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Eli and Sybil Jones Family papers

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-1009-A

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials from Eli and Sybil Jones, as well as Susan Taber Jones, James Parnell Jones, Virginia Costello Jones, and other materials related to the work and ministry of Eli and Sybil Jones.

Dates

  • Creation: 1830-1890

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Eli Jones (1807-1890) was born in China, Maine, the son of Abel and Susannah Jepson Jones. He married Sybil Jones in 1833. He was acknowledged a minister and began traveling in the ministry with his wife to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Together they also visited most of the Yearly Meetings in the United States; in Africa, they visited Liberia; and in Europe, they journeyed to England, Ireland, France, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, and Greece. Finally, they went to do religious work in the Middle East. Jones was active in most New England Yearly Meeting committees, working for the causes of temperance, education, and peace. He served in the legislature in Augusta, Maine, in 1854, and was responsible for re-opening Oak Grove Seminary in 1856, serving as principal that year.

Sybil Jones (1808-1873) was born in Brunswick, Maine, the daughter of Ephraim and Susannah Dudley Jones. She taught in a Friends School in 1824-1825, then in public schools for eight years. Jones was acknowledged a Quaker minister, traveling with her husband in the ministry. In 1850, she felt moved to minister in Africa; she and her husband were guests of President Roberts in Liberia. During the Civil War, she tended the wounded in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. She comforted Mrs. Lincoln after the President's assassination and gave spiritual advice to President Johnson. In 1867, Sybil and Eli Jones began their last missionary journey to Europe, Athens, Syria, Egypt, England, and Palestine, establishing missions on Mt. Lebanon and Ramallah, Palestine. Sybil Jones was a member of China (Maine) Monthly Meeting.

James Parnell Jones (1835-1864) was born in Dirigo, Maine, the son of Eli and Sybil Jones. He was a cousin of Rufus M. Jones and older brother of Richard Mott Jones. He married Rebecca Runnels in 1857. He attended Haverford College from 1851 to 1852 (he received his bachelor's and master's from the University of Michigan). He became a teacher and principal of Valley School in Michigan. Still a Quaker, he determined that the outrage of slavery was a stronger principle than his pacifism and became an officer in the Union army, achieving the rank of major. He was disowned by his Meeting in China, Maine. He died in battle at Crystal Springs, Virginia.

Biographical information from Dictionary of Quaker Biography, internal evidence and an article by Peter Curtis, "A Quaker and the Civil War." <emph render="italics">Quaker History</emph>, vol. 67, 1978, no. 1, p. 35.

Extent

3.08 linear ft. (55 volumes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection contains materials from Eli and Sybil Jones, as well as Susan Taber Jones, James Parnell Jones, Virginia Costello Jones, and other materials related to the work and ministry of Eli and Sybil Jones.

Acquisition

These are all materials which were previously removed from collection 1009, the Jones Family papers.

Related Materials

  • MC.1009 Jones family papers
  • MC.975.07.053 "Sermons by Eli and Sybil Jones"
  • MC.975.04.020 Henry Newman sketchbook

Processing Information

Processed by Mary A. Crauderueff; completed December, 2015.

Title
Eli and Sybil Jones Family papers, 1830-1890
Author
Mary A. Crauderueff
Date
December, 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Library

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