ANSON JONES
PGM Anson Jones
I.O.O.F. Grand Master of Texas in 1852
From Houston, Texas
Born: January 20, 1798 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Died: January 9, 1858 (aged 59) in Houston, Texas
I.O.O.F. Grand Master of Texas in 1852
From Houston, Texas
Born: January 20, 1798 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Died: January 9, 1858 (aged 59) in Houston, Texas
Anson Jones was a doctor, businessman, congressman, and the fourth and last President of the Republic of Texas (1844). He is sometimes called the "Architect of Annexation".
Most importantly to Odd Fellows history, he is thought to have been the first I.O.O.F. Grand Master of Texas, but actually this is only partly true. He was the first Grand Master of the Texas Masons... not for Odd Fellows in Texas. Jones was in fact the 12th I.O.O.F. Grand Master in Texas (see list of PGMs) . Reportedly Dr. Jones became an Odd Fellow sometime between the years of 1823 - 1831. He became a member in one of the five or six I.O.O.F. Lodges in Philadelphia. When he was a Past Grand Master he once said "I have been an Odd Fellow almost from the time it was established in the United States... which was on April 26, 1819. Dr. Jones was elected Grand Master in 1852 even though it was determined that he had been a part of the Grand Lodge for a short period of time. It was his prominence that got him elected with little resistance. Dr. Anson Jones was also a Representative from Texas to the Grand Lodge of the United States which convened in Philadelphia in September of 1853. Dr. Jones introduced several resolutions that still govern our order today. During Dr. Jones term he was credited for granting dispensations for at least seven new lodges, one of which was Carthage NO. 84 which is still active today. Even though Dr. Jones was so highly accomplished in life he suffered from depression. Jones was bitterly disappointed not to have been appointed to the US Senate. He spent the last decade of his life morning over what should have been. Tragically he took his life on January 9th, 1858 with a pistol in hand. He was buried in Houston, Texas in the Greenwood Cemetery. There was a statue erected in his honor in Anson, Texas, Jones County (left) and there is another statue located at the capitol in Austin, Texas(right). (see pictures below) |
More about Anson Jones
Jones served as the last President of the Texas Republic before it became part of the United States. He was born in Seekonkville, Massachusetts, he studied medicine and was licensed to practice in 1820, but his efforts were unsuccessful; he moved to Norwich, Vermont and opened a drugstore, but that too failed. He traveled west, but after being arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by a creditor he stayed there running a medical office and teaching school until 1824, when he went to Venezuela. Returning to Philadelphia in 1826, he opened another medical office and received his doctorate in 1827, also joining both the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows. He rose to become Master of his masonic lodge, but his business was still unsuccessful, giving up medicine in 1832 he left for New Orleans, Louisiana to become a merchant. He went to Texas in October 1833 to again try his hand at medicine and this time he succeeded. After a year of hoping for a consensus between Texas and Mexico, he enlisted in the Texas army during its fight for independence, serving as a surgeon during the Battle of San Jacinto. After the war, he returned to Brazoria, Texas to resume his practice. Becoming increasingly interested in politics, he was elected to the Texas Congress in 1837, became the minister to the United States in 1838, the senator representing Brazoria County in 1839, and was the Secretary of State under President Sam Houston during his second administration from 1841 to 1844. In September 1844, Anson Jones was elected the fifth president of the Republic of Texas. When the United States President James K. Polk called for the annexation of Texas, Jones wavered, although the Texas Congress was for accepting the proposal to become another state. Jones continued to delay a decision, which caused his popularity to plummet; he was hoping for a treaty of recognition from Mexico which he felt would give Texas a stronger bargaining position. Once he actually received the treaty, it was rejected outright by the Congress, Jones was censured and annexation was adopted in 1846. Retiring to his plantation near Washington-on-the-Brazos, he had hopes for election to the United States Senate but Sam Houston and Thomas Rusk were nominated instead. For years afterwards, he grew more and more despondent over how he felt he was viewed by his fellow Texans and formed a deep hatred for Sam Houston. He authored a book entitled "Republic of Texas", but it wasn't published until 1859, after his death. Deeply depressed by his loss of Texas and an injury to his arm, Anson Jones shot himself on January 9, 1858 in Houston at the Rice Hotel - the site of the former capital of Texas. Jones County and the town of Anson were both named after him, and his plantation, Barrington, is part of the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park.
(bio by: Screwtape)
(bio by: Screwtape)
Anson Jones' wife, Mary Smith Jones & their home known as a dogtrot house or breezeway house.