intelligence Office" at 88 Dearborn Street in 1854.

[3] The same year, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed both the Jones family home and their four-story tailoring business, together valued at $85,000 (equivalent to approximately $2,161,800 in 2023).

[1] Jones died from Bright's disease on May 27, 1879; his wife, Mary, was the executor of his will and inherited his fortune, becoming independently wealthy.