He was the 27th Commissioner of Indian Affairs, serving in the administration of U.S. President William McKinley.

[1] He moved to Iowa County, Wisconsin, in 1851 and settled in a Welsh immigrant community near Mineral Point.

[2] He was educated in the common schools there, then graduated from the Platteville State Normal School—now the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Jones resigned in July 1904 due to clashes over personnel with the Secretary of the Interior, Ethan A. Hitchcock, but continued in the office until the end of the year.

[3][4] After returning to Wisconsin, Jones was general manager of the Mineral Point & Northern Railway, and later was president of the company.