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John Jones
1816-1879
Name: John Jones
Birthplace: Greene County NC
Status: Free Person of Color
Occupation/Training: Businessman, Philanthropist
Residence: Green County, Memphis, Alton Illinois, Chicago
Abolitionist Involvement: In 1841 he moved to Alton Illinois and married Mary Richardson. He became active in the anti-slavery movement when they moved to Chicago. After arriving in Chicago, he developed a merchant tailoring business. his home became a station on the Underground Railroad, assisting dozens of slaves on route to Canada. John Brown stayed with Jones many times prior to the raid at Harper's Ferry. Allan Pinkerton , well know as a detective and abolitionist also visited his home with John Brown. Brown worked diligently towards the appeal of the Black Laws of Illinois. Frederick Douglass was a frequent visitor to his home, and stayed in the Jones home on most of his trips to the Midwest. He was instrumental in the ratification of the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, making Illinois the very first state to do so. After the war, Jones served a short term with the Cook county Board of Commissioners. He continued to work against separate schools in Illinois. He had managed to acquire much property but lost much of it in the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871.
Family: Wife--Mary Richardson Daughter Lavinia Jones
Place of Death: Chicago
Publications: By Jones: The Black Laws of Illinois and a Few Reasons Why They Should be Repealed 1857; Arna Bontemps and Jack Conroy--Anyplace but Here
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