Joseph Warren Jones Biography


	This biography appears on page 605 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				HON. JOSEPH WARREN JONES.

	The name of the Hon. Joseph Warren Jones stands high in the legal 
history of the state of South Dakota. It was in 1883 that he came to 
Sioux Falls to establish himself in private practice and ever since 
1893 he has occupied the bench as judge of the second judicial circuit, 
having been continued in the office by reelection. He is now one of the 
most able jurists of the state and his legal ability has found wide 
recognition 

	Judge Jones was born on a farm in Fountain county, Indiana, and 
is a son of John T. and Indiana (Guthrie) Jones, the former a native of 
Kentucky. He received his education in the common schools of that 
county, and in Asbury (now De Pauw) University, at Greencastle, 
Indiana, from which institution he was graduated in 1870. He entered 
upon the active practice of law in Danville, Illinois, where he was 
admitted to the bar, and remained in that city from November, 1870, 
until April, 1883. From 1877 until 1881 he was states attorney of 
Vermillion county, Illinois, proving himself to be an- able lawyer and 
official in this position. 

	In 1883 Mr. Jones came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and here 
established himself in practice. In 1893 he was elected judge of the 
circuit court of the second judicial circuit for four years and has 
been reelected ever since, being today one of the oldest jurists in the 
state in point of service. He entered upon his duties on the 2d of 
January, 1894, and for more than twenty years has rendered decisions 
from the circuit bench. He is deeply read in the law and as the 
presiding officer of his court has ever upheld dignity and justice.  

	On March 27, 1879, at Bloomington, Illinois, Judge Jones married 
Miss Luella Campbell. He is a republican in politics, and fraternally 
is a member of the Masonic order, having reached the thirty-second 
degree in the Scottish Rite. He is a Knight Templar and Shriner, a 
member of the Elks, of the Dacotah and Country Clubs of Sioux Falls. 
The name of Judge Jones stands for the highest expression of judicial 
fairness, and his long and distinguished record is an honor to the 
state which has honored him.