Joseph Jones papers, 1681-1895

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Summary

Creator:
Jones, Joseph, 1749-1824
Abstract:
Papers of militia officer and customs collector Joseph Jones of Petersburg, Va., and of his children and grandchildren, including business, personal, and military correspondence, deeds, Virginia militia records, general orders, Treasury Dept. circulars, lists of licensed vessels, letters regarding western lands, and papers relating to the port of Petersburg, Va. Correspondents include John Adams, William H. Crawford, Albert Gallatin, Richard Bland Lee, James Madison, Timothy Pickering, John Randolph, and John Tyler.
Extent:
1.33 Linear Feet (704 items)
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00645

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of Joseph Jones (1749-1824) span the period 1681 to 1895, with the majority of papers dating from 1794 to 1842. The collection is divided into six series: Correspondence, 1781-1895 and undated; Legal Papers, 1681-1888 and undated; Financial Papers, 1772-1875 and undated; Customs Collector Papers, 1796-1836 and undated; Military Papers, 1788-1864 and undated; and Miscellany, 1801-1854 and undated. Within each series the material is arranged chronologically. The Correspondence and Customs Collector Papers comprise the bulk of the collection.

Primarily emphasized in the collection are Jones' land holdings in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio, some awarded on account of his military service during the Revolution; his service as Brigadier-General in the 15th Brigade of the Virginia Militia during the Whiskey Rebellion; his work as customs collector at the port of Petersburg; and a variety of legal and financial papers.

The collection covers three generations of the Jones Family. After Jones' death in 1824, papers chiefly relate to his children and other relatives. Among those represented are Jones' sons: Joseph Jr., who managed some of his father's farming interests; R. Benson, who worked for various merchants in New York in the 1840's; Thomas, who was sheriff in Chesterfield County, Va. in 1838; and Thomas' wife, Mary Newton Jones, and her brother Virginia Congressman Willoughby Newton, plus other related families. There is extensive correspondence between Mrs. Mary M. Jones and others (chiefly in the 1840's) indicating that she owned both real estate and slaves. Some of this property was located in Westmoreland County, Va.

Other subjects include reaction to the passage by Congress of Jay's treaty, documents relating to slave holdings, social conditions of women in the 19th century, and the service of Jones' grandson, Captain Thomas Jones, in the 40th Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

For further information about Jones, see the Department's William Bragg Papers. Bragg became Jones' business partner about 1770 in Petersburg, Va.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Jones (1727-1805) was a militia officer and customs collector, of Petersburg, Va.

Acquisition information:
The bulk of the Joseph Jones Family Papers was acquired by several purchases in 1937. Jones was a landowner, merchant, military officer, and customs collector front Petersburg, Va. Three generations of the Jones family are represented in the collection.
Processing information:

Processed by: Janie C. Morris

Completed January 14, 1988

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The status of copyright interests in the Jones papers is unknown. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the Rubenstein Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], The Papers of Joseph Jones, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.