In the early colonization of Pennsylvania, William Penn, who was of Welsh extraction, offered inducements to natives of that country to settle in his newly-acquired possessions. He instructed his surveyor-general, Thomas Holmes, to lay out 40,000 acres on the west bank of the Schuylkill river, which became known as the "Welsh Tract." Within these bounds settlers from Wales were to have all their causes, quarrels, crimes and titles tried and wholly determined by officers, magistrates and juries in their own language, and they were also to receive all the privileges and liberties they enjoyed in their own country under the Crown.
Among those who were effected by this course of events in Pennsylvania was David Jones, born in the Parish of Llangower, Merionethshire, one of the most mountainous counties of Wales. He was a son of Rev. William Jones, a clergyman of the Church of England; his mother died when he was young, and his father taking unto himself a second wife, young Jones, in company with some relatives, emigrated to America. He settled on the Welsh Tract, in what is now Radnor township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Here he married, May 10, 1735, and the young couple made their first home in the beautiful valley of the Conestoga, north of the Welsh Mountain. From money inherited from his mother he purchased one thousand acres in the Upper Valley, and four hundred acres in the Lower Valley. The fertile fields were cultivated, iron mines developed; and he became one of the foremost ironmasters of his day. On the erection of the County of Berks, his location was included within its bounds.
The pioneer's second son, Jonathan Jones, built a stone residence of Colonial style of architecture in the Conestoga Valley, where he lived, cultivated his lands until the War of the Revolution, which drew him into military life. He served in the Continental army until the summer of 1777, when he was stricken with paralysis, compelling him to resign. His son, Jehu, spent his life educating the young in the Conestoga Valley. He enlisted in the War of 1812, marching to the defence of Baltimore, and died at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
From this stock sprang Jehu Glancy Jones, lawyer, statesman and patriot, the son of Jehu Jones, born in Caernarvon township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1811. At the age of sixteen years he entered Kenyon College, at Gambier, Ohio, an Episcopal institution, where the foundation of a ripe scholarship was laid. A diligent student, and a rare classical scholar, on leaving his alma mater he entered a theological school at Cincinnati, Ohio, continuing his studies there until 1834. In the summer of that year he returned to the home of his wife's parents, having married in 1832, in Bensalem township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. His theological studies being completed, he was ordained a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church, and on October 11, 1835, received the rites of priesthood. The next three years were spent in the upholding of several parishes in New Jersey, but in 1838, at the solicitation of friends, he settled in the new territory of Florida, engaging in missionary work.
After completing the purpose of his mission, the building of a church at Quincy, Gadsden county, and during his temporary sojourn in Florida withdrawing from the ministry, he commenced the study of law, completing his legal education in the adjoining State of Georgia, where he was admitted to the bar of the Superior Court. His intention was not to remain in the South, and after his admission he returned to Pennsylvania, and on April 19, 1842, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, taking up his residence and beginning practice in Easton. He soon took a leading position among the strong men of the profession, built up a large and lucrative practice, and was identified with many important cases. He was recognized as a public speaker of energy, industry and power, and there was scarcely a movement of importance in Easton, Pennsylvania, in which he was not called upon to take a conspicuous part.
Mr. Jones, a Democrat by inheritance, was one of the foremost advocates of "tariff for revenue only," and enjoyed the confidence of the leading members of that party, prominent among whom was James Buchanan, a lifelong personal and political friend. He removed his residence to Reading, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the Berks county bar, January 7, 1845, where he rose rapidly in influence and position. He was a supporter of the War with Mexico, took important part in the adoption of a city charter, and was a lieutenant-colonel on the staff of Governor Shunk. In April, 1847, he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Berks county, an office now known as district attorney. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1848, and presented the name of James Buchanan as a candidate for nomination. Two years later the Democrats of Berks county turned to Mr. Jones as their candidate for Congress and at a convention held, he was nominated on the first ballot. He was elected and took his seat in December, 1851, in the Thirty-second Congress, and was made a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He served with credit throughout his term of office, and on the floor of Congress, discussed foreign relations, predicted the establishment of the Maximillian Empire of Mexico, and the loss of Cuba by Spain. He defined his position upon the United States bank question; upon the disposition of the public lands, and the fugitive slave law. On the tariff question he again expressed his adherence to tariff for revenue only, opposed a horizontal scale, and looked forward to the time when American manufacturers would be able to compete with those of other countries without any protection. He declined a reelection, desiring to return to his profession, but his successor, who only attended the first session of the Thirty-third Congress, died, and Mr. Jones being the unanimous choice of the district, consented again to become the candidate for the place thus made vacant. He took his seat in the Thirty-third Congress February 13, 1854; he acted with his party on the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was reelected to the Thirty-fourth Congress, but his party, having lost control of the House, and knowing it would be assailed by its factional opponents, he was selected as leader to defend it against hostile attack. This high honor shows the estimates placed by his colleagues upon his ability as a statesman, his skill as a debater, and his clear understanding of the constitutional questions involved.
In the campaign that followed the nomination of James Buchanan, Mr. Jones, who had drawn the platform of the convention, took an active part both upon the stump and in party councils, and no man contributed more than he to the triumph of the Democratic party in that election. He was himself returned to Congress for the fourth time, and during the first session of the Thirty-fifth Congress his position as leader of the House was recognized by his appointment as chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. At the following Congressional election he was unanimously nominated for his fifth term, but the tide had turned, the revolution was on, the Democratic party was overwhelmed and swept from its moorings, and his opponent was elected. Immediately after the election he was offered the mission to Austria by President Buchanan, which he accepted, resigning his seat in Congress. His residence in Vienna was agreeable and successful. He was an able and accomplished diplomat, thoroughly acquainted with international law, and was always in touch with the moves of European diplomacy. This is shown by his vigorous efforts in behalf of the rights of neutrals on the high seas and by his able diplomatic correspondence. He was succeeded in October, 1861, by the noted historian, J. Lothrop Motley.
When relieved of official responsibilities, Mr. Jones returned to Reading, Pennsylvania, where his last days were spent, and for the next decade and a half lived in retirement, occasionally appearing in the courts of the county in a legal capacity until his death, March 24, 1878. Over his grave the highest eulogies were spoken by men who differed with him politically, but united in praising the qualities of mind and character that marked him as one of the National statesmen of the first half of nineteenth century.
Frank M. Eastman. Courts and Lawyers of Pennsylvania: A History, 1623-1923. New York: American Historical Society, Inc. 1922, pp. 185-187.
Contributed by: Nancy.