J. William Jones

The Reverend J. William Jones
Born	John William Jones September 25, 1836 Louisa County, Virginia, US
Died	March 17, 1909 Columbus, Georgia, US
Education	University of Virginia Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Occupation	Preacher
Spouse	Judith Page Helm
Children	1.Carter Helm Jones, 2.Edloe Pendleton Jones, 3.Francis William Jones, 4.Meredith Ashby Jones, 5.Howard Lee Jones.
Parent(s)	Francis William Jones Ann Pendleton Ashby Jones

J. William Jones (25 September 1836 – 17 March 1909) was an American Southern Baptist preacher. He served as a Confederate chaplain during the American Civil War of 1861-1865. Later, he was campus minister at Washington and Lee University, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He wrote many books about the Lost Cause and Christianity.

Early life

John William Jones was born on September 25, 1836 in Louisa County, Virginia. His father was Francis William Jones and his mother, Ann Pendleton Ashby Jones. He graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1859. He then joined the first class to attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina.

Career

Jones became a Baptist minister at Little River Baptist Church in Louisa County, Virginia. During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he served as a chaplain in the Confederate States Army. In his writings about the wartime chaplaincy, he recalled that Colonels often discouraged religion as they feared it might give soldiers qualms about killing the enemy, but the yeoman soldiers demanded it and saw sermons as their privilege.

After the war, Jones served as Baptist minister in Lexington, Virginia. He then served as campus minister at Washington College, later known as Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. He then served as campus minister at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jones served as secretary of the Southern Historical Society from 1875 to 1887, and as chaplain-general of the United Confederate Veterans from 1890 to 1909. He was a proponent of the Lost Cause, arguing that the Confederate States of America had been righteous in waging a holy war. He wrote an article about Lexington, Virginia entitled "The Old Virginia Town, Lexington" in the first issue of the Confederate Veteran in 1893.

Personal life

Jones married Judith Page Helm in December 1860. They had five children. Four of their sons became Baptist ministers.

Death

Jones died on March 17, 1909 in Columbus, Georgia.

Bibliography

• Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1875).
• Southern Historical Society Circular (1876).
• Confederate View of the Treatment of Soldiers (1876).
• Stonewall Jackson: A Military Biography (1876).
• Army of Northern Virginia Memorial Volume (1880).
• General Lee to the Rear (1880).
• Virginia's Next Governor, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee (1885).
• Christ in the Camp (1887).
• Davis Memorial Volume; or, Our Dead President, Jefferson Davis (1890).
• School History of the United States (1896).
• The Morale of the Confederate Army (1899).
• Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man (1906).