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Spencer Cone Jones | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Maryland Senate from the Montgomery County district | |
| In office 1901–1905 | |
Personal Information
Spencer Cone Jones (
Civil War
Jones enlisted in Company D of the First Maryland Cavalry of the
Professional Life
Jones returned to
AMaryland State House
Jones took a leadership role in the construction of the State House Annex at the beginning of the twentieth century. As a state senator, Jones served on the Executive Committee of the State House Building Commission. On the Building Commission, he frequently participated in meetings regarding the funding and contracts for the State House refurbishment and construction of the State House Annex. In August 1902, the ''Baltimore Sun'' reported that the idea for the Annex was Jones’ and that he submitted the appropriations bill to fund the restoration and construction. Jones’ original bill requested $400,000, but at the request of the Governor and Treasury officials, he changed his request to $250,000, with the understanding that any additional money would be provided during the next legislative session. Jones was elected President of the State Senate on January 4, 1904, and gave a speech that emphasized the importance of completing construction on the State House: “So with the sunshine of prosperity, honor and usefulness upon us should we hesitate to make this house a beautiful, lasting and appropriate expression of our gratitude for, and pride in, the achievements of our people? It is with sadness that we are compelled by the necessities of the situation to vacate the old Senate Chamber, memorable in the history of the State, and in which cluster associations which strike a tender chord in the heart of every true Marylander. Let us have if restored as near as, possible to its original condition and sacredly preserve it as the holiest of all in this temple of our liberties,” (Archives of Maryland, Vol. 401, pp. 10). A major focus of Jones' speech was that the Legislature should provide the necessary funding to complete the work on the State House and that such work must maintain the original character of the building.
End of Career
Jones’ term in the Senate ended with his defeat in a primary by Blair Lee in 1905. In addition to his legal practice and his political career, Jones was the director, and later president, of the Montgomery County National Bank of Rockville. Jones was a Mason and Knight of Pythias, with whom he held high offices. He also served as vice president of the Board of Visitors of the State School for the Deaf in Frederick, MD. Jones died April 1, 1915, in New Orleans, at the home of his daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Thomas R. Falvy. His body was brought back to Frederick, MD and buried with his wife, Ellen.
References
- Chapman Publishing Company. Portrait and Biographical Record of the Sixth Congressional District, Maryland. New York, NY: Chapman Publishing Co.,1898.
- Hartzler, Daniel D. Marylanders in the Confederacy. Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1986.
- Holdcraft, Jacob Mehrling. Names in Stone: 75,000 Cemetery Inscriptions from Frederick County, Maryland, Volume 1. Ann Arbor, MI: Jacob M. Holdcraft, 1966.
- Jones, Spencer Cone, Address of Spencer C. Jones, delivered at Winchester, Va., June 5th, 1880, Baltimore: King Brothers, 1880.
- Maryland State Archives, http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001500/001549/html/msa01549.html
- Secretary of State. Maryland Manual 1902. Baltimore, MD: Wm. J. C. Dulany Co., 1903.
- Steiner, Bernard Christian. Men of Mark of Maryland, Volume I. Washington, D.C.: Johnson-Wynne Co., 1907.