Yavapai County AZ Archives Biographies.....Jones, John S. 1848 - living in 1896
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 7, 2005, 12:02 pm

Author: McFarland & Poole

p. 542-543

  JOHN S. JONES is among the men of note in Arizona at the present time, and to
his energy and enterprise the Territory is indebted, to no small extent, for the
progress she has made during the past ten years. Mr. Jones is not a native of
the United States, but was born October 3, 1848, in Monmouthshire, Wales. The
following excellent sketch of his life is taken from a recent issue of the
Arizona Mining News, of Jerome:

  At the age of six years he came to America with his parents and settled at
Columbus, Ohio, where he received his education in the public schools, after
which he entered what is now the machine shops of the Pan-Handle railroad
system, where he served his apprenticeship; from the machine shop he went to the
drawing room of the locomotive department. He left this company to accept a
position as assistant chief engineer of the Ohio deaf and dumb institution under
the administration of Governor Hayes. He afterward served as chief engineer of
the same institution. In 1870 he left Columbus to go to Washington territory,
but on reaching Nebraska he changed his mind, and after investing some money in
land there, and remaining for a short time, went to St. Louis, Mo., where he
entered the employ of the Missouri Car Wheel and Foundry Company as chief
engineer, remaining with the company until 1873—the year of the great panic—when
the works closed. It was at this time Mr. Jones took his first step in the
mining line. Recommendations which he had brought from his home in Columbus
brought him in contact with Mr. J. L. Ferguson, one of the capitalists of St.
Louis. Mr. Ferguson suggested to Mr. Jones that he invent a quartz mill, and
that they then go into the business of manufacturing mining machinery. The mill
was invented and the company formed. The Mining Machinery Company of Ferguson &
Jones was successfully operated until 1878, Mr. Jones during the life of the
company having traveled through all the mining districts in the United States,
South America and Mexico, placing his machinery in all the districts visited.
During his visits to these mining districts he became familiar with mining in a
practical manner, and it was the experience thus gained which has enabled him to
successfully handle the mines in Chaparral Gulch. In 1878 -he was back in St.
Louis, and went from there to New Hampshire, where he superintended the erection
of mining machinery for Commodore Garrison & Bros. In December, 1879, he
returned to St. Louis and the next spring went to Central America, where he
remained for fourteen months, returning to St. Louis, and from there going to
the San Juan country in the interests of some eastern capitalists. After
remaining in the San Juan country one year he returned to St. Louis, where he
still made his headquarters, and continued to deal in mining machinery and doing
an extensive expert business. Leaving St. Louis he went to New York City, where
he opened an office at 293 Broadway, remaining there three years. It was here
that he became acquainted with capitalists, who were interested in mines in
Arizona. In 1886 he came to Arizona as manager for two New York companies, who
were operating on Groom Creek. He resigned the management of these companies,
and for nearly two years did not do any mining of any account. He then came into
Chaparral and located seventeen mines. Among those located and best known to the
public is the Chaparral, situated in Yavapai County, about sixteen miles
southeast of Prescott. That Yavapai County mines are of the best has been proven
by the work that has been done in this rich gold camp. The richest ore taken
from the mines here has been found at a depth of from 350 to 600 feet. The veins
are both large and very rich. The ledges run north and south, or nearly so, with
an occasional cross ledge. The formation is usually of granite and porphyry, or
slate and porphyry. Generally the ore bodies are found in slips or pockets, but
in some instances in continuous veins. The ore slips in the Little Jessie mine
are very numerous and will run from 15x30 feet to 150x175 feet in size. This is
about the average in all the mines in the camp. The filling in the ledges
between the ore slips is porphyry, and will plate from $5 to $7 per ton. In some
mines a depth of 160 feet was reached before sulphurets were encountered.   Such
was a fact, particularly in the McCabe mine.

  Among the mines which have brought Chaparral Gulch to the front as a
profitable mining district is the Little Jessie, owned by Hon. John S. Jones.
Mr. Jones came to the gulch in 1889, and from that time on the district has been
a paying producer. Yavapai County is under heavy obligations to him for the
development of this district. His experience in mining for many years previous
to his coming to Chaparral had given him the necessary education to successfully
contend with all obstacles which might spring up, and his success here is an
illustration of what good judgment, backed by determination, will do.


Additional Comments:
From:

A Historical and Biographical Record of the Territory of Arizona
Published by
McFarland & Poole, Chicago, 1896



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