Lake-Newton County IN Archives Biographies.....Jones, George W. 1844 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 17, 2006, 6:56 pm

Author: T. H. Ball (1904)

JUDGE GEORGE W. JONES.

    Active in community affairs which have had important bearing upon public
progress and improvement, Judge G. W. Jones is numbered among the leading and
representative men of Whiting, Indiana, where he is now filling the office of
justice of the peace. He has also been closely associated with educational
affairs there and has done much for the upbuilding of the schools. In an
official connection he has been largely instrumental in securing the attendance
at school of a greater percent of pupils than had hitherto been enrolled. His
labors have always been of a practical character, attended by results that are
far-reaching and beneficial.

    Judge Jones is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Butler county
on the 23d of May, 1844. He is a son of Dr. Caleb H. and Beulah (Staggs) Jones,
the former of Welsh descent and the latter of English lineage. His paternal
grandfather, Jonas Jones, was a native of New Jersey, and was a civil engineer
by profession. Removing westward he surveyed a large part of southern Ohio and
was one of the promoters of pioneer development in that portion of Ohio. His
son, Dr. Caleb H. Jones, was also a native of Butler county, Ohio, prepared for
the practice of medicine in early life and continued active in the prosecution
of his profession up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1848. His wife
was a native of North Carolina. On her father's side she was of English lineage
and on the maternal line her ancestry could be traced back to John Smith, whose
life was saved by the Indian maiden Pocahontas.

    Judge Jones was the seventh in a family of nine children born to Dr. and
Mrs. Jones. He spent his youth in the county of his nativity, and his early
boyhood was a period of earnest and unremitting toil, for when he was only four
years of age he was left an orphan. He earned his living during the greater part
of the time until he had attained the age of sixteen years, but the elemental
strength of his character was thereby developed and he became a self-reliant,
courageous young man who bravely faced life's duties and made the most of his
opportunities. In 1861 he offered his services to the government as a defender
of the Union, enlisting in Company D, Fifth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry. He served
for three years and seven months in the army as a private, but was promoted to
the rank of sergeant. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, the siege of
Corinth and the battle at that city, the siege of Vicksburg and the engagement
at Lookout Mountain, where was displayed one of the most daring military feats
of the great war. He was also with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea.

    When the war was over and he was mustered out of service. Judge Jones
returned to his native county in Ohio and there served a term of apprenticeship
as a machinist. In 1867 he made a business trip to Europe, being gone about six
weeks, during which time he visited Liverpool and other points in England,
beside going to France. After his return to his native land he removed to
Middletown, Ohio, where he remained until 1869, and in the fall of that year he
came to Indiana, locating at Kentland. He afterward removed to Sheldon,
Illinois, where he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons for a
short time. He next went to California, afterward to Australia and subsequently
to Japan and China, looking for a location and a better country than America. He
remained in Australia for three months and visited Hongkong, China, and
Yokohama, Japan. His travels, however, convinced him that there was no better
country on the face of the globe than his own United States, and upon once more
reaching this country he located in Sheldon, Illinois, where he remained for two
years. During that time he was married and later he went to Nebraska, settling
at Lone Tree. There he secured a homestead claim and continued its cultivation
and development until the grasshoppers entirely destroyed his crops. He next
returned to Iroquois, Illinois, and afterward went to Sheldon, while in January,
1884, he located in Hammond, Indiana, where he entered the employ of the Tuthill
Spring Company and the Chicago Carriage Company, being thus engaged until he
entered the services of the Hammond Packing Company as a machinist, filling that
position until 1890, when he came to Whiting. Here Judge Jones entered the
employ of the Standard Oil Company as a machinist and foreman of the compound
press house, and later was sent to the round house in the switching department.
During the last four years of his connection with the Standard Oil Company he
had charge of the repairs on locomotives, and was regarded as one of the most
capable and trusted representatives of the corporation in Whiting.

    In the meantime Mr. Jones had become recognized as a prominent and
influential factor in public life, exerting strong influence in behalf of
measures for the general good. In 1898 he was elected justice of the peace of
Whiting and has served in that capacity continuously since, discharging his
duties in a prompt and able manner, his decisions being strictly fair and
impartial. He was also elected city clerk of Whiting and is now filling that
office. He is likewise engaged in the insurance business, having time to devote
to these interests as well as his official duties. He is now vice-president of
the board of children's guardians of Lake county, Indiana, and since taking his
place as a member of the board he has made strenuous and effective efforts to
keep children out of the saloons, and more children are now attending school
than ever before in Whiting. He is the only Democrat that has been elected to
public office in the town, and this fact is indicative of the confidence and
trust reposed in him by his fellow citizens. He is not bitterly aggressive in
politics, for while he believes in Democratic principles he casts his ballot
independently at local elections where no issue is involved. Since 1867 Judge
Jones has been an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity and has filled all
the chairs in the local lodge. He is also a Knight of Pythias, holds membership
relations with the Knights of the Maccabees and Colonel Robert Heath Post, G. A.
R., of Hammond, in which he has filled all of the positions with the exception
of that of quartermaster.

    In 1870, while living in Sheldon, Illinois, Judge Jones was united in
marriage to Miss Margaret Markley, and to them were born two sons and one
daughter: Harry, who is an engineer for the Standard Oil Company; Guy, a
switchman in the employ of the same company: and Annie, at home. The Judge and
his family are well known in Whiting, where they occupy an enviable position in
social circles and have many warm friends. He has taken a very active and
helpful part in public affairs, and in his life record has displayed many
commendable characteristics. His benevolent spirit has prompted generous
assistance to the borough, and he has the reputation of giving more liberally
than any other man in Whiting according to his means. No one in need seeking his
aid is turned away from his door empty-handed, and while he does not believe in
the indiscriminate giving that fosters vagrancy and idleness, he does everything
in his power to help those who are willing to help themselves. Judge Jones
attended school for only about ten months, and his knowledge has all been
acquired through practical experience and by reading and study at night. He has
made the most of his opportunities as the years have advanced, and to-day he is
a well-informed man, widely and favorably known throughout the community, his
abilities well fitting him for leadership in political, business and social
life. The terms progress and patriotism may be considered the keynotes of his
character, for throughout his career he has labored for the improvement of every
line of business or public interest with which he has been associated and at all
times has been actuated by a fidelity to his country and her welfare.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
Genealogy and Biography
OF
LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA,
WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 
1834—1904

A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and
the Founding of a Nation.

REV. T. H. BALL
OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO   NEW YORK
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1904


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