Contra Costa County CA Archives Biographies.....Jones, Joseph P. 1844 - 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 31, 2007, 7:44 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891)

HON. JOSEPH P. JONES, Judge of the Superior Court of Contra Costa County, was
born January 27, 1844, in Owen County, Indiana. His father, Silas W. R. Jones,
is a native of Kentucky, and when a young man moved with his parents to the
above named county. There he married Elizabeth Allen, who was born and raised in
that State, her parents having settled there from Ohio. In 1853, when the
subject of this sketch was nine years old, his parents moved to Marion County,
Oregon, where he attended the common schools and received a thorough training at
Willamette University, where he graduated as Artium Baccalaureus in the class of
1864. The following year he returned to his native State and studied law at the
State University of Bloomington, graduating in 1867. Coming again to the coast
and making a short sojourn in Oregon, he located among the mines in the northern
part of this State and resided there until December, 1869.

  In that year he came to Martinez, Contra Costa County, where he entered upon
the practice of his profession and in many ways has been identified with the
history of this section for more than twenty years. Upon the election of Hiram
Mills to the post of District Attorney, Mr. Jones was appointed deputy in the
office, and continued as such until the fall of 1875, when he was elected, on
the Republican ticket, to the office of District Attorney. This office he held
until March, 1878. After a lapse of three years, Judge Jones entered the
political arena, and in the fall of 1880 was elected to the Assembly, and served
as a member of the general and special session of the Legislature of 1881,
during which time he was a member of the Judiciary Committee, and chairman of
the Committee on Federal Relations. He continued the practice of law in
partnership with Hiram Mills, a lawyer of great ability and one of the oldest
members of the bar in Contra Costa County, up to the time of his election to the
bench. In November, 1886, Mr. Jones was elected Judge of the Superior Court of
Contra Costa County, to fill the unexpired term of the late Judge Thomas A.
Brown, taking his seat in December, that year; and this position he now holds.
Judge Jones has the reputation of being careful and thorough, firm and
dignified, sociable and courteous, strict but not sycophantic. He is a
progressive citizen, liberal and enterprising.

  He was married in Martinez, February 2, 1870, to Jennie Frazer, a native of
Oregon, and he has now four children living, namely: Madison R., Thomas Rodney,
Carl Richards and Jennie Pearl.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California.

Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast
from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with
Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of
Prominent Citizens of To-day.

"A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendents." – Macauley.

CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1891.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/contracosta/bios/jones631gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

File size: 3.8 Kb