Cornelius Jonas Jones

Cornelius J. Jones, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library Cornelius J. Jones (August 13, 1858 – March 13, 1931) was a lawyer and state legislator who represented Issaquena County in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1890 and 1891 as a Republican. [ 1 ]

Cornelius J. Jones, Wikipedia (en)

References

Cornelius Jones was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1858. [ 1 ] He worked as a lawyer in Mayersville. [ 2 ] He ran against T. C. Catchings for a seat in the U.S. Congress and contested the result. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] In addition to representing the plaintiffs in Johnson v. McAdoo, the "first documented federal litigation for reparations for slavery," [ 5 ] Jones was a defense attorney for Henry Williams and appealed his death penalty conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court (Williams v. Mississippi). At that time, no African Americans were allowed to sit on juries in Mississippi and Jones' appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding this was unanimously rejected by the Court. [ 6 ]

Signature of Cornelius J. Jones Jones died in Oklahoma on March 16, 1931. [ 1 ] The New York Public Library has a collection of his and his sister's family papers and several photographs of him. [ 1 ]

Cornelius J. Jones (Issaquena County)

State House: 1890-1891

Born: August 13, 1858 in Vicksburg, MS
Died: March 16, 1931 in Oklahoma

Lawyer. Son of Cornelius Jones and Hannah Donaldson (view their July 10, 1864 marriage record in the Freedmen’s Bureau collection). Graduate of Alcorn University.

Jones represented Henry Williams in the Williams v. Mississippi case that went before the Supreme Court and maintained that Williams’ conviction could not stand because Mississippi’s electoral laws meant that only white people could be on the jury. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Mississippi’s suffrage provisions were not discriminatory. In the early 1900s, Jones moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he continued to be involved in law and politics.

Listed on the 1900 census as a lodger in Washington, D. C. Listed on the 1920 census in Muskogee with wife Maggie (m. September 3, 1919).

The Schomburg Center at New York Public Library holds the Jones-Sadler family papers, a collection of materials related to Jones, his sister, Sarah E. Jones Sadler, and her family.

Source: Against All Odds: The First Black Legislators in Mississippi, Legislators, Cornelius J. Jones.

See also:

• Cornelius J. Jones
• Book/Printed Material: Contested election case of Cornelius J. Jones vs. T.C. Catchings in House of Representatives of 56th Congress of the United States : brief of contestant, The Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave, SE, Washington, DC 20540
• Jones-Sadler family papers 1876-1931
• Person details and records, FamilySearch.org
• Article: Williams v. Mississippi (170 U.S. 213 [1898]), PDF online
• Article: Natchez Democrat, March 22, 1899
• Remembering an Unsung Hero for Racial Justice: Cornelius J. Jones, By Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | Feb 02, 2023 at 01:29 PM
• Williams v. Mississippi, The Mississippi Encyclopedia, MIssissippi Humanities Council
• Williams v. Mississippi (1898): The Debate over Black Suffrage
• Clarion Ledger, September 26, 1899, End of very noted Legal Fight.
• Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights (Scholastic Focus) - Chapter 10 The Crusader: Williams v. Mississippi, author Lawrence Goldstone, 2020
• Obituary of Cornelius Jonas Jones, The M'Alester News-Capital, McAlester, Oklahoma • Mon, Mar 16, 1931, Page 2
• Ex-Slave Organization Head Passes, The Black Dispatch, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • Thu, Mar 19, 1931, Page 1

Records:

"United States Census, 1870", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFSB-L73 : Fri Oct 06 08:11:51 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius Jones and Hannah E A Jones, 1870.

"United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSYD-J8V : Tue Oct 24 17:22:03 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius Jones and Cornelius, 31 Dec 1870.

"United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMFM-1XV : Tue Oct 03 18:13:28 UTC 2023), Entry for Sinah E Pearson and William J Jones, 1900.

"United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9FZ-F86 : Tue Oct 03 16:46:50 UTC 2023), Entry for Hannah Jones and Gertrude Jones, 1900.

"Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP6-HY4W : 23 February 2021), Cornelius J Jones and Maggie C Davis, 03 Sep 1919; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.

"United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN1G-44G : Fri Dec 08 03:03:22 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius Jones and Maggie C Jones, 1920.

"United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCW6-JTQ : Thu Oct 05 13:55:14 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius J Jones and Rebecca B Bomes, 1930.

1st Marriage:

2nd Marriage: "Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FMKS-RSK : Thu Oct 19 17:09:42 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius Jonas Jones and Hannah E Jones, 26 Sep 1893.

3rd Mariage: "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP6-HY4W : 23 February 2021), Cornelius J Jones and Maggie C Davis, 03 Sep 1919; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.

Marriage: Marriage of Cornelius J. Jones and Maggie C. Davis, Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat, Muskogee, Oklahoma • Fri, Sep 5, 1919, Page 4
Divorce: Cornelius seeks divorce from Maggie, The M'Alester News-Capital, McAlester, Oklahoma • Wed, Mar 23, 1921, Page 1

Note:

• At above wikipedia link wrong written and mentioned date of Cornelius's death as March, 13 1931 instead correct date March 16, 1931.
• In record of Census 1930 "United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCW6-JTQ : Thu Oct 05 13:55:14 UTC 2023), Entry for Cornelius J Jones and Rebecca B Bomes, 1930. was listed and mentioned, Rebecca B Bomes, 54y, (b. 1876) who was his servant in Household: 37 in town Muskogee.