His siblings were similarly named after noted figures of antiquity such as Cincinnatus, Telemachus, and Ulysses.

Both of his parents died when Tiberius was around three and subsequently, he was raised by his mother's unmarried sister, Mary Ann Archer.

When he reached the age of 18, he entered the Virginia Baptist Seminary, which would be renamed in the following years to Richmond College.

[3] After his education at the seminary, he enrolled at the University of Virginia from 1842 to 1844 before completing his studies in 1845 at the College of William and Mary, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class.

[4] Beginning in 1850, Jones served as the first minister of Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia.