James Addison Jones

Portrait of James Addison Jones in J.A. Jones Library at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina

James Addison Jones, (20 August 1869 - 25 May 1950) was the founder of J.A. Jones Construction, as well as being a known philanthropist for many organizations such as the Methodist Church, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding areas, regional hospitals, and several other companies. He was the benefactor and namesake for the James Addison Jones Library at Greensboro College and the J.A. Jones Library at Brevard College. His company was also responsible for the assistance of the building of the Liberty fleet during World War II. Jones was married four times in his lifetime and had fifteen children.

Early life

Birth and Parentage

James Addison Jones was born in Farmer, North Carolina in Randolph county, North Carolina on August 20, 1869 to Robert B. Jones and Elizabeth Horney Jones (21 August 1839 - 15 June 1872).[1] Elizabeth Horney married Robert B. Jones on 11 June 1857 when she was eighteen. Robert B. Jones (approximately 1824 - 6 May 1902) was originally named Charles by his parents, Hezekiah Jones and mother whose name is unknown but legally changed it to Robert "Bob" later on in life. Robert had three marriages during his lifetime, his first wife was Ruth Winslow, then second Elizabeth Horney, and finally Sara Kettler. Robert B. Jones served in the Confederate army, either in Artillery or Infantry, during the American Civil War but it unknown as to what regiment or any further information of his military record. The war left Robert financially burdened as he was a simple tenant farmer who barely made ends meet before the war and afterwards, was even more difficult with three children under the age of four out of the five children he had with Elizabeth. Their children were named (in descending order): John, William, James Addison, Sherman, and Emma. Robert had five children with Ruth, named: Allen, Elizabeth, Robert, Sarah, and David (many of whom stayed in Indiana after Robert returned to North Carolina after Ruth's death). He had two children with Sara, named: Cornelia and Alex. Robert died on 6 May 1902 and is buried in Lexington city cemetery, North Carolina in Davidson county.[1]

Childhood

Little is known about James Addison Jones's childhood but it was not a happy one as he was the son of a farmer, accustomed to hard work without any reward and corporal punishment by his father in order to maintain order on the farm. He was only able to attend school a few months out of the year at a local one room country school. It is reported that he did not receive any formal education past the fourth grade. He left home when he was eighteen year old with no money and no formal skill to rely on.

In Lexington, North Carolina, Jones, occasionally also known as Jim, got his first job from Mr. Cecil, a contractor, who hired him to drive a wagon on rough country roads to Charlotte, North Carolina. This first job led into Jones’ second job as a brick maker. Mr. Cecil was helping make the first cotton mill in Charlotte, NC and needed help transporting the machinery to make the bricks from Lexington to Charlotte.[1] Jim was paid twenty-five cents a day with room and board in the construction camp to make bricks. He eventually became the mason’s tender then escalating to apprentice mason. He stayed at the site for two years, gathering many valuable skills and rising to become the best mason on the job. He was reported to be very motivated to succeed in whatever he did and did so with kindness, integrity, and loyalty to his friends and coworkers.[2]

Personal History

Marriages

Jones was married four times in his lifetime, losing his first three wives to illness and his final wife survived him. He had fifteen children born to him between three of his wives. Sadly, five of his children would die before Jones. An important part of Jones' strength was his ability to combat grief and keep supporting his family. Twice, he was left alone with infant children, having to hire the assistance or either a nurse or a live in housekeeper.

  1. Mary Jane Hooper "Minnie" Jones courted Mary Jane Hooper, affectionately known as "Minnie" after he felt he could support a wife and children financially who he met through church. They lived in the Charlotte community in several places before buying their first home for $1,500. They had twelve children before Minnie died twelve days after giving birth to their final child, Helen Estelle. Their children were as follows with birth year in parenthesis: Edwin Lee (1891), Bobbie who died as an infant, Raymond Allen (1894), Hannibal Berryman (1897), Frances Elizabeth (1900), James Addison Jr. (1902), Johnie Hooper (1904), Minnie Beatrice (1906, William Franklin (1908), Dorothy May (1910), Paul Stewart (1912), and Helen Estelle (1914)
  2. Emma Lockhart Renn Jones married against in September 1915 to Emma Lockhart Renn, a teacher and strong Methodist. They had two children together, Emma Renn in 1916 and Robert Joseph in 1918. The Jones family reached state and national recognition as they bought $15,000 for the War Savings Club in support of the First World War. It was the single highest donation in the nation. A bout of influenza swept through the family and Emma did not survive.
  3. Maude Boren Jones married Maude Boren in September 1920 and they had one child together, Charles Boren Jones on 12 June 1921 and he was the last child. With the family growing, the couple moved into a colonial mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina with expansive grounds and spacious house for everyone to live comfortably in. In 1933/1934, Maude was diagnosed with a malignant growth on her breast, resulting in the removal of it and a remaining life expectancy of six years at best. Jones bought a cottage on the water front in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for Maude and they spent many of their remaining days there together at the cottage or the house in Charlotte. Maude died in April 1941 after her struggle with cancer.
  4. Rose Walsh Jones went through a short depression and bout of health issues before his fourth and final marriage to Rose Walsh. They were married on 16 January 1942 when Rose was fifty years old to Jones’ seventy-two. They did not have any children. Rose would survive Jones in 1950.

Children

Jones had to deal with not only with the death of three of his wives but also the death of four of his children. Bobbie, his second son, died in his infancy. His eldest daughter, Frances Elizabeth died in December 1925 after being diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1921. Then Johnie drowned in Lake Lure, North Carolina on 4 May 1935. Finally Raymond, his second eldest son with Minnie, died of a stroke while on a business trip to Bolivia on 8 May 1950.

Tragedy did not keep the Jones family from success as many of the sons went into J.A. Construction with their father throughout their lives. Edwin, was Jones' first full-time employee with a salary of fifty dollars per month, hired in January 1913.[3] Three of Jones' sons would become very involved in the construction business. Edwin handled the administrative side of the business and later Raymond, after graduating from Georgia Tech, came in to become the assistant superintendent of the company. Johnnie, came in, after completing some business courses, to take over the accounting and office management so Edwin could expand into other areas of the company. J.A. Jones construction would remain under the Jones name and ownership until May 1993 when Charles Davidson was elected the president and CEO.[3]

Education was highly valued by Jones and he encouraged all of his children to succeed in their education. He often said "An education is something that will stay with you all your life, and no one can take it away from you." Only five of his children (Edwin, Raymond, Minnie B., Dorothy, and Robert) successfully graduated from college, but the majority attended college but could not complete their coursework due to health or other reasons. Edwin graduated from Trinity College in 1912, now Duke University.

Later Years & Death

Jones remained an active man until the last few months of his life. He had medical troubles with colds and influenza in the winter of 1949-1950 which left him in a slightly weakened state. He also suffered from a mild stroke that winter, but the biggest blow to his spirit was the death of Raymond in early May 1950. He continued to go into the office up until the last three days of his life. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 7:46 p.m. on 20 May 1950 at the age of 80.

Philanthropy

Methodist Church

Jones first got involved with the Methodist Church after he moved to Charlotte and started work. When he was a child, the only interaction he had with the church was the "Hard-Shell" Baptist church near where he lived. The second Sunday he attended church in Charlotte was a Methodist church and immediately fell in love with their fellowship and warmth to new members. He met Minnie for the first time in Tyron Street Methodist Church where her family were very involved. After that Sunday, Jones dedicated a portion of his life to the Methodist Church.

The J.A. Jones Construction company helped build Dilworth Methodist Church across the street from the Jones' home in Charlotte. In 1927, the company and family help to add a two-story parsonage, then in 1940, they assisted with the building of the J.A. Jones Education Building. Finally, the family helped build the Memorial Chapel, furnishing it as well as a donation of stained glass windows.

Jones served as delegate to five Methodist General Conferences as representative for the Western North Carolina Conference, also the Uniting Conference, adn three Jurisdictional Conferences relating to the Methodist Church. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Methodist Home for the Aged.

Civic Responsibilities

Jones was an active member of his community, serving numerous positions of importance within the city of Charlotte as well as the surrounding areas. He helped save Charlotte from drought as he developed a system to supply the growing city with the amount of water needed, using pipes connecting to the Catawba River rather than relying on artesian wells. He was also on the Board of Commissions for two to three terms around 1930 as well as the Executive Committee to help oversee department's efficiency in the city of Charlotte. He was an active member of the Y.M.C.A., was on the Board of Trustees for at least three regional hospitals (Charlotte Memorial, the North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital at Gastonia, and the Elkin Hospital), a member of the Phalanx Lodge of Masonry, a Shriner, and was president of numerous hotel and realty companies (Addison Realty, Skyline Hotel Company, Highlands Hotel Company. Jones also served as the director of the Bank of Commerce and of the Interstate Milling Company and of the Citizens Hotel Company). He also was a Board of Trustees at Greensboro College.

Awards & Donations

In 1944, he received the Maritime "M", the highest award given by the Maritime Commission for his assistance in World War II with the construction of the Liberty ships, a type of cargo ship. He also received the Army-Navy "E" aware fro the Speedy and Economy during World War II.

There are two libraries named after Jones, one at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina and another at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. The J.A. Jones library at Brevard College was originally built in 1948 with the help of J.A. Jones Construction and was dedicated on 10 April 1948. The cost of the library was approximately $100,000 with a capacity of up to 40,000 volumes.[4] Although, the library has been moved to another building in the 1960's, it kept the J.A. Jones name as well as the portrait originally unveiled at the original library's opening.

Professional Life

Jones was a motivated and self-taught man as he continued to work very hard to become a success in his business, eventually breaking into the title of being a general contractor after his first few jobs as a mason. The first building Jones would building was the "dining-car job" which was an addition to the Southern Railway Station. There were many roadblocks to their success as a flood ruined their original wall and Jones only had four workers. He personally helped his workers rebuild the wall, creating a motto that would last his entire career "Finish the Job."

In his early career, he served as the Superintendent of Maintenance-a-way for the Southern Railroad, working on repairs from washouts or wrecks and then helping restore the traffic after wrecks. He returned home to Charlotte and started gathering contracts to help build Charlotte's first skyscrapers such as the twelve-store Independence Building, completed in 1909. The company continued its work and had a few contracts during the First World War, finishing all the jobs they were given despite financial troubles and eventually the company became incorporated in 1920. During the Depression, J.A. Jones Construction weathered the storm with government contracts to build a new military air base at the Canal Zone—Albrook Field. Jones went on to gain more government contracts building housing, post offices, military bases, and other projects. One of his more well known projects was the creation of the shipyards in Panama City, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia where the chief product was the Liberty Ships.

The company continued to grow after World War II, maintaining military contracts as well as expanding into other international markets. After a restructuring in 1948, Jones became the chairman of the board while his sons took over as president and executive vice president, the company went into heavy construction and highway work. The company was bought in 1978 by Philipp Holzmann AG, a west German construction company but would remain J.A. Jones construction with family ties until May 1993 when a veteran Charles Davidson would take over as president and CEO.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jones Ussery, Minnie B. (December 1960). A Study of The Life of James Addison Jones with Emphasis on Leadership Displayed from A Daughter's Viewpoint. Brevard College. pp. 1–14.
  2. ↑ Stafford, Garland R. (1 January 1988). "Jones, James Addison". NCpedia/Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 Sanford, Ken. "James Addison Jones." The North Carolina Century: Tar Heels Who Made a Difference, 1900-2000. Charlotte, NC: Levine Museum of the New South, 2002.
  4. ↑ Craig, Marjorie. "The History of Brevard College and Its Forerunners." 1950-1953. TS, Brevard College, Brevard, NC.
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